Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Well darn, How quickly things change. 10 days ago campgrounds were closed but dispersed backcountry camping was allowed, now NPS says any camping including backcountry is not allowed. Must of occurred when most of California went back in shutdown.

 

It's one of the best reasons to check the website for updates.

 

The park website still only says campgrounds are closed. As far as the website goes it does not say backcountry camping is prohibited. The visitor center is open so the best thing to do is call and ask specifically what is allowed if uncertain.

Separately nearly the whole state is under regional stay at home orders. I’ve not read those but they may separately restrict you leaving your home and visiting the park in the first place.

 

NPS says backcountry “sites” are closed so guess it comes down to definition of a “site” which may at the discretion of each ranger. You may want to take a copy of that text message to show to a ranger if they try to ticket your dispersed location.

 

The interpretation of "wasn't technically closed" might be different depending on the ranger and the person running the page. Since the ranger is the enforcement official, you may still get a ticket.

Here's some information on the permits and about where you can dispersed camp.

As others have suggested, outside the park may be less risky.

 

I believe you are correct..

The Ranger who had pulled us over on Warm Springs Road was more than ready to cite us for being inside the Park back in May during the first weekend of the Full Closure. But after a minute or two when she made first contact with us she figured out that we were regulars to DV, and we ended up talking and chilling for a good couple of minutes. I almost wanted to offer her a beer just because she was very cool at the end. But I do have a sneaky suspicion that if she didn't feel that we were regulars, we would've been cited for sure.

 

The visitor center is open. Just call and ask to be certain of what is and isn’t allowed if in any doubt.

 

The Interagency Center gift shop is open as is...

 

That picture alone makes me wanna bust our 150 mile travel ban...

 

I was thinking about going to DV two weeks ago after SoCal shutdown but we were still OK in NorCal. I called DV and spoke with a Ranger who said developed campgrounds were closed (and the motels/lodges) but the park remained open and backcountry camping was allowed. We chatted a bit, nice guy, so I asked him his recommendation, and he discouraged me from making the trip. Lazy? Unfriendly? Authoritarian? I dunno, but he honestly convinced me that they would be dealing with enough issues that having more visitors would be a challenge for staff. Fair enough.

 

Thank you for your understanding and thoughtfulness.

 

Are you an NPS employee? I expect this has been a very tough year for public land agency employees who work with visitors.

 

Lucky lucky man.

 

Indeed. But I will admit, I'm surprised by that-most are secured in such a way they can't come out.

 

Those things are built a whole lot better than I was thinking! I would have thought that the bottom corners would have been crunched in pretty badly.

 

Subbed

 

I would wager that FWC did suffer frame damage. 400lbs and up slamming against the ground is gonna result in damage.
For Tacomas there are bed mounts that use turnbuckles. The turnbuckles are notorious for coming lose.

 

We ended up camping along Echo Canyon Rd. Ranger pulled up to our spot pretty late in the night and was just checking to make sure we didn’t have a campfire. So camping in the backcountry is a go, just not at an actual campsite.

 

Well ain’t that the darn cutest fox I’ve ever seen