Death Valley National Park

[Hornbeliever 712]

We will be in Yosemite and then Mammoth in late June.  Death Valley National Park is close by and we have an extra day to swing by, checking off a National Park.

Anyone ever been there during the summer?  How horrible an idea is it to drive around the park for the day in late June?  

[conVINCEd 21469]

It’s a dry heat.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4780]

1 hour ago, Hornbeliever said:

We will be in Yosemite and then Mammoth in late June.  Death Valley National Park is close by and we have an extra day to swing by, checking off a National Park.

Anyone ever been there during the summer?  How horrible an idea is it to drive around the park for the day in late June?  

 

[harold 81]

Do sequoia/king’s canyon instead.  The drive from the south entrance through the garden of the giants is beyond description.

[Hornbeliever 712]

21 minutes ago, harold said:

Do sequoia/king’s canyon instead.  The drive from the south entrance through the garden of the giants is beyond description.

We actually are doing that too so glad you agree on that stop....but since we are close by and staying at friends cabin in Mammoth for a few days, we started considering adding DVNP. 

Luckily this can be last second addition (or cancelation) due to fact that it would be a one day drive by with no hotel required.  Is it worth crossing off one more national park?  Hmmmmm

[otisdog 365]

Kinda a haul south to Death Valley, you wouldn't get to spend much time there if it was a day trip. Spend the day bopping' around the June Lake Loop (looks like Switzerland) hit Silver Lake Cafe for the best breakfast in the eastern Sierra, maybe hit the Bodie ghost town.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Yea, I wouldn’t say Death Valley is a quick trip from Mammoth. I used to hang out in mammoth all the time when I lived in California. June lake loop is a fine idea, the beer at June Lake Brewing is tasty and the Tiger Bar makes a quality Bloody Mary. 
 

If you really want to check Death Valley off your list you could try hiking telescope peak. It’s a long hike but gets up to 11,000 feet and you can look down on badwater basin. Highest top to bottom vertical relief in the states. 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Johnny Chimpo

[Hornbeliever 712]

10 hours ago, otisdog said:

Kinda a haul south to Death Valley, you wouldn't get to spend much time there if it was a day trip. Spend the day bopping' around the June Lake Loop (looks like Switzerland) hit Silver Lake Cafe for the best breakfast in the eastern Sierra, maybe hit the Bodie ghost town.

Our plan, if we do it, would be to leave LA straight for DVNP and drive around a bit and get to Mammoth in the evening.  Would I normally do this?  Hell no. 

I lived in LA for two years and never made it there (would go to Mammoth)....so is a tough day of driving worth it to check off this park is our question.  It ain't ever happening if we don't do it on this trip (and I wouldn't be that sad if it never happens).

[otisdog 365]

Okay, that's different.  Death Valley itself, and most of the touristy sites are in the eastern part of the park, located near the Nevada border and is easiest accessed from there. It would be a very long day accessing that area from the west via 395.  If you just want to 'touch base' inside the national park, you could head east from Olancha on 190 to Panamint Springs. Not much there, but you will pass the Father Crowley overlook, where you can watch the Navy fighter jets out of Lemoore or Fallon blast down 'Star Wars Canyon' below you @ 600+ mph. There's a lot of cool sand dunes in the park, Eureka being my fav...it's a washboard dirt road, as are many in the park. Take plenty of water, and most of the park does not have cell service. If you have mechanical problems, don't leave your car! Many folks die within a half mile of their vehicle when they 'went looking for help.'

Still recommend a drive on the June Lake Loop, it's about 30 miles north of Mammoth.  The 'Whoa Nellie Deli' at the Mobil Station at the base of Tioga Pass a bit further north has good grub and often live music, but beware of the seagulls when eating outside - I lost a New York steak to one when i left the table to get pepper.

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by otisdog
directions

[Carl Spackler 3488]

Going from LA to DVNP and then to Mammoth Lakes in one day is going to be packing an awful lot into that day.  LA directly to Mammoth Lakes is 4.5 hours or so by itself, which wouldn't leave much time for a side excursion to check out DVNP if you want to get up to Mammoth Lakes by the evening.  As Otis mentioned, you could maybe shoot into the west entrance of DVNP by taking Highway 190 east from the Olancha area and see Crowley Point, which is a great view.  You might have enough time to do the hike to Darwin Falls.  But that's about it.  I wouldn't recommend going down into the valley proper in late June -- it's going to be hot down on the valley floor.  Stay at higher elevations where it's cooler.  As Otis said, take plenty of water -- more than you think you'll need.

