Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Got it, that's what I figured. Im going for 6 nights so I figured I was going to need the pass eventually when I enter/stay in the main area, just to be safe. I'll just run out to FedEx. Thanks

 

Check online who sells NPS passes. Most of the BLM offices sell them and most National Monuments will carry them. At $30 fee you might as well go for the year pass and count your savings after visiting 2 other NPS parks or monuments. Depending on which direction you are traveling, you are likely to pass at least one BLM office. Call first, some of the BLM offices were having Covid closures last May when I bought mine .

 

Ya sorry totally missed that part.

 

In all my years going to the National Parks, no ranger or other park employee has ever asked for proof of payment anywhere other than exit/entrance stations.

That said, a place like DV where those stations are automated, who knows? You could always save the file on your phone. If anyone asks, show them the picture. I have a parks pass and I can for sure tell you I would not leave that on the dash.

 

This past weekend when I entered from the 190 going east, when I hit stovepipe wells, there were NP employees selling passes, but not checking. I parked over in stovepipe and while i did have my pass on my dashboard, many other vehicles did not. I’d say its more of an “honor system” unlike other parks.

still… I would rather pay the $30 and not worry about a possible hefty fine.

 

I had wondered if you could buy a pass at Manzanar just north of Lone Pine? https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm ???

 

I'm not suggesting you not pay, just that more than likely, you do not need to keep your receipt on the dash but you do need to have it. On your phone is just like having it.

 

Just throwing this out there but it's $80 for an annual National Park Pass that covers every park in the country and federal rec sites. Might be worth it in the long run.

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

 

I have the golden pass, never leave it out. I bet most people with a park pass do the same. California on the hand has hang tags.

 

Thanks. Ended up getting the year DV pass, I am sure I will back there at least one more time within the next year. Probably would have been better off with the National Park Pass like you mentioned but that's ok. I can get that later if needed.

 

National Parks are still all free for Vets though???

 

As far as I know.

 

I got my free annual veterans pass last October.

 

Yes. They include military and Gold Star families.

Military Pass: Free

• Current US military members and their dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force, as well as Reserve and National Guard members
• US military veterans
• Gold Star Family members

Please check requirements before arriving, such as showing a Common Access Card (CAC) or Military ID (Form 1173) or exchanging a Gold Star Voucher.

 

I believe the Eastern Sierra Interagency Center in Lone Pine can process DV entrance payment/passes too.

I have heard people being cited in Saline Valley when patrol rangers come through and look for valid entry chits/passes. It hasn't happened often but it has happened.

 

That's what we did, go annual NPS pass -- takes only a few trips to pay for itself. Plus, honored at other managed areas too. Makes life super easy.

Where can I use my Annual Pass?
The Forest Service, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and US Army Corp of Engineers honor the Annual Pass at sites where Entrance or Standard Amenity Fee(s) (Day use fees) are charged.​

 

Nice report and photos! I'm kicking myself for not knowing Fish Canyon was a thing. I guess it doesn't show up on my maps... or maybe I'm just dumb. I was looking for another way out of the valley last month after coming down Goler, when the valley was flooded. I wound up driving through miles of slimy soup back up to Ballarat -- don't think I'll ever get all that mud out of my truck!

Like others have said, I don't think they check for displayed passes in DVNP. I never have one. I mean displayed, that is -- I get the $80 annual pass and it's usually in my wallet, not hanging in the windshield. Except for parking in the San Gabriels, then it goes up because they're Nazis there.

Another benefit of getting the annual pass is it inspires me to go to more national parks than I normally would. Business trip with NP in driving range? Better book an extra day!

Another idea: a lot of hotels have little computer kiosks with printers so folks can print their boarding passes or whatever. I've used hotels a couple times to print out backcountry passes or fishing permits. Not as a guest, I just walk in and ask them if I can print out my backcountry pass, they didn't seem to mind.

 

In case anyone else needs an annual pass, here is the link of where to pick one up in person. USGS also sells them online
Places to Get Interagency Passes (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

All it takes is one trip to Southern Utah / Northern Arizonia and it will pay for itself 3X over.

 

Last week I had to go to Los Angeles for work. I landed and checked the rental car app and much to my surprise I had a 2022 Tacoma 4x4. I went and picked it up and it was the TRD Off Road also, under 1000 miles on it.

When I go out there I usually tie in a weekend to do whatever. I had no plans for the holiday weekend and since I was given a 4x4 Tacoma Death Valley seemed like the appropriate answer. Saturday after lunch I grabbed some snacks, water, sunscreen, and checked out of the hotel and started making my way to DV.

I had been once about 5 years ago, but I stayed on the northern end of the park and did the Racetrack Playa, Lipincott, etc. That was all in my 3rd Gen 4Runner though... This time I was in a totally stock rental.

I figured I'd stick to the more "touristy" stuff and see how the trip goes. I had to catch a very early Monday flight out so I wouldn't be able to stay for long.

