DEATH VALLEY TRIP

[TGK]

My wife and I will be picking up our new Grandby Shell in Woodland on 3/22 and plan on heading down to Death Valley for the 1st time. We don't have to be back to Portland until 4/3 so we have some time to explore the area. I've been reading a variety of the Death Valley threads and viewing some of the great photos on the forum as well as taking notes on "must see" sights. Between the forums and some of the other web sites I've been on it seems like they've been having some wet weather down that way. I assume we will have to play it by ear regarding which roads are open or not once we get down there. We are putting the shell on a '99 Ford Super Duty 4x4. We had a Grandby camper on the truck for 7 years and sold it 5 years ago. This time, were going with a shell. We are experienced back road drivers with quite a bit of time logged all over Oregon, particularly the high desert , as well as some of our NW neighbors. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding the best route to take from Woodland into Death Valley. What's the quickest vs most interesting/scenic, etc.

Thanks,

TK

 

[Sam]

My wife and I will be picking up our new Grandby Shell in Woodland on 3/22 and plan on heading down to Death Valley for the 1st time. We don't have to be back to Portland until 4/3 so we have some time to explore the area. I've been reading a variety of the Death Valley threads and viewing some of the great photos on the forum as well as taking notes on "must see" sights. Between the forums and some of the other web sites I've been on it seems like they've been having some wet weather down that way. I assume we will have to play it by ear regarding which roads are open or not once we get down there. We are putting the shell on a '99 Ford Super Duty 4x4. We had a Grandby camper on the truck for 7 years and sold it 5 years ago. This time, were going with a shell. We are experienced back road drivers with quite a bit of time logged all over Oregon, particularly the high desert , as well as some of our NW neighbors. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding the best route to take from Woodland into Death Valley. What's the quickest vs most interesting/scenic, etc.

Thanks,

TK



I'm a Death Valley rookie, so I'll let the experienced DV folks give you real suggestions. I did just return from DV. We took Saline Valley Rd. off 190, camped near the Saline Valley Rd/ Ubehebe Rd junction & were welcomed in the morning by beautiful sunshine and military fighter jets buzzing the valley floor, it was very cool. We then hesitantly took the Ubehebe Rd, we tried this same route 2 years prior but were turned back after running into mud that threatened to slide our truck right off the cliff. The mud there is like nothing I have ever seen. This time we were successful, after negotiating some washed out sections of trail that were VERY narrow for a full size truck we made it to the top. We were glad we chose to try the road, it offered some awesome views, somewhat challenging driving and at the end we were a short distance from the Racetrack Playa which you MUST see!

As far as a route from Woodland, for the most scenic route (and most hot springs) I would take I-5 South from Woodland to I-80 West or Hwy 50 West to Hwy 395 South. If there are storms & snow in Tahoe when you are down and you don't want to deal with that, you could take I-5 South to Hwy 4 East (Stockton) to Hwy 99 South to Hwy 58 East (Bakersfield) this route is all freeway and all ugly & dirty. With this route you end up going South then have to come back North to get to Death Valley. Keep in mind that I-I-80, Hwy 50, & 58 are really your only options over the Sierras during the winter. Any other roads/Hwy you see on a map are closed until the snow melts.

 

[SunMan]

As far as scenic and interesting goes, take HWY 395 without a doubt. If you are going to Portland it's probably the quickest too. Sounds like you'll be timing the bloom just about right. Congrats on the new rig.

 

[ski3pin]

Springtime and wildflowers in the desert........be sure and check
http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/wildflower-update-2010.htm
so much to see in Death Valley, you won't be disappointed. 395 is the route to take, just pay attention to weather and road conditions. Check here:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

 

[craig333]

Be sure to check out the DV gallery on this site.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&module=cats&do=sc&cat=12

 

[TGK]

Thanks for the input. We explored the Mojave 10 years ago and, on another trip, took in Anza Borrego and Joshua Tree. As noted earlier, this will be our 1st time to Death Valley. We're looking forward to an escape from the Oregon rain and, hopefully, some heat. We will be camping out of the bare Grandby Shell for the trip but it will give us a good feel for the modifications we want to add later on. The intent is to keep it simple.

TK

 

[DirtyDog]

On your way too or from Death Valley, spend a night in the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine. You won't regret it.

 

[Jack]

Our favorite spot in Death Valley is Saline Hot Springs. We will, in fact, be there next weekend. These are three of the most fabulous hot springs in the west, but it's clothing optional, so if that's not your cup of tea, Sam's suggestions will not disappoint. Google Saline valley Hot Springs to get an idea. If you need directions, just post. There's lots of folks on WtW that will be happy to help out.

On your way back, consider taking 395 to Reno, then I80 to Winnemuca, north on US95 to state 140, then 140 to US97 above Klamath Falls, and then any of several routes back to Portland. Th I80 stretch is great country, but it's an interstate. Route 140 through Utah and central OR is, however, spectacular. There is a very nice, uncrowded campground on the out skirts 4 mi south of Winnenuca. The road to it is not well marked, but ask for directions - everyone knows about it. There's no shortage of roads to pull off of on 140 to camp wild. If you don't have time to do 140, US 395 up to Lake view is not a bad second choice.

We are back and forth between Portland and LA with some frequency and this is the best of the routes that we have found.

