Tea House and Table Rock | Furnace Creek Ranch | Death Valley National Park, California
Tea House and Table Rock in Death Valley is a hike that delivers a huge reward in a short time. You will experience expansive 360 degree views of Death Valley. First of all, there are spectacular views up and down the length of Death Valley from the North to the South. Across to the West one can see the entire length of the Panamint Mountain Range. There is even a small cemetery with early explorer grave sites on one of the hills along the route. Route details: Approx. 2-4 Miles Circuit; -190 > about 300ft **No Trails, Navigate Desert** Click image or title above for more…
Rhyolite Ghost Town | Death Valley, Nevada
Of all the early 1900’s gold rush ghost towns in the greater Death Valley area, Rhyolite was the most elaborate with the largest population. Rhyolite grew from a 2-tent mining camp in 1904 to a town with a population of 10,000 including the amenities of much larger U.S. cities of the day by 1907. Then, by 1910 with the decline of gold production in its Montgomery Shoshone Mine, Rhyolite was down to a population of 675. By 1920, only 13 years after its heyday, Rhyolite had only 14 residents. Route details: Wander around the town + high view from surrounding hills and mines. Click image or title above for more…
Return of Lake Manly | Lake in Death Valley | Death Valley National Park, California
Over time, Death Valley floor gradually became one of the lowest, hottest and driest places on earth. Lake Manly slowly evaporated leaving the salt flats at the base of Death Valley. Occasionally, a memory of Lake Manly returns to the floor of Death Valley in times when enough moisture manages to make it over the surrounding mountains. During this wet enough Winter, I had to stop and explore, making it nearly to the middle of the valley, to the shore of the very temporary Lake Manly. Route details: 2-4-mile RT; **Salt Flat, Streams and a Temporary Lake.
Natural Bridge Canyon | Death Valley National Park, California
Natural Bridge Canyon in Death Valley National Park, California, contains one of the most massive and spectacular natural bridges I have seen. The entire area was once a huge alluvial fan of composite rock washed down from the Black Mountains above. Over time the fan hardened, and subsequent floods cut through the fan creating a fairly narrow canyon with high sheer vertical wall borders towering up from 40 to 100ft or more on either side. About a mile up the canyon from the parking area at the canyon’s entrance there is a massive natural bridge formed when water tunneled through the composite rock. Route details: Approx. 4 Miles RT
500ft Elevation Gain **Canyon Wash Route** Click image or title above for more…
Keane Wonder Mine | Death Valley National Park, California
Keane Wonder Mine offers both historical artifacts from the early 1900’s mining boom in the Death Valley Region and a great hike with a spectacular view of Death Valley. See old mine shafts and a aerial tram that transported gold ore down a steep stretch of the Funeral Mountains. A historic timeline is included. Approx. 4 Miles RT; 1,500ft Elevation Gain **Good Trail Almost All the Way** Click image or title above for more…
Golden Canyon to Zabriskie Point | Death Valley National Park, California
Golden Canyon in Death Valley is one of the most popular destinations to visitors of the valley. This is because of its unique beauty and easy accessibility. The entrance to Golden Canyon is only a few miles from Furnace Creek Ranch and The Inn at Death Valley along the well-traveled, paved Badwater Road. Within a few steps you find yourself in a beautiful canyon with high walls that instantly take you back in geological time. In places it’s clear even to this non-geologist where walls in the canyon were once horizontal, perhaps on an ancient lake bed, but over time were pushed upward to 45 degree angles. Route details: Approx. 8 Miles Circuit 535 > about 834ft **Well Marked & Traveled Route** Click image or title above for more…
Fall Canyon | Death Valley National Park, California
Fall Canyon in Death Valley National Park is the wilder, lesser known neighbor just a short walk to the North of the more popular Titus Canyon. Unlike Titus Canyon you cannot drive through Fall Canyon. However, the show stopper here are the towering cliff walls surrounding you in Fall Canyon. Many of the walls have brilliant stripes and designs composed of orange and black dolomite and limestone, referred to as Banded Bonanza King formations. Alternately there are narrows with high walls smoothed by the rushing water and rocks from past flash floods. In addition there are what I refer to as “The Hanging Gardens of Fall Canyon” as you pass between cliffs decorated with hanging plants seemingly growing out of the solid rock walls. Route Details: Approx. 6 Miles RT; 2,460ft Elevation Gain **Rocky Canyon Wash Trail** Click image or title above for more…
Death Valley In a Day | Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley in a day is a one day whirlwind tour of many of the most popular sites in Death Valley National Park, California. It’s a great place to start if you are planning a brief first-time visit and overview of Death Valley. Locations visited in order: Dante’s View at sunrise, Zabriskie Point, Ubehebe Crater, Titus Canyon, Mesquite Sand Dunes, Devil’s Cornfield, Salt Creek, Harmony Borax Works, Furnace Visitor Center, Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley Museum, Devil’s Golf Course, Badwater Basin, Artist’s Drive, Golden Canyon, The Inn and Oasis at Death Valley. Sunrise to sunset in Death Valley.
Dante’s View to Mt Perry | Death Valley National Park, California
The elevation of Dante’s View is 5,475ft and the elevation of Mt. Perry is 5,716ft, but that alone is not the entire story. The scenery from Dante’s View all the way to Mt. Perry is uniquely spectacular. From Dante’s View’s 5,475ft perspective one can look almost straight down into Badwater Basin, at -282ft below sea level, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. But that is not all. From Dante’s view one can look directly across the width of the vast expanse of Death Valley 20.6 miles away to the 11,049ft Telescope Peak and the entire expanse of the Panamint Mountain Range along with much of Death Valley’s 100-mile length. Route Details: Approx. 8 Miles RT; 5,575 > 5,738ft **Well Established Trail** Click image or title above for more…
Artist’s Drive Hikes | Death Valley National Park, California
Few visitors to Artist Drive realize that there are at least 4 short adventure hikes off the main loop. The first is a ridge hike at the first pull-out parking area about 2 miles up the loop. The second two are canyon hikes at the base of 2 dips (actually marked by a yellow highway “Dip” warning sign. The fourth series of canyon hikes are the canyons surrounding the hills of Artist’s Pallet. Route details: 4 Hikes Approx. 6 Miles Total **Elevation Gain 300ft | Ridge and Canyon Wash Trails** Click image or title above for more…