I was hoping to get to the park at a reasonable hour and lay in the bed of the truck and stargaze, since the stars out there are magnificent. I gassed up in Trona thinking I'd be fine to get me through a full day at the park and back, maybe a top off at stovepipe wells for good measure. Right as I started climbing Towne Pass the moon came out so there went my plan for stargazing.

So instead of stargazing I went on a couple moonlight walks/hikes. The first through the Mesquite Sand Dunes which was pretty neat at night. There was a warm breeze even that kept smacking me in the face.

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And then a walk around Harmony Borax Works.

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I drove a few miles down Furnace Creek Wash Road and then up a smaller rougher dirt road to find myself a camp site. And by camp site I mean I moved my luggage to behind the driver seat, leaned the passenger seat all the way back settled in for a cold night. Sweat pants and a north face fleece don't keep you warm much when it's low 30's. I broke down shortly before sunrise and started the truck and cranked the heat for half an hour or so.

The sun was up and I was on my way.

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First stop was Dante's view. It was still early so not many people were out.
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Then Twenty Mule Team Canyon

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Then Zabriskie Point.

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Then Artist's Pallette.

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The park was starting to get more crowded at this point. I was heading towards Badwater Basin and saw a dirt road on the right for West Side Rd. I didn't know where it went, so I pulled into it and pulled up the downloaded map on google maps. It looked like there would be some stuff so I set off down it.

The first side shoot I took was Trail Canyon.

20220220_102609 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

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I made it about 5 miles in before it got too difficult for me to find the trail and it was a little more intense than I wanted to do solo in a rental with literally no recovery gear. So I ate lunch, if you can call this lunch...

20220220_105234 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

I went back to West Side Rd and continued down the washboard road, planning to turn around after a few more miles and head back. Well the views were good, I was able to maintain pretty good speed, and next thing I knew it was less distance to just keep driving down it. Opps.

20220220_114455 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

I saw a sign for Queen of Sheba mine and it looked like it was only 4-5 miles each way on Google maps, so I turned in there and drove up to the mine which was pretty neat. It looked like there were a lot more trails to explore up there, but my time was running a little short so I didn't do all that.

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Back down at West Side Rd there was a man in a 1st gen 4Runner with Wisconsin plates. We talked for a minute, he seemed like a pretty cool guy. He recalled being out there 21 years ago and was talking about how it has changed.

I finished the drive back to pavement and headed north towards Badwater Basin. I made it there and it was totally packed. I parked along the road, walked out there a bit but it was so crowded I ended up just leaving. I should have gone here at night too. I took the pictures below with special care not to show the crowds...

20220220_142116 by Unner Unner, on Flickr



Back in the truck I figured I'd start heading back towards the city. I had a flight to catch and wanted to shower at a truck stop or something on the way. I had 80 miles of range left, no big deal. Stovepipe wells is 30 miles away so I'll grab a few gallons there to get me back to Trona, worst case I backtrack to Furnace Creek and pay $7/gallon.

I pulled into Stovepipe Wells to find the gas station closed, they had no gas... A man there told me they had ran out and were waiting on a truck that was supposed to show up an hour ago. I asked about Furnace Creek, he said they were out too...

I had 50 miles at this point according to the computer, but I also had to go up a 5000 ft pass. He said Panamint Springs had gas half an hour ago, but I wasn't sure if they would have any by the time I got there. He thought I could make it to Lone Pine which was 81 miles, but I wasn't going to push a rental that far. The gas gauge in the Tacoma was already doing weird things based on the angle the truck was at it seemed so I wasn't very trusting of it anyway.

I was leaning against the bed debating my options. Wait in Stovepipe Wells for the truck that may or may not show, drive to Panamint Springs to see if they have gas and possibly wait there if they don't, or drive to Beatty which was the total opposite direction I had to go to catch my flight. Had I not had a flight to catch Beatty would have been the decision.

Then a guy in a Land Cruiser pulled in and asked if they had gas. I told him no and gave him the rundown of what was going on. He then offered me his 4 gallons he had in a Rotopax since he had almost half a tank and was just going to head to Beatty anyway. I immediately took him up on that. I didn't catch his name, but if anyone knows a guy from a city in the Provo, UT area with a serious mustache and nice Land Cruiser tell him thanks for me.

With enough gas to make it to Ridgecrest at worst I got back on the road. I got to Panamint Springs and luckily enough they still had gas. I warned a couple guys on motorcycles about the lack of gas in DV, got a few more gallons for safe measure and headed back towards civilization.

So that was my 24 hours in Death Valley in a rental. Great trip, one of the coolest parks in the US, so much to see and so much variation in the terrain. Don't take the remoteness of the park lightly. Always make sure you've got enough gas and don't count on the gas stations having gas on busy holiday weekends in peak season... Next time I'm gassing up in Trona and Stovepipe Wells, just for good measure.