Camping In Death Valley, California

[renodesertfox]

Howdy,

This past spring, January 19-27, we took a trip to Death Valley to catch the early wildflower season. We had a wonderful time so I thought that I should share some information with the many readers of Camping Forums.com.

Death Valley National Park has nine campgrounds. They are Emigrant, Furnace Creek, Mahogany Flat, Mesquite Spring, Stovepipe Wells, Sunset, Texas Spring, Thorndike and Wildrose.

Furnace Creek, Mesquite Spring and Wildrose campgrounds are open year round. The following campgrounds will take reservations, Furnace Creek and Texas Spring and takes group reservation. For reservations at these campgrounds, call 1-800-365-2267.

The Furnace Creek Campground is on a first come first served basis starting mid-April. From mid-October through mid April Furnace Creek Campground and the two group sites at Texas Springs Campground are on a reservation system.

Texas Springs campground is located in the Furnace Creek Area and is open from October through early May. It is first come first served with self registration. From March 17(St. Patty's Day) through May 8, Texas Springs is designated primarily for Tent Camping with a very limited number of RV sites.

Sunset Campground(Oct thru April) is also located in the Furnace Creek Area and is first come first served with self registration.

The Stovepipe Wells Campground(Oct thru Apr) is also first come first served as is the Mesquite Spring Campground(open all year) at the north end near Scotty's Castle, Both campgrounds are $10 per night.

Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, Sunset and Texas Springs campgrounds are wheelchair accessible.

Mahogany Flat, Thorndike & Wildrose campgrounds are open only to 4x4 wheel drive autos.

http://reservations.nps.gov./

In the near future I'll add what I found out about back-country backpacking and 4x4 driving.

Like I said at the beginning, since the status of Death Valley has been upgraded from a monument to a National Park the place is very nice from October to Early May, then it gets just plain HOT! I've camped here in July 2005 and only stayed three days, the temperature then was 122 degrees in the shade and we spent the entire time trying to stay cool by pouring water over us and drinking water and that was all we did. We did a little sight-seeing in the air-conditioned jeep, but when we stopped and got out of the car it wasn't 5 minutes before we got back in to the jeep.

[lionslayer]

A friend and I stayed at Furnace Creek Campground in early April of this year. Some observations --- I'd reserved an "RV" site, even though we were tenting, because I wanted drive-up convenience (we were on an intense sightseeing/photography schedule, not lounging/lingering in camp), and the tent-only sites were advertised as "walk in only", which is true, but there's not much of a walk involved, just a few, flat yards, easy enough to schlep most car camping gear from parking area to campsite, and much more attractive sites, with some shade, a bit more visual privacy, etc. If you're tent camping, I'd opt for a "tent" site.

Using the campground site map from the NPS/DV website, and the surprisingly high-resolution Google Earth image available, you can actually preview your campsite choices with an eye to available shade, etc. Restrooms are near to every campsite, but while there are toilets and sinks, there are no showers. We had a portable Paha-Que shower enclosure and Zodi pump-up shower, but opted for the much more convenient use of the showers at closeby Furnace Creek Ranch, which charges a few bucks for their showers, with no shortage of hot, running water. We also ate evening meals at one of the two restaurants at the Ranch, where hearty homestyle dinners are offered at a decent price.

Dispersed camping is allowed along roadsides at some very remote sites, but none we saw looked very appealing --- shadeless, windswept, inundated with talcum powder road dust.

Weather notes --- The first week of April '09 had wild fluctuations of weather in the span of four days. While mostly calm, one day had very high winds, gusting to maybe 35-40 knots on the valley floor, much stronger at Ubehebe Crater (notoriously windy), damaged (bent) a pole on my heavy duty Timberline Outfitter 6. Early A.M. temps were chilly, especially at higher elevations (Zabriskie Point, Dantes View, etc.) and also windy. We wore fleece jackets, hats, gloves, and windbreakers some mornings, often shed by midday, one of which reached into low 80's. Equip accordingly, including sleeping gear and layerable garments.

Don't miss seeing "The Racetrack" one of the most bizarre, interesting, and photogenic exemplars of natural mysteries. The road is awful --- terribly washboarded, but despite the horror stories, contains no obstacles to navigation by most sanely driven vehicles.

[RAMAMAKE73]

Camping In Death Valley California

Ive been to the valley and was underwhelmed. A nice place, but pales in comparison to some of the more well known structures in the west. Its ok if one can not visit the others.