# Death Valley Np - Next Week - Trip Completed!!



## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

We are headed out Monday for our first trip of 2011. We are headed to Death Valley NP. It looks like the temp will be in the mid 90's so it should not be too bad. It is Easter break, so it may be pretty busy.

We have never been there before, so if anyone has any suggestions...

(BTW - I am taking a couple of Honda Generators so I can run the AC if needed.)


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

SLO Outbacker said:


> We are headed out Monday for our first trip of 2011. We are headed to Death Valley NP. It looks like the temp will be in the mid 90's so it should not be too bad. It is Easter break, so it may be pretty busy.
> 
> We have never been there before, so if anyone has any suggestions...
> 
> (BTW - I am taking a couple of Honda Generators so I can run the AC if needed.)


Awesome! Have a great trip! BTW, which way are you coming in? A couple of years ago we came up 178 and turned right onto 190 and that was a HELL of a climb! I was







a bit on that grade. Relatively short, but very steep! We stayed in the Furnace Creek campground. Once there, then we filled up our water tank. Here's a link to my photo gallery from our trip during the Christmas/New Years break just to peak your excitement. Enjoy!

Death Valley 2008/2009


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

From your pics it looks like it was a great trip.

My plan was to go 58 to 14 then up 395 then east on 190. Then down to Furnace Creek.

I had thought about 178. Was the steep hill between Lake Isabella to Ridgecrest or east of Ridgecrest. It has been a long time since I drove that road, and that was in my 280Z not pulling a trailer. Not that I mind a little adventure...

I just hope we are not too late in the year. It may get warm.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

We went there back in February and have been going every Feb for the last 15 years. I assume you're staying in the Furnace Creek campground which is the best place to stay with a trailer. You'll have fun, here's a list of some of the places we like to go to while there.

- Badwater
- Dantes View
- Mosiac Canyon
- Titus Canyon, cool drive as long as it's not raining.
- Sand Dunes, bring some plastic snow disks and you can slide down the dunes.
- Scottys Castle
- Salt Creek

Also if you like golfing there is a course right there. Bring your swim suits as well, there is a heated pool at the nearby Furnace Creek Ranch and you can sneak in there from the campground as long as it's not busy. We've only been locked out of the pool once in the last 15 years. The campground and surrounding area is pretty good for riding bikes.

We live just south of Tehachapi and the route you describe will work but highway 190 from the 395 to Panamint Valley is not fun towing a trailer. I would also not recommend taking the 178 from Bakersfield to the 14, just stick with hwy 58. Here's the way we normally go and it's the shortest possible route.

- North on Hwy 14 (you can get on the 14 from the 58 just north of Mojave)
- About 18 miles north of the 14/58 junction take a right turn on Randsburg Road
- Follow Randsburg road for about 15 miles and when you get to a junction stay left on Garlock Rd and after about 10 miles you'll intersect with Hwy 395.
- Turn left onto Hwy 395 going north (theres a pretty steep climb as soon as you get onto 395).
- Go north on Hwy 395 for about 3 miles and then take a right turn on Searles Station Cutoff. Continue north on this road until you get to Trona Rd. Be careful at the first railroad crossing you come to as it's really rough. I lost the hubcaps off of our popup the first time we went through there.
- Turn Left when you get to Trona Road and continue north until you get to Hwy 178.
- Turn Right onto Hwy 178 and this will take you through Trona and the Panamint Valley until you reach Hwy 190. I would recommend filling up with gas in Trona since it's the last place to get fuel before you get to the Park where gas is very expensive. There is a gas station with diesel on the left as you go through town and it's a little bit of work to get in with the trailer but it can be done. There is also a Chevron station but in Feb it was closed for some reason.
- Just as you are leaving Trona watch your speed as the road has an odd waviness that can really get the truck and trailer bouncing if you're going too fast. It's less than a mile but trust me if you hit it too fast it will not be much fun, 45 to 50 mph should be fine.
- 30 miles north of Trona turn left onto Panamint Valley road. It's well marked as the main route to Death Valley and it would be hard to miss the turn. 
- When you get to Hwy 190 turn right and go east. It's fairly flat for the first couple of miles and then you start some really serious climbing. This hill will give your truck a good workout, just take your time. The road peaks out at about 5,000 ft and then you start descending into Death Valley. Be careful on the downhill as it's also long and steep. The grades vary between 8 and 9% most of the time on this climb.

You can see the route I describe by looking up the area on maps.google.com. If this route is too much trouble then the next best plan is to take the 14 north until you reach the 178 (near Ridgecrest) and then go east on the 178 through Ridgecrest and on through Trona. This is only about 12 miles further and is a bit simpler to follow. Also going through Ridgecrest there are more fuel and food opportunities.

