Contributor I
I'm planning a trip to Death Valley, Ca in October. Anyone have any ideas of where to go in Death Valley? Any routes to recommend?
Death Valley, Ca trip in October. Any ideas or recommendations?
- Thread starter rdawson63
- Start date
Member III
How many days were you thinking? That will make the difference on the route. If you want to do a three day weekend, you can go in by Baker and come out through Panimint Valley. The other way I go in is by Lone Pine and see the things at the north end and come out in Panamint. Coming out in Baker on a Sunday afternoon means your hitting Vegas traffic. The 395 is a little better. Coming out during the week either way works.
Look at a map and find some things you want to see then look at the roads. Add in fuel stops for longer trips. Most of the time I do 3-5 days and still don't see everything in one trip.
Look at a map and find some things you want to see then look at the roads. Add in fuel stops for longer trips. Most of the time I do 3-5 days and still don't see everything in one trip.
Off-Road Ranger I
Where you come in from, leave from, and the # of days will really impact the recommendations. More details will get you more info. Either way, it would be good to spend at least half a day seeing the tourist parts of DV if you've never been. Really depends on the things above, so much to do, you could spend 1 - 15 days.
Enthusiast II
I strongly recommend getting other vehicles / families to go with you. We went in April, single rig trip, and missed out on a lot for practical / safety reasons. At 105 + degrees during the day, the potential consequences of a breakdown really limited our options. We still had an AMAZING time, but didn’t get to wheel as much as I’d like. Everything there is soo remote - I wasn’t prepared. October should help on the heat. Check out:
https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/Backcountry Roads.pdf
Has a list of many trail options.
https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/Backcountry Roads.pdf
Has a list of many trail options.
Steward I
Death Valley is awesome! I spent a rainy weekend alone in the geologists cabin in Butte Valley back in February, and loved it! The eastern entrance to Butte Valley isn’t bad, and it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s really remote though, and no cell signal, so go prepared. You don’t want to end up like the German tourists.
Contributor I
Thank you to all for your awesome responses. I will be travelling with friends and four vehicles total.
Contributor I
Hi SMRITTE!
We plan on going in October from Friday to Monday for the trip. We can do a short trip and check out the rest of DV on several other trips. We just want to camp and be able to see some sites along the way. It will be good for the kids to be able to do some trails or climb rocks and watch out for rattlers of course. Any more feedback you need? I appreciate your responses on this since I am new at going offroading and plotting places to camp.
Contributor I
Hi A-Aron!
We will be going for a four day trip, from Fontana, Ca. Four 4WD Vehicles and starting from the east end and going to the west end. We plan on doing siteseeing on the way and going to dispersed campsites. Any more info you need, please let me know.
Contributor I
Hi Again SMRITTE!
We plan on checking out the following sites: The Racetrack, Eureka Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe and Lippincott.
Contributor I
Hi Again A-Aron!
We plan on checking out the following sites: The Racetrack, Eureka Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe and Lippincott.
Contributor I
We plan on checking out the following sites: The Racetrack, Eureka Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe and Lippincott.
Contributor I
We plan on checking out the following sites: The Racetrack, Eureka Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe and Lippincott.
Member III
Do you have a navigation system or good with GPS? If you have a nav system, I could shoot you some waypoints.
If I was going to hit those in one trip, I would need two tanks of fuel (my mileage off road isn't good). Eureka dunes is nice camping. It has been almost full the couple of times I've camped there. I still have never gotten to see the Crater.
Contributor I
Hi SMRittte!
Yes I do have a GPS Navigation System. I use Gaia on my tablet. Please send me what you have and Thank You very much!!!
Contributor II
Hey Rommel! You're in for quite an adventure at DV. I had the most insanely fun time in May. Below was our itinerary. This was my first trip with the 4Runner and first "go" at overloading. We did this with only one vehicle. Every day was more or less on-road ~9-10am, shut down ~6-7pm.
Arrived in afternoon at East entrance (Death Valley junction. Amarossa Opera house), went up Hole-in-the-wall to camp.
Day 1: Twenty mule canyon, Echo Canyon up to Inyo mine for lunch. Back down to Badwater basin just to say we did it. Scottys Castle / Titus canyon was still closed so we went to Chloride Cliff and up to a Beatty motel for the night. (it was stormy, pouring rain and we had already been on the road for 9 days). Chloride cliff had many other off shoot roads to explore many more mines but also look a bit longer than anticipated to complete.
Day 2: Highway transit from Beatty to Scottys Junction / HWY267 / Bonnie Claire Flat. Here we followed the gravel-dirt road to Gold Point which would drop us back in the park just south of Crankshaft Junction. There were so many hidden gems on this route that I am super glad we chose to take it. We then stopped at Eureka Dunes for lunch and continued down Steele Pass to Saline Valley where we set up camp at the Southern hot springs.
Day 3: Lipponcott, Teakettle Junction, Ubehebe Crater. Exiting the park back through Gold Point to Toponoh.
Arrived in afternoon at East entrance (Death Valley junction. Amarossa Opera house), went up Hole-in-the-wall to camp.
Day 1: Twenty mule canyon, Echo Canyon up to Inyo mine for lunch. Back down to Badwater basin just to say we did it. Scottys Castle / Titus canyon was still closed so we went to Chloride Cliff and up to a Beatty motel for the night. (it was stormy, pouring rain and we had already been on the road for 9 days). Chloride cliff had many other off shoot roads to explore many more mines but also look a bit longer than anticipated to complete.
Day 2: Highway transit from Beatty to Scottys Junction / HWY267 / Bonnie Claire Flat. Here we followed the gravel-dirt road to Gold Point which would drop us back in the park just south of Crankshaft Junction. There were so many hidden gems on this route that I am super glad we chose to take it. We then stopped at Eureka Dunes for lunch and continued down Steele Pass to Saline Valley where we set up camp at the Southern hot springs.
Day 3: Lipponcott, Teakettle Junction, Ubehebe Crater. Exiting the park back through Gold Point to Toponoh.
Off-Road Ranger I
Attached is my itinerary for a group of overlanders through Death Valley. Perhaps, it will give you an idea of a routing or course you could take. Happy Death Valley'ing! Love that area!
Make sure you stop at Father Crowley on your way in or out of the park. The jet fighters flying through is amazing (given you are there at the right time to see some!)
Mike
Make sure you stop at Father Crowley on your way in or out of the park. The jet fighters flying through is amazing (given you are there at the right time to see some!)
Mike
Contributor I
Thank you very much Mike! I will check out the doc and get ideas for our trip in October.
Contributor I
Hi Dash! I appreciate the info. I look forward to charting my trip with your info and plan future trips...
Three part video series I did from last year. Maybe this will help you get ideas.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Contributor I
Thank you very much SGT 12XU! I really appreciate your videos and paths that you provided. I am thinking of starting in October from the 395 on the west end of DV. Then work my way east to check out some dispersed camp sites then off to the 15 freeway. Appreciate your videos since I am new to four wheeling.
