Enthusiast II
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- Michael
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- Lathwood
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25800
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Planning my first trip to Death Valley, need suggestions, info, opinions
- Thread starter LONO100
- Start date
Thanks, we will be bringing 25 gallons of fresh water with us on our trip. I will be starting our trek from the Bay Area into the valley at 0200, hoping to get there by lunch on day one so we can see a few things before setting up camp.
Enthusiast III
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- Scott
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- St Denis
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Hi all, I started this thread a while back and I've used as much of the information you guys have dropped on here as I have been planning this trip. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who chimed in and helped me out with the planning of this trip. I will post a trip report once we return.
I do have a few more questions. According to my rough itinerary, we will be finishing up Titus canyon on day one about 2 hours from sundown. I planned to make the drive to Marble Canyon road to set up camp somewhere in that vicinity right after leaving Titus. My plan is to set up camp right before sundown in the Marble Canyon area. If we make it out of Titus canyon later than planned, where is a good, safe place to set up camp that is closer to Titus canyon in case we can't make the run to Marble Canyon before the sun goes down?
My last question is for anyone that has been out to Death Valley in the last few weeks. How was the weather looking? Lots of people? No people? Thanks again everyone.
I do have a few more questions. According to my rough itinerary, we will be finishing up Titus canyon on day one about 2 hours from sundown. I planned to make the drive to Marble Canyon road to set up camp somewhere in that vicinity right after leaving Titus. My plan is to set up camp right before sundown in the Marble Canyon area. If we make it out of Titus canyon later than planned, where is a good, safe place to set up camp that is closer to Titus canyon in case we can't make the run to Marble Canyon before the sun goes down?
My last question is for anyone that has been out to Death Valley in the last few weeks. How was the weather looking? Lots of people? No people? Thanks again everyone.
If you don’t mind a campground we have exited Titus before and stayed at Mesquite Springs Campground. https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/mesquite-spring-campground.htm
This is a pretty good general overview weather page for DVNP. https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/vef/rec/index.php?loc=DV
This is a pretty good general overview weather page for DVNP. https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/vef/rec/index.php?loc=DV
We've done some dispersed camping on the road to Chloride City in a very similar situation. As long as you're a mile off the pavement and in a previously disturbed area, you should be fine.
It's not the most amazing campsite you'll ever run across but it'll be dark so who cares.
It's not the most amazing campsite you'll ever run across but it'll be dark so who cares.
Enthusiast II
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- Bob
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- McNamara
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Weather has been typical: 70s during the day in the valley and 40-50 at night (cooler higher of course) Thanksgiving week is always busy, grab a campsite early in the day if you want to be in a campground (all but Furnace Creek are first come/first serve). USUALLY the quietest time for almost all National Parks is between Thanksgiving and Christmas, great time to visit! But in "these uncertain times" (COVID) I think it will be pretty busy all winter (unless they close down the parks like last spring)..... You can ALWAYS get away from the crowds by disperse camping, one of the best parts of DV!
Thanks, I will definitely be aiming to camp away from the crowds. I hope it stays open for a few more weeks which will give me and my wife more than enough time to complete our trip.
Check out Stove Pipwells campground. They have fuel and a Convenient Store.
Alerts & Conditions - Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Alerts & Conditions - Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Advocate I
We were literally there 2 weeks ago!
While I can't comment to over landing I can comment that 1) The racetrack is really cool and worth the haul out there 2) Mesquite Springs Campground is nice and was pretty vacant when we were there 3) wildrose peak is a nice ~7.5 mile out and back. We wanted to do telescope peak, but figured we'd wait till its warmer.
While I can't comment to over landing I can comment that 1) The racetrack is really cool and worth the haul out there 2) Mesquite Springs Campground is nice and was pretty vacant when we were there 3) wildrose peak is a nice ~7.5 mile out and back. We wanted to do telescope peak, but figured we'd wait till its warmer.
We were literally there 2 weeks ago!
While I can't comment to over landing I can comment that 1) The racetrack is really cool and worth the haul out there 2) Mesquite Springs Campground is nice and was pretty vacant when we were there 3) wildrose peak is a nice ~7.5 mile out and back. We wanted to do telescope peak, but figured we'd wait till its warmer.
Thanks for the intel! We are saving racetrack and that Northern area for the spring when the rest of our family can go. There is a chance we end up at mesquite on night #1. I can't wait to go!