FWIW, if you're a U2 fan, the site of the joshua tree that was on the cover of their album The Joshua Tree is located a short hike off Highway 190 not far outside of DVNP.  If you google "location of U2 joshua tree," all kinds of websites will pop up that can provide the exact location, including GPS coordinates.  The tree itself died several years ago and is now a carcass on the ground, but the site still sees a lot of pilgrimages by U2 fans and music fans in general.  They leave all kinds of memorabilia and other shit out there, including a heavy-ass plaque.  The wife (no pics) and I found it one time for kicks when we were coming back from a trip up to Mammoth and we had some time on our hands.  It's like a 5-10 minute hike from the side of the highway if you know where you're going.  It's an interesting little side-side-trip that probably wouldn't eat up more than 30 minutes or an hour at most.  But, again, it's very likely to be quite hot in that area during the day in late June, so make sure you know exactly where the location is when you park your car and start walking, take water with you, wear comfortable shoes, etc., even though it's only a short hike from the highway to the site of the tree.  

If you get dissuaded from doing the side trip into DVNP, you still have some other options.  The Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine are very cool -- the site of many movies over the years.  Easily drivable (the roads are soft dirt) and some short hikes make it fun for kids . . . assuming you'll have kids in tow.  Kids love climbing on the rocks.  You can spend anywhere from an hour to half a day in the Hills.  There's also a pretty good little film museum in Lone Pine that focuses on all the films that have been made through the years in the Lone Pine area.

Or stop at the Manzanar National Historic Site right off Highway 395 between Lone Pine and Independence.  Well worth a few hours or even a half day.  Terrific visitor's center with a lot of informative exhibits, movies, etc., and you can also drive around the area that formerly served as the intern camp, get out and walk to where buildings once stood, etc.  There's also an obelisk-like memorial.  Visiting Manzanar is going to be very interesting (and sobering) for anyone with even a passing interest in WW2 or history in general.  Frankly, I think you'd probably be better off checking out Manzanar instead of doing the quick side trip into DVNP simply because (as Otis mentioned) most of the cool things to see in DVNP are either located in the eastern side of the park in the Furnace Creek area which will take extra time getting to and where it will likely be hot as hell, or are closed for repairs (Scotty's Castle).   Save DVNP for some other time (esp. the spring, when the flowers are blooming and the temps are comfortable) when you have more time to explore it.   

 

 

   

[Biff Tannen 45695]

On 6/9/2022 at 5:03 AM, Hornbeliever said:

Is it worth crossing off one more national park?  Hmmmmm

Yes

[kibbles 70]

Mammoth is worth all rhe time you can spend there. Mono lake is incredibly weird and there are thermal vents in streams near town. Very relaxing.

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[Johnny Chimpo 478]

I watched the geminids meteor shower from wild willy’s hot springs one year, it was amazing. We were in the hot spring surrounded by snow and the stars were falling. It was the most active meteor shower I’ve ever seen. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Johnny Chimpo

[Brisketexan 105180]

On 6/10/2022 at 2:38 AM, Carl Spackler said:

Or stop at the Manzanar National Historic Site right off Highway 395 between Lone Pine and Independence.  Well worth a few hours or even a half day.  Terrific visitor's center with a lot of informative exhibits, movies, etc., and you can also drive around the area that formerly served as the intern camp, get out and walk to where buildings once stood, etc.  There's also an obelisk-like memorial.  Visiting Manzanar is going to be very interesting (and sobering) for anyone with even a passing interest in WW2 or history in general.  Frankly, I think you'd probably be better off checking out Manzanar instead of doing the quick side trip into DVNP simply because (as Otis mentioned) most of the cool things to see in DVNP are either located in the eastern side of the park in the Furnace Creek area which will take extra time getting to and where it will likely be hot as hell, or are closed for repairs (Scotty's Castle).   Save DVNP for some other time (esp. the spring, when the flowers are blooming and the temps are comfortable) when you have more time to explore it.   

This.

