Two days in Death Valley

[UKTrevor]

I am staying at a hotel on N Sepulveda Blvd, El Seguno, close to LA International Airport and will check out on the morning of the 22nd. I have looked on Google Maps and planned I-105, I-210 and I-15 to get to US-395.

However, as I said, this will be my first visit to the West Coast so I am totally ignorant of what are the best/most scenic routes to take. Any advice would be appreciated.

I am now booked into the Furnace Creek Ranch for the 22nd and 23rd. My plan is then to arrive in Las Vegas mid afternoon on the 24th.

Trevor

[Mark Sedenquist]

I am staying at a hotel close to LA International Airport and will check out on the morning of the 22nd. I have looked on Google Maps and planned I-105, I-210 and I-15 to get to US-395.

Trevor,

Since you are driving a convertible and looking for a cruise.... This is what I would do... The Century Freeway (I-105) never actually reaches the I-210 in this universe.... but go ahead and take it east to the Harbor Fwy (I-110) and head north through downtown LA, hop briefly on the Golden State Fwy (I-5) to SR-2 and take that all of the way to the I-210 (heading east) and almost immediately get off on SR-2 (again) and follow the Angeles Crest Highway up into the mountains. At the Clear Creek Ranger Station you are going to turn north again on the Angeles Forest Highway and follow that over the crest and down to the Pearlblossom Highway where you will hop back on the freeway at SR-14 headed north. It only looks complicated in text -- in person it will seem logical. If you weren't interested in driving these mountain roads you can reach this point on SR-14 by following I-5 north to SR-14.

Stay on SR-14 as you zoom north through the Antelope Valley (you will now be a parallel course with US-395) Keep going until you pass the road to California City and go another mile or so and turn east on the Randsburg Red Rock Road (this is a short-cut, believe me?) Take a few moments to drive around Randsburg and Johannesburg -- old mining towns -- clawing their way back to life and you will see that you have found US-395.

At this point, you can either follow US-395 up the Indian Wells Valley all the way to SR-190 at Olancha and then east over to Death Valley...

Or you can zip up the Trona Road, past Ridgecrest to SR-178. Just before you reach the Westend Chemical Plant there is a dirt road off to the south with signs for Pinnacles National Monument. It is a cool place for photos -- the Planet of the Apes was filmed here and many. many others. Your convertible can make the trip!

Then you return to SR-178 and keep driving north -- it will appear that you will follow SR-178 all the way to SR-190, but this is an illusion. When you do reach SR-190 turn left a couple of miles for a cool one at the Panamint Springs Cafe and then head for Death Valley.

I am now booked into the Furnace Creek Ranch for the 22nd and 23rd. My plan is then to arrive in Las Vegas mid afternoon on the 24th.

Sounds reasonable.

Mark

[cool]

As one of the crust scratchers of Death Valley, I would like to add Golden canyon & natural bridge to your "places to see" list. The canyon goes on and on, but you can see it a lil bit. Maybe a mile or so.
Zabriske & badwater iare amazing places for sunrise. Both are comparitively closer to Furnace Creek Ranch.
I would also suggest to do the canyons in the afternoon(sun right abv) or eve(amazing colours) to get good pictures.
And the most important "must-do" in Death Valley:Come out at night and look up to the sky. Sky is practically lit up with stars.
Walk on the dunes is good as well(sunset).
Its a shame to do Artist palette drive anytime other than just before sunset. Its just awesome. You can do some slot canyon walk there..
Gorgeous....

Our Editor knows a lot about the area. Just thought would chip in as I'd been there last winter...

Have fun planning!
You are going to one of the best places on earth.

cool

[Mark Sedenquist]

As one of the crust scratchers of Death Valley,

Cool, What is a crust scratcher?

I would like to add Golden canyon & natural bridge to your "places to see" list.

Hole-in-the-Wall Canyon is also pretty amazing -- but he won't be able to get any passenger vehicle more than about 1/8th of a mile up that road!

I would also suggest to do the canyons in the afternoon(sun right abv) or eve(amazing colours) to get good pictures.

True, but Trevor is a little short of time to do it all.

And the most important "must-do" in Death Valley:Come out at night and look up to the sky. Sky is practically lit up with stars.

Absolutely!

Walk on the dunes is good as well(sunset).

Hum, that is too much work for me. I have been up on the top of Kelso Dunes twice for Sunset, but it nearly killed me the last time.

Our Editor knows a lot about the area. Just thought would chip in as I'd been there last winter...

Thanks, did you see my latest article on the area?

You are going to one of the best places on earth.

It may be my favorite place on this earth!

Mark

[cool]

Mark,
By crust scratchers I just meant scratching the crust...:)
Correct me if I am wrong, though.

I wanted to give trevor some options, just, just in case he could squeeze in some time.

We'd walked only a few hills over the kelso. Tallest point in the dunes: I saw it from far. :)
We were camping in Texas Springs and so a major shower was due in the eve. We'd already done Zabriske(5 am), Ubehebe, Scotty's, Mosaic...Too much driving, too hot of course, we could not go further than where we were on the dunes.

