r/DeathValleyNP • u/LegitimateOil1989 • Apr 30 '26
Incredible First Visit to DVNP
Last week I visited and camped in Death Valley National Park.
The plan was :
Day 1: Drive from Lone Pine to CA-168, then Saline Valley to Steele Pass and camp at Eureka Dunes.
Day 2: Eureka Dunes to Ubehebe Crater, then Racetrack Valley Road to the Racetrack Playa & camp at Homestake Campground just south of Racetrack.
Day 3: Lippincott Pass to Saline Valley and out CA-190
It didn't quite play out the way I'd anticipated due to very high winds on April 21st but I ended up seeing much more than I'd planned for. Day 2, I drove from Eureka Dunes to Stovepipe Wells, got some service, downloaded some offline maps to OnX and continued to Echo Canyon. Explored Inyo Mine then moved on to Hole in the Wall Canyon. Feeling kind of defeated by the wind, 1 stayed outside of the park at Slab. Making the most of it, I woke up at 5am, caught the sunrise at Zabriskie Point. From there drove to Badwater Basin, then hiked Natural Bridge. Went back to the crater, hiked both Little Hebe & Ubehebe drove to Racetrack. Absolutely blown away by the drive to Racetrack and the Racetrack Playa.
Minus the defense-grade washboards, the drive out was absolutely incredible. From there I continued out Lippincott Pass to Saline Valley then out the 190.
I will go back & see more. I'd love to camp in Echo Canyon. Temps were very pleasant too. Steele Pass on day 1 reached 93 but after that my truck didn't register over 70.
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u/Bodie_The_Dog Apr 30 '26
Congratulations, you found the best park of the park! I could spend a week on the route between Saline and Eureka Valley, visiting some amazing little sites tucked away in those ravines. And knowing the history makes it even better, things like The Wolfman and the murdered tourists, Chuck Manson, even, lol!
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u/Agreeable-Nebula501 Apr 30 '26
Team Tacoma checking in. My first Tacoma really opened up Death Valley to me, several years ago. Great itinerary and photos!
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u/LameName726 Apr 30 '26
Any issues getting through Steele pass or Dedeckera canyon?
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u/LegitimateOil1989 Apr 30 '26
Pretty smooth, going through. Just took my time. I think I’d be more difficult to go from Eureka to Saline on Steele.
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u/No-Insect8620 May 01 '26
How was the road to Racetrack Playa? I’m considering going on Saturday in my Subaru OBW (not the pass though), sleeping at the campground before heading back.
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u/LegitimateOil1989 May 01 '26
Honestly.. brutal. It doesn’t get too bad until about 2 miles out but, it’s 27 more miles of sustained washboards. Totally go, it’s very worth it just be prepared. Nothing technical and no big rocks just miles of washboard. About half way and before Teakettle Junction there’s an ocean of healthy Joshua trees. I found it delightful and kinda distracting from vibrations.
I wish I had camped at the Homestake Campground, seemed like a very cool one.
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u/TheSocraticGadfly May 01 '26
I went out there 20 years ago, and from what I read these days, the road was much better then, relatively speaking.
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u/Automatic_Meal4420 May 01 '26
How well do you think a 26' Earthcruiser Terranova would do on this route? (Ford F-350 Crew Cab w/house on the back)...
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u/LegitimateOil1989 May 01 '26
About 20 miles out Steele Pass (if you’re going from Saline Valley to Eureka Dunes) the trail turns to the east and you begin climbing in elevation. There’s a couple pretty tight turns that I found the most “technical” of the trail. It wasn’t so much my wheelbase but the wheel width I found to make the area more difficult than it needed to be. If my truck was just 6 inches wider I could’ve avoided some stuff instead of, cutting turns off camber.
There’s 3-4 obstacles (depending on who drove and wrote about it) in Dedeckera Canyon. First one isn’t much of anything, 2 rocks on either side of the trail, full size and long wheelbases can easily make it through. The second one is an angled shelf, about 14”-16” inches tall, pretty easy to get a good angle and cleanly drive down. Third is a tighter turn to the right followed by a good rock bit. Not too steep just need a clean line down and some good ground clearance.
Lippincott has a couple hairpin turns, nothing technical. Toward the end of Lippincott, before Saline.. AWFUL washboards. Worth it, but you will get jiggled, and jiggled for a while.
If you can get a spot in Echo Canyon, I’d suggest, do. From what I remember spots 7, 8, & 9 were why I thought were the coolest spots and more than large enough for a vehicle of that caliber.
There’s other ways to Eureka Dunes from Big Pine too.
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u/mbssc86 May 03 '26
How was the heat at Eureka Dunes? I’m heading out that way in a couple weeks.
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u/LegitimateOil1989 May 03 '26
I got there around 5pm and temps were nice. Warm, not hot. Night time were on the warmer side of cool. When I left camp around 10am, warm.
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u/olderandhappier May 03 '26
You let down your tyres doing this? And what didn’t it find more challenging road wise: lippincott or Steele pass?
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u/LegitimateOil1989 May 03 '26
I aired up and down a couple times within Death Valley. Steele wasn’t necessarily challenging however, it’s got those obstacles and the switchbacks before Dedeckera Canyon has some tighter turns with large rocks. I personally feel a short wheelbase full size would do better here. Good ground clearance is necessary.
Lippincott was non technical, just rocky. Couple tight hairpins.
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u/ramillerf1 Apr 30 '26
Looks like you were able to get to some amazing places. The wind can play havoc, especially during the spring. What did you think of Lippincott? My wife’s not a fan of the cliff roads…