 

[TGK]

After the multiple recommendations for the Saline Valley, looks like we will add the that to our itinerary. Clothing optional is actually our preference, as we have made a point of exploring all of SE Oregon (and parts of NW Nevada) over the past 25 years and hot springs are always on the top of our list. However, we really haven't explored California that much. I understand there are two ways to get into the Saline Valley, is one preferred over the other? Now that my wife is retired from teaching, we have a lot more flexibility with time for heading in to the boonies. She has been scoping out some of the hot springs off of 395 that sounded interesting and I'm curious if anyone has any comments or suggestions about springs in Long Valley or the Keough Hot Ditch. Or any other good ones for that matter.

Since we won't be picking up the FWC Shell until the 22nd, we likely won't be down into Death Valley until the 23rd or 24th. Looks like a pretty large expanse with a lot to see, so I'm not sure we will be able to take it all in given we need to be back to PDX on the 2nd or 3rd. I also assume the road conditions might dictate what we can or cannot get to. I understand it has been pretty wet although I imagine if the heat cranks up, it can dry out quickly. Anyway, the tips are much appreciated.

 

[Jack]

Check road conditions http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/road-conditions.htm

Right now it shows both the north and south pass roads closed. But call the Interagency Center in Lone Pine (760) 876-6222 when you get close. The roads are actually maintained by Inyo county, and sometimes the "Road Closed" sign is still up on the access roads even when the road is open. You can also get to Saline Valley from the Racetrack, but I am not familiar with that route.

Figure on 2 hours of 10-30mph road on the North pass route and 2-3 hours on the South pass route - depending on your suspension and if you air-down. The North pass is almost 7000ft and the South pass is about 6000ft, so the South pass usually opens first. The South pass also has a hairy drop-off for about 1/4 mile but the road is extra wide at that point. We prefer the North pass even coming in from the south - it's almost the same amount of time to the springs and the bumpier part of the road is shorter.

The turn off to the springs may not be marked or may have a "closed" sign. Ignore any "closed" sign at this point. The turn off is in the sand dunes section of the Saline Vally road and is well marked by tire tracks. Your GPS may or may not show the road to the springs. If you have CA Benchmark map (highly recommended), the road is marked and you can find it by GPS coordinates.

Be sure to carry chains and to gas-up just before leaving the 395. Take plenty of water and food and check the weather while you are there. In March, a storm can close the passes, so once you are there, you may want to leave earlier if there is a chance of the passes closing. You also have to pack out everything except aluminum cans.

All services and supplies at the springs are provided by volunteers, so it is suggested that you bring in one or more of the following: package or two of toilet paper, gallon of bleach and/or brushes for cleaning the pools. The toilets are the standard NPS cement blocks and the NPS does send in the honey-dipper to empty them. The NPS also provides a camp host with a satellite phone and some emergency supplies. ATT put up a cell tower recently, and I am told that you can get ATT cell service near the bat pole. When you pass the bat pole coming in, you will immediately recognize that that is what it is. The volunteer maintenance means that these springs are extremely well taken care of.

There are two upper pools and several lower pools (one large one), about 3/4 mile apart. The lower poll is very nicely shaded by palm trees. We have learned to bring along a patio table umbrella for the upper pools during the hotter months, but in March, you won't need one.

The only other hot springs on the 395 that we have tried were the Serpentine springs. Interesting, but too close to town. There are a couple of hot springs books available at Powells that provide a wealth of info on west coast hot springs. I can very highly recommend the Alvord desert hot spring (between Steens mountain and the Alvord playa). I'm also told that the Hart mountain hot spring is well worth it. We plan to check that one out this summer.

I'm up in Portland right now and if you want more info, send me a PM and we can talk.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

I understand there are two ways to get into the Saline Valley, is one preferred over the other? Now that my wife is retired from teaching, we have a lot more flexibility with time for heading in to the boonies. She has been scoping out some of the hot springs off of 395 that sounded interesting and I'm curious if anyone has any comments or suggestions about springs in Long Valley or the Keough Hot Ditch. Or any other good ones for that matter.




Hi TGK,

395 is for sure the scenic route from Tahoe south to DV; however, US 95 is also an alternate route back to OR, especially if the weather is bad or you visit Scotty's on the way out of the park to the north. On the way back to OR on 95 you will pass the former boomtowns of Goldfield and Tonapah.

If you can get into Saline Valley be sure to have tires with good tread and beefy sidewalls, maybe a second spare, and chains for all four wheels. Those washboarded roads have many sharp stones and produce plenty of flats and the mud and snow can be a problem this time of year.

To my knowledge, there are four auto routes into Saline Valley. There is a route from Eureka Dunes to Saline Hot Springs through Steel Pass but my guess is your camper will be too wide to fit through the narrows. Then there is the (scary!) dirt road from the Racetrack (Lippencott Mine) which is steep, narrow, washed out and off-camber but there are reports in this forum about people making it (with only slight damage!) while carrying pop-ups. The north and south roads are the most often used but conditions on either may be marginal in the winter because they both go over high passes. Jack's comments above are correct.

The hot spring at Keough ditch is nothing special but is a clean and lightly used desert hot spring. Now that Hot Creek State Park is closed to bathing (some people were boiled, I think), you are left with the many other warm springs in the Mammoth area. We used to just drive around the dirt roads north and south of Benton Crossing Rd until we found an unoccupied one.

Camp at Texas Springs if you stay in the Furnace Creek area.

Good luck on your trip and post some photos.

 

[Jack]

Found the following web site with excellent current info on Saline valley road conditions:
http://forum.salinepreservation.org/?forum=162656

 

[SunMan]

A great site indeed. Without a doubt it has the best eye witness up to date road conditions that i've found.