I remember the name "hole-in-the-wall". I could not go there as we did not have a 4wd as well. I meant the "Natural bridge". Just opp to the devil's golf course. I remember driving up some gravel road, but it was similar to the drive to mosaic canyon.

Hope I was clear this time!

Thanks to Trevor and Mark for bringing back instances from my trip. I am enjoying it all over again.
cool

[Mark Sedenquist]

Mark,
My crust scratchers are just scratching the crust...:)

Oh, I see, as in "just scratching the surface"! I thought you were some kind of amateur geologist or something!

Mark

[cool]

Oh, I see, as in "just scratching the surface"! I thought you were some kind of amateur geologist or something!

Mark

Oh! I wish I was....

[Mark Sedenquist]

I am now booked into the Furnace Creek Ranch for the 22nd and 23rd. My plan is then to arrive in Las Vegas mid afternoon on the 24th.

Trevor, Since I knew you were coming this way, I drove both approach routes over the last couple of days to check on road conditions. Here are my latest recommendations....

Wildrose Road is open again and while it remains one of my favorite, least-traveled paved roads in the park, having just driven both routes and remembering what a thrill it can be when you approach Death Valley from the west the first time I am going to revise my ealier recommendation. Before that, one tidbit about Wildrose... The section between Wildrose Campground and the Panamint Valley Road that winds down the Wildrose Canyon has a couple of places where the pavement has been eroded away by the springs in the area. But it is all passable for a passenger car. There is a really neat picnic area about half way down the canyon with some old stone works and it is a fun place to explore.

But I had the immense good pleasure to drive CA-190 from US-395 yesterday as the late afternoon sun was producing that "raking light" that we photographers love. It was, in a word, STUNNING and so instead of taking the route through Ridgecrest by the Trona Pinnacles, I would urge you to stay on US-395 and follow the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (you will enjoy the route) all the way to the town of Olancha. Along the way you can stop at the Fossil Falls Recreation site (about a mile past Little Lake) pretty amazing lava tubes and lava falls in the area.

At Olanche take CA-190 to the northwest (on your left-hand side you will be driving past the immense Owens Lake). Owens Lake was "drained" by the LA Department of Water and Power to provide drinking water to Los Angeles. What you will see now is an extremely costly effort to "re-water" this ancient lake bed and cut down the immense dust clouds that have formed here in the past few decades.

As soon as you cross the the Talc City Hills you will gain your first glimpses of the majestic Death Valley. Be sure to stop at the Father Crowley Point overlook on the edge of Rainbow Canyon (and take those 15 mph road speeds seriously!) as you wind down to the Panamint Springs Resort. Stop in and have a cup of coffee -- Rosemary is usually there (she acts as the motel desk clerk, bartender, waitress and font of desert lore). Check out the immense burl that forms the bar's countertop. Originally crafted for major casino bar in Lake Tahoe -- get Rosemary to tell you the tale of what it is doing on the edge of Death Valley.

As you cllimb to the top of Towne Pass (4963 feet) keep looking back to the west -- if you have the good fortune to travel this section in late afternoon -- the shadows on the Panamint Dunes are awesome and you may well see some of the fighter planes practicing in Saline Valley to the north.

But wait until you see the effects of the raking light (again in late afternoon) on the Funeral Mountains as you drive through the Devil's Cornfield just east of Stove Pipe Wells. You have to see it to believe it.

So, that is my recommendation for your approach route!

Mark

[UKTrevor]

Thanks for the information and advice Mark...and you too Cool. My personal 'Discovery of America' will take me to San Francisco and northern California next year but after reading both your comments it is obvious that spending just two days in Death Valley is actually an insult to this world famous area.

2008 looks like being scheduled for a longer return visit.

I am actually quite pleased that you have re-routed my entry into Death Valley Mark. When I first looked at this trip I thought the section of CA-190 as it enters Death Valley looked a really stunning drive.

I really want to see as much as I can and there would appear to be several places where sunrise/sunset it the best time of day to experience them. Unfortunately 'several places' divided by two days just doesn't work.....all the more reason for a second visit :-). The enthusiasm and affection Cool

You are going to one of the best places on earth.

and you

It may be my favorite place on this earth!

show for Death Valley have really got me excited about visiting!

Moving on, if I could, there are a couple of other queries you may be able to help me out with. I plan to take a bus tour of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Am I better booking in advance via the internet or are bookings (and better deals!) availabe through the hotels -I am staying at the Luxor.

Also, I have a day to drive from Las Vegas back to Los Angeles. I see that the route will take me past the Mojave National Preserve. I know that this is onother place that needs days to do it justice, not hours, but considering I could spend 2 or 3 hours there - is there one thing/place I should see?

Trevor

[Mark Sedenquist]

Also, I have a day to drive from Las Vegas back to Los Angeles. I see that the route will take me past the Mojave National Preserve. I know that this is onother place that needs days to do it justice, not hours, but considering I could spend 2 or 3 hours there - is there one thing/place I should see?

Trevor, I would drive to the Hole-in-the-Wall campground area to see the twisted topography (there was wildfire in the park last year, and I don't know what happened with it) and I would stop by the Kelso Depot -- this is the visitor's center for the park and really well done.

Mark