Pat2003

I would greatly appreciate your comments on our hiking itinerary in Death Valley. At this point we included too many options so we have to make some choices.
What hikes should we not miss?
Do we need 4WD or SUV for this area?
Any points on taking photos in Death Valley?
Places to eat?
Any other ideas, suggestions?
So here it is our very long, detailed itinerary.


Death Valley Itinerary

Day 1, Monday
1.Arriving LAS at 11 am

2. Rent a car from Dollar

3. Take route 160 from Las Vegas towards Death Valley. Stop at Wal-Mart in Pahrump to get water and snacks.

4. From Pahrump continue to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Stop at the Visitor Center and if time permits walk on the Crystal Springs Interpretive boardwalk Trail. Opportunities to observe endangered Ashe Meadows pupfish, which occurs naturally only at this refuge, present at all springs but best at Point of Rocks

5. Continue to Death Valley on routes 373, 127 and 190 to Furnace Creek Inn

6. Go to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center to get maps, visit Borax Museum, get information on hiking


Day 2, Tuesday
1. Zabriskie Point (Sunrise/Sunset). One of the most scenic spots in Death Valley, overlooking wrinkled, multicolor hills

2. Natural Bridge Canyon (½ mile to the bridge, 1 mile to end of canyon)

3. Coffin Peak (2.4 mile RT. Trail starts 0.5 mile before the Dante’s viewpoint itself)

4. Dante’s View (Sunrise) and Dante Ridge (½ mile to first summit)

5. Twenty Mule Team Canyon

6. Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail (2 mile RT, from Badwater Rd, the best time is late afternoon)

7. Gower Gulch Loop ( in the end of Golden Canyon trail, 4 miles RT)

8. Artists Drive and Artists Palette. To reach this one way road go north off Badwater Road

9. Devil’s Golf Course

10. Badwater (Sunrise/Sunset). At 282 feet below sea level this is the lowest point in the western hemisphere and one of the hottest

11. Mushroom Rock


Day 3, Wednesday
1. Sand Dunes (Sunrise/Sunset). 2 miles to the highest dune. Best in the morning or afternoon for dramatic light.

2. Mosaic Canyon (the canyon opens up after ½ mile to reveal the heights of Tucki Mountain but continue another 1½ mile for easy walk)

3. Augerberry Point

4. Wildrose Peak

5. Wildrose Charcoal Kilns

6. Telescope Peak (14 mile RT)

7. Salt Lake Nature Trail (½ mile wooden boardwalk). Good place for birdwatching

8. Keane Wonder Mine (1 mile long trail to sweeping views of the Death Valley). Allow at least two hours for this very steep trail


Day 4, Thursday
1. Death Valley Buttes at Grapevine Mountains (3.6 miles RT from Hell’s Gate parking area, 22 miles NE of Furnace Creek. The best views in Death Valley!)

2. Little Hebe Crater (½ mile). Hike along west rim of Ubehebe Craer to Little Hebe and several other craters

3. Ubehebe Crater (steep but short trail leading from the parking area to the crater’s lip and around. Fierce winds may be present. Like being on another planet).

4. Eureka Dunes

5. Scotty’s Castle.

6. Hiking trails at Scotty’s Castle
- ½ mile loop explores the castle grounds and signs explain construction of the building
- ¾ mile Windy Points Trail climbs 160 feet to Scotty’s grave and overview of the Death Valley Ranch
- ¾ mile Tie Canyon Trail is an easy walk through a canyon

7. Mesquite Springs

8. Titus Canyon (only to the mouth of the canyon)

9. Titus Canyon Narrows. 1½ mile easy hike from Titus Canyon Mouth parking area


Day 5, Friday
1. Golf

2. Drive toward Las Vegas on route 190, then 160.

3. Take route 170 to Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area.

4. Stop at the Visitor Center and take a drive on 13 mile loop drive for vistas and stop for hiking if time permits

5. Check in to Residence Inn South at 5875 Industrial Road (located on the way from Red Rocks)

Day 6, Saturday
1. Return a rental car to Dollar

2. Depart at 9:30 am on Continental flight

JohnH

Hi Pat,
I love Death Valley questions - they make me want to go back there right now (even though it's about 120 in the shade)!

I'm assuming this is a list you are trying to narrow down, since doing ALL of this would be close to impossible and certainly not enjoyable.

Be sure you check the NPS website for updates on what may still be closed due to the severe flooding earlier this year.

I haven't done all of the hikes you mention, I will only comment on what I am familiar with. Of those, these would be my suggestions, in order:

You can hike into Golden Canyon, see the red cathedral, then continue up to Zabriskie Point. Then loop back down through Gower Gulch. It is an awesome hike with stunning views and maybe 5 miles roundtrip.

This day could include Dante's View (early morning is best) and Badwater since they are all in the same general area.

I would skip 20 Mule Team and Devils Golf Course since they are very similar to other locations above.

I have only been through Artists Drive in a car, haven't done any hikes there. It's about an hour to drive through. Maybe consider it some evening before sunset if you are up to it?

Sand dunes are really cool just before sunset. Also nice because the sand starts cooling off and you can walk barefoot (but watch out for snakes and insects)

Titus Canyon is spectacular and you can drive up to the mouth, park and then hike in from there. Equally impressive and not nearly as crowded is the canyon just to the north (whose name escapes me at the moment). You park at Titus and then walk north about 1/2 mile on a path along the side of the mountains to the canyon mouth. Rangers could give you the name and more info.

