I know there's a million other posts like this but could really use some advice!

[Southwest Dave]

I am glad you managed to get an extra night in as it was quite clear you wanted it to happen. Without trying to put a 'downer' on it, You will still have 2 long days but it is achievable.

Personally i would try and get an early start from San Fran to Big Sur which will make you feel less rushed and more relaxed and would be looking to stop in the Bakersfield area. A possibility would be to travel on HWY 178 from Bakersfield to Lake Isabella for the night,which would give you a good start the following day as you head for Ridgecrest and onto Death Valley

[SoManyOptions]

Sounds great! Thanks so much for the info!

[Southwest Dave]

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask,if not be sure to look back in and let us know how your trip went,thanks.

Dave

[SoManyOptions]

Ok, so I'm about to embark on the previous mentioned road trip and as far as planning goes it's all looking ok, there's just one thing we are not sure of and I wondered if anyone could help....we are looking to do Bakersfield to Las Vegas in one day and we'd really love to drive through death valley...I know it would only take around 6 hours to do it via the highways but we wanted to try and make it to see at least part of Death Valley....I've looked at the map and seen that there are a few options...as always!

So....we could on the 178 from Bakersfield through Ridgecrest up and then right onto the 190 up to Beatty then onto the 95 down to Vegas (we could turn off before we hit Beatty but I thought that the 95 might be quicker and more direct??) OR we could take the 58 from Bakersfield and then the 15 to Baker, then instead of carrying on on the highway we could head north on the 127 to Shostone then the 178 and 160 across just to try and see a bit of the valley?? This way might be quicker but I don't know if we would get to see any of death valley???

I greatly appreciate all info and recommendations! Thanks.

[AZBuck]

Every route involves trade-offs, of course, and everybody's tastes are a little different, but for my money, the best combination of scenic and efficient drive is to take CA-14/US-395 north out of Mojave (staying west of Ridgecrest) and then use CA-190 through Death Valley. At Death Valley Junction turn north on CA-127/NV-373 to hook up with US-95 south into Las Vegas, At around 380 miles, all on good paved road, that should be doable in a day and still leave a few hours to explore Death Valley.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

So....we could on the 178 from Bakersfield through Ridgecrest up and then right onto the 190 up to Beatty

That route would be fine, but going all the way to Beatty is way out of your way, and given your time frame -- seems counter productive.

This is what I would recommend. Taking CA-178 past Lake Isabella is a pretty route, but since your intention is to see Death Valley, I would cut that part out. What I would suggest is taking CA-58 from Bakersfield to CA-14 at Mojave, (yes this takes you a little farther south --but it is a faster route -- even with all of the truck traffic). Then I head north on CA-14, joining US-395 (do not cut east to Ridgecrest) and follow US-395 all the way to Olancha and then turn east on CA-190.

Going through Ridgecrest is a great route -- but since this is your first time, I would heartily recommend that you use the approach from US-395 because that way you can drive through the Darwin hills as you approach the park -- it is very scenic and should not be missed. Stop at the bar at Panamint Springs for an ice tea/coke -- look at the photos on the wall and then proceed on east on CA-190 over Emigrant Pass into the main section of Death Valley.

Once in Death Valley, go to Furnace Creek, check in at the visitor center, get your pass and depending upon how much time you have (you can be in Las Vegas in an easy three hours -- here is the local's route) you can drive down to the Devil's Golf Course, or the Artist's palette or drive up to the top of Dante's View. You can drive to Las Vegas via Shoshone as AZBuck recommends (it is a nice route) but you can also just use the local's route shown above.

I would leave the route to Scotty's Castle and Beatty for another trip!

Mark