As Herbicidal mentioned, I would wait to fill up your fresh water tank when you get to the campground. After we check in I normally drive through the campground to the dump station and they have a fresh water fill point just as you exit the dump area. This will say hauling a bunch of weight up and down the hills.

If you have any questions feel free to let me know.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Yeah, what he said.







MJRey hooked me up with those EXACT directions for my trip, well maybe the 2nd half of those.







We did the steep grade on 190 heading East. AND he's not kidding about the downhill into Death Valley. Just take it easy on the decent.

We had a wonderful time! The only bummer was the sun set so fast! At that time of year it dropped behind the mountains to the west @ 4:30pm. But the stars were AMAZING!!!

Have a safe and fun trip!


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks for the great feedback. Nothing beats local, first-hand knowledge. That is what I like about this site.

I looked at the route MJ Rey suggested and I think I will do that.

I am thinking about tossing in my telescope for star gazing as well.

Keep the ideas coming...


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

I don't know how many days you plan to spend in the park, but my suggestion would be to divide it up into several areas, then plan a day of exploration in that area and so forth. We drove over 500 miles just in the park!!! If you make it up to Scotty's Castle (we did the "underground tour"), check out the Ubehebe (love saying that name!) crater as it is only 8 miles away. Then, if you're up for a little dusty driving, continue on out to the "Race Track". This is where the 'moving rocks' are. I think they tend to congregate near the S.E corner. The road is improved gravel, your vehicle would handle it just fine. We wanted to do the Titus Canyon road (one way only) but there was too much snow. I really wanted to explore more of the 4x4 trails, but we ran out of time. Another spot for a fantastic view of Death Valley is from Aguereberry Point. There are SO MANY places to explore! I would love to go back one day!


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Definitely take your telescope. I took mine and had some fantastic views until the moon came up.


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## Grover (Jul 19, 2010)

I was in Death Valley from April 4 through April 8. I came from south of Lake Isabella on 178. I went north on 14-178 and into Inyokern where I got fuel. I tow a Outback Sydney 325FRE and nee room to get in and out. The stations in Ridgecrest and Trona are not really handy. I stayed in Panamint Springs, We traveled in the tow vehicle to Scotties Castle and to Darwin Falls.

Gas at Stovepipe Wells was $4.81 and at Panamint Springs it was $5.21. We did not get to Furnace Creek so I have no Idea how much it is there.

I do not like going up or down Hwy 190 to travel so I always come in through Trona.


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

We made it back from Death Valley! What a great trip. Everything went pretty well overall. We took the route that was suggested by MJRey which was perfect. It was about a 7 hour trip including a couple of quick stops. Glad I filled up in Tehachipi since gas in Trona was either closed or pretty inaccessible. Made it to Stovepipe Wells where the gas was ONLY $4.88. (Compared to $5.69 at Furnace Creek for 87 and $5.97 for 91 and diesel) Stovepipe Wells only had 87 Octane, but that was fine for my rig.

We ended up "camping" at the Furnace Creek Resort since they had a full hook-up site available so we could run AC all we wanted too. Plus the boys enjoyed the pool. It turned out to be the right decision though since it stayed pretty warm until after midnight and in the NP campgrounds the generators have to be shut down at 7:00 pm. Temp was in the mid to upper 90's every afternoon.

We saw many of the sites suggested and had some great hikes. It is the ned of the season there so it was not crowded at all. One bummer was the street lights in the resort made it bad for stargazing, so my telescope was a bust this trip. We will definitely go back.

I did see another Outback camped at Sunset Campground but never saw any people around it so I am not sure if they are "Outbackers".

Our trip back on Thursday was the biggest adventure. We had at least a 30-40 mph headwind. It made my Tahoe work a bit to tow our trailer. At one point I was in second gear on a flat to slightly downhill grade to maintain 45-50 mph. But overall I was pleased with the way the rig handled the wind. I did not have my stabilizer on my hitch and still had no sway to the rig even when I turned crosswind.

We did end up camping about half way home in Red Rock Canyon, which also was a great place.

I will try to post some pics later this week. Just wanted to say thanks for all the input I received before hand. It was helpful.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Excellent! Glad to hear the trip was a success!


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Glad to hear the trip went well. We've always gone in February and never needed to run the AC. It's a good place to go in January through March just make sure you have reservations if you go on Presidents day weekend in Feb since that's one of their busiest weekends. Red Rock Canyon is also a nice place to camp but it can get very windy there as you experienced.


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