Follow Along our Travels!

We did what I would call a “strike mission” to check off one of the national parks in California. For this trip, we spent two days in the park: Friday and Saturday. In order to maximize the time we had, we did drive up to Ridgecrest, CA late on Thursday night (after work) and stayed at a cheap motel. We do this a lot actually for road trips because when on a “strike mission”, you want to maximize the time spent during daylight hours at the park!

As for Death Valley itself, I was surprised by so many things! When I think of Death Valley, I think of barren stark lands and the famous salt flats. So, first surprise, the valley itself is nestled among a sizable mountain range. This allows for a very dynamic landscape that is is filled with canyons, sand dunes, a mountain with snow on it, the famous flats and yes, of course stark lands. As avid hikers, we very much enjoyed exploring in a couple of the canyons and mountain areas. We also had our 4Runner on this trip and therefore were able to do a pretty famous 4×4 trail which was a blast!

Because it is Death Valley, the timing of the trip will greatly affect what you can do. We went in March which ended up being perfect for us. It was cold in the morning, warm in the afternoons but not too warm where it was unsafe to hike. Also, when we went, they had just opened up The Ranch (where we stayed) and what a lovely surprise that lodge was! If you stay in National Parks often, you know that their accommodations aren’t always the nicest. This was resort-like in its amenities and I would highly recommend it! Having said that, I am already looking forward to going back and boondocking with the 4Runner and camping. You can do it all ways!

Highlights from Death Valley:

• Golden Canyon area: This whole area looks like it is straight out of a Star Wars movie (spoiler alert: it is!). There are a bunch of different paths, trails and scrambles you can take around here, but all of them take you through this landscape that is other-worldly. I enjoyed just how different this is!
• The famous Salt Flats at Badwater Basin: So you know how a lot of times social media makes things look cooler than they are in person? This is not one of those times! I would recommend venturing a bit further than the path to get pictures without people in them because this area is crowded, but it is definitely worth the trek.
• Sunrise/Sunsets: Death Valley has a lot of areas to choose from to watch both sunrise and sunsets. We did two sunsets: one at the sand dunes and one at Dante’s view. I loved that we saw very different things at each spot! Dante’s view has an incredible view a good portion of the park and Badwater Basin. The sand dunes are just so massive and so fun to romp around in. Plus, the dunes turn pink and purple at sunset. Note on both sunsets though: it gets cold QUICK when the sun goes down in this park! Bring layers. As for sunrise, we made it to Zabriskie Point for sunrise before we drove home. It is worth the early morning wake up to see the sun coming up in the park. My only regret is that we didn’t get to hike this area.
• Titus Canyon Trail: So technically you can walk/hike this although it is long and I’m not sure how fun it would be until you get to the narrows. However, this made for an awesome 4×4 trip. We have a 4Runner TRD that easily did this, but we also saw some small SUVs making the drive just fine. What I loved about it was that it goes through an area that was an old ghost town, has some high peaks with views but ends in this narrow canyon. It was dynamic throughout the whole thing!

Some Tips about Death Valley:

• This park is way bigger than I thought it would be. We didn’t even make it to the “top half” so when you are planning your trip, make sure to account for how large it is, how much driving you may have to do and your gas…
• You can see on the itinerary where we gassed up, but there are not a lot of options once you get into the park so make sure you are aware of your gas gauge status.
• Food in the park isn’t that abundant so make sure to prep meals before or plan to stop at the one or two places that are open.
• We are big tent campers but I have to say that this is definitely a RV, pop up, van or 4Runner camping park. The areas in the park that are designated for camping aren’t the most tent friendly.
• A final reminder about the weather — make sure to check it and plan for it before you go! It gets crazy hot in the summer and freezing in the winter, so make sure to plan ahead.