Wildrose Charcoal Kilns & Peak - this area is quite far away, and thousands of miles higher in elevation, than Death Valley itself. It would be pretty much a full day trip. In November, roads might be snow covered up that high. The views are incredible, although I haven't been all the way to the top of WP. Telescope Peak is in the same general area. Obviously you would need to choose one or the other.

But the view from Dante's Peak (on the opposite side of the valley) is equally good, if not better because you are looking towards these mtns. and the Siearr Nevada in the distance. And you can drive all the way up there more easily.

Ubehebe Crater - yes it is like another planet, and well worth seeing esp. if you are going to Scotty's Castle because it is nearby. If you hikle down inside (easy), just remember it can be much more difficult than it looks to hike back up.

Mosaic Canyon is a great hike - you need to drive up a long (1 1/2 mile?) unpaved road to get to the entrance.

You wouldn't need 4WD for any of these things except Wildrose and Telescope Peaks, depending on how high up you are driving. Other places more off the beaten path and off of the main roads may require 4WD. But you can easily fill 3-4 days on just seeing the highlights, which is pretty much what all of these are.

mlgb

You should check the NPS website for road conditions since there was a lot of damage last year. I went in spring, and Titus Canyon was not really in shape for a regular car, for example. I gave up about a mile in.

Photos are best in the morning and afternoon-sunset. Midday tends to bleach colors out. Bring lots of water and snacks with you. Everything is expensive inside the park. Let us know how much gas is!

Pat2003

Wow! Thank you both for your comments. We will check roads conditions as soon as we get to the park before going on any hikes.
I hope Titus Canyon will be passable in November.
You provided me with fantastic information on specific hikes and this is what I really counted on, your own prefrences. I'm carefully reviewing each of your suggestions and going to focus on hikes you exprienced and recommend. As you noticed we have to make choices.
Thank you again for such tremendous help. And now I have to put all your comments in my itinerary. I am not sure whether we will do Telescope Peak, after all it is 14 mile hike and we want to see so much in a short time.
Any other suggestions?

Pat2003

Hi John and mlgb, we narrowed down our itinerary, a little. As you suggested, John, we decided to remove 20 Mule Team and Devils Golf Course from our itinerary. Also because of the distance, Wildrose Charcoal Kilns and Peak are gone. It seems that only drive on an unpaved road is going to be the one to Mosaic Canyon. Do we have a time to do it or should we skip it? We are seeking extraordinary views that we we won't find anywhere else. If we won't drive on unpaved roads maybe we should just rent a midsize sedan? It would be cheaper than SUV.

Our Wednesday itineray looks a kind of lazy, don't you think? Would you suggest another hike for this day?

Wednesday
1. Sand Dunes 2 miles to highest dune.
2. Salt Lake Nature Trail (½ mile wooden boardwalk).
3. Keane Wonder Mine (1 mile long trail to sweeping views of the Death Valley). Allow at least two hours for this very steep trail

What else should we consider for Wednesday?

More of your great suggestions are always appreciated. Thanks

Pat2003

Our flight from Las Vegas departs at 10 am on Saturday. In your opinion what time should we arrive in the airport after returning our rental car to Dollar? I read many posts here stating there are long lines to go through security checks. However, will be flying on Saturday if if that makes any difference. Also we are flying on Continental. Thanks

Pat2003

Just returned from our trip to Death Valley and would like to thank you JohnH and mlgb for your help. John, we saved for our next trip Fall Canyon (at the mouth of Titus Canyon). We hiked about 5 miles one way in Titus Canyon. We were only two hikers and there were no cars passing us until we almost (maybe 1/2 mile or less) returned to the parking lot. Dante's Point Road is still closed. We hiked from Zabriskie Point through Golden Canyon with a side trip to Red Cathedral. Hiking on Sand Dunes at sunrise was unforgettable. We spent more than 5 hours hiking there. Wildrose Peak has to wait until March. All your suggestions were extremely helpful. Did you ever hike in Death Valley in the end of March? We are trying to avoid crowds and extreme heat. Furnace Creek Inn was wonderful place to stay in and we will stay there again.

mlgb, at Furnace Creek we paid $2.98 for a regular gas. Not bad at all.

JohnH

Hi Pat,

I just found this thread again - glad you had such a good time!

When you ask about late March, do you mean in the valley or to Wildrose Peak, because they are very different elevation-wise. There could possibly still be too much snow up there to hike to the top. I would call and ask a park ranger.

I have not been into the valley at that time - usually Dec-Jan-Feb. But I don't think the heat would be extreme in March.

Crowds on the other hand, sort of depend on the wildflower blooms - which are dependent on winter rain. This past spring I understand they had record numbers of visitors. It was a very rainy winter.

Pat2003

Thank you John for all your help. I know we are going be warm but not too warm in the valley but would like hike to Wildrose so maybe it won't be possible. We won't even think about Telescope Peak in March. We are hooked on Death Valley so it won't be our last trip. There are so many Canyons to hike in.
As to wildflowers I wish at least some of them will bloom next spring.

Mama

Hilary, topping for you. we too took a couple easy hikes in Death valley