We did the trip up that side several years ago when we went into Yosemite.  We hit Manzanar -- unbelievably powerful, stark, and fascinating.  We stayed in June Lake, that loop is great.  And Mono lake is fascinating, too - we did the tour there, ate brine shrimp live right out of the lake (the guide did it, dared the group to do it, and my kids said "we're not pussies," and followed suit).  There's also a cool little air and space museum in Boron, just west of Kramer Junction (used to have a world-class burger joint there, but the pandemic finally killed it).  Boron is actually a neat little stop, interesting historically.

[otisdog 365]

Two people have died this month in different incidents when they left their car that was out of gas.

[Native Horn 3505]

3 minutes ago, otisdog said:

Two people have died this month in different incidents when they left their car that was out of gas.

Funerals cheaper than filling up?

[Hornbeliever 712]

Our trip was a success so thanks for some of recs.  

We ended up thinking we were going to just hit western top of DNVP (father crowley and Darwin falls) but once there, we said " fuck it, we will never come here again" and decided to drive the extra 90 minutes to badwater basin.  So we saw 80% of park highlights.  Our only personal miss was ubehebe crater but that would have added another one hour to our now 5.5 hour detour on way to Mammoth.

We were all glad we did it (even 6 and 12 year old).  Very beautiful.  Barren.  Hot as shit at 120 degrees.  Will never go there again and that parks username most definitely checks out.

Mammoth was awesome.  Like some did for me, highly recommend June Lake Loop.  We rented kayaks at silver lake and had a great time rowing around.  Mammoth restaurants were all good.

Also recommend the devils postpile and rainbow falls hike.  We barely made it as hike maxed out my 6 year old with that uphill on way back....But again, everyone had fun.

Then after relaxing in Mammoth for those few days, we hit up Yosemite.  2nd prettiest place in contiguous USA with all of us voting Grand Tetons a bit higher.  Still a Cindy Crawford but we had just seen Elle Mcpherson the summer before.  (Sidenote:  only prettier place I've ever seen than grand tetons is Machu picchu)

Finished trip with Sequoia National Park to see the trees.  Kids learned a ton there.  Not as pretty as other areas (again, still gorgeous)....But we were also tired and never got to Kings Canyon so can't fully rate that area.  Also, take Dramamine when driving here because road is non-stop winding loops for an hour.

Final comment is holy shit is California in a drought.  So dry.  Thought we were dry here in Texas and.....nope.

 

[Biff Tannen 45695]

1 hour ago, Hornbeliever said:

Our trip was a success so thanks for some of recs.  

We ended up thinking we were going to just hit western top of DNVP (father crowley and Darwin falls) but once there, we said " fuck it, we will never come here again" and decided to drive the extra 90 minutes to badwater basin.  So we saw 80% of park highlights.  Our only personal miss was ubehebe crater but that would have added another one hour to our now 5.5 hour detour on way to Mammoth.

We were all glad we did it (even 6 and 12 year old).  Very beautiful.  Barren.  Hot as shit at 120 degrees.  Will never go there again and that parks username most definitely checks out.

Mammoth was awesome.  Like some did for me, highly recommend June Lake Loop.  We rented kayaks at silver lake and had a great time rowing around.  Mammoth restaurants were all good.

Also recommend the devils postpile and rainbow falls hike.  We barely made it as hike maxed out my 6 year old with that uphill on way back....But again, everyone had fun.

Then after relaxing in Mammoth for those few days, we hit up Yosemite.  2nd prettiest place in contiguous USA with all of us voting Grand Tetons a bit higher.  Still a Cindy Crawford but we had just seen Elle Mcpherson the summer before.  (Sidenote:  only prettier place I've ever seen than grand tetons is Machu picchu)

Finished trip with Sequoia National Park to see the trees.  Kids learned a ton there.  Not as pretty as other areas (again, still gorgeous)....But we were also tired and never got to Kings Canyon so can't fully rate that area.  Also, take Dramamine when driving here because road is non-stop winding loops for an hour.

Final comment is holy shit is California in a drought.  So dry.  Thought we were dry here in Texas and.....nope.

 

Awesome on everything.  Kings Canyon is great too, should you ever get back that way.

[Wiler77 1567]

I feel like I can get the gist of Death Valley by standing in my backyard for 5 minutes today.

[Hornbeliever 712]

16 minutes ago, Wiler77 said:

I feel like I can get the gist of Death Valley by standing in my backyard for 5 minutes today.

Yet, DVNP is more suffocating.  But both basically force you into a/c so might as well be same thing.