Death Valley

[paul65k]

YES!!!

[burgmark]

Originally Posted by VanDiemen23

I live a stones throw South of Lone Pine and west of Death Valley. If you don't have a lot of vehicle heat management skills, don't show up between mid May and mid September.

Lone Pine will still be OK, and while the Owens Valley can hit 105 in late July that's only late afternoon, it is a dry heat, and it's pretty flat all the way from Olancha to Bishop. Lots to see and do there. If you want to cool off, go higher (-3 deg F/1000 ft of altitude)

That might be an option, but that is quite a drive back to the park. Do you know anything about staying on the east side of the park, there are several RV parks between the park and Las Vegas, but I'm thinking they may also be in hot areas.

You can cross the Sierras on the south side at 58, slightly north of that at 178 (both lead to Bakersfield), the Sherman Pass Road north of Inyokern (which will take you to Sequoia), then your next opportunity is Tioga Pass into Yosemite, Sonora Pass (steep) that goes to gold country, and then Monitor Pass, which takes you into the south end of Tahoe.

Figure out what you want to do and get reservations. A lot of people decided to get away from big cities and went camping last summer, and they've decided they like it.

Our plan is to go around the south end, not sure of the exact route, and stay a few days in the Sequoia / Kings Canyon area and then to Yosemite.

I'm also wondering if it will be too hot to drive my motorhome and tow vehicle through the park to get to Lone Pine or if I should just take I-15 and then travel north.

This trip starts in May 2022, so I am planning ahead.

[burgmark]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

It will be the proverbial “hotter than hell” in DEVA in June. They start hitting 100 in late March/early April, and your ACs just won’t keep up with the heat. Stay somewhere else like Pahrump which is hot but a higher elevation. Drive into the park, making sure your radiator is in good shape. Even in a car for the day, carry significant water (gallon per person is best) and extra food. DEVA is one of my favorite places, but the valley is not for the inexperienced. Make sure you go to the high country though. A car with good tires can get to the charcoal kilns and a decent SUV can make it to Wildrose. Always check with the rangers to double check road conditions though.

With all the helpful posts I'm deciding that we will not stay in the park, its just too hot. I'm considering somewhere on the east side of the park, which is closer than the west side options, but am concerned it will be hot there too. Have you stayed on the east side when the weather was hot?

My tow vehicle is a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, so I'm hoping it will be up to the challenge.

[UTTransplant]

Look at Pahrump, NV. Not a garden town by far, but there are a few nice parks, popular with snowbirds in the winter. I think all have a reasonable number of permanent residents due to the casinos, but don’t let that worry you. There is also Lakeside Casino which has a nice RV park. Plan on pretty hot weather, but not hotter than hell weather. Leave your night blinds pulled down when you are gone, and leave the AC running. Your vehicle should be up to the task. Wear a hat and take your time; it is a glorious place (though I much prefer it October-March!).

[VanDiemen23]

Your Grand Cherokee will be fine.

Most vehicles, even RVs, can handle getting in and out of Death Valley in the summer if you are careful and know what to do.

Its' just not a real enjoyable experience to be outside when the temp is over 110.

For us, those kinds of temperatures are handled the way people in the eastern parts of the country handle deep winter - limit your outside activities, and be prepared if you are getting out on the road away from amenities.

[jrollf]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

... Even in a car for the day, carry significant water (gallon per person is best) and extra food...

^^^ THIS ^^^

Born and raised in the desert southwest. When traveling cross country in ANY part of it, make sure to have LOTs of water. People have died out on the highway because they broke down and got dehydrated. It's not as common as it used to be, largely because cars have become a lot more reliable.

Personal experiance, just doing light yard work in 100+ deg weather, I can drink a gallon of water in a couple hours by myself. And you would be amazed that you don't urinate much as you sweat most of it out.

[johninsd]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

Always check with the rangers to double check road conditions though.

I do check with the rangers when I can find them. I find it best to consider their point of view - sometimes they tend to exaggerate the difficulty of driving some roads - better safe than sorry I suppose. For instance I once asked about the Racetrack road at the DV visitor center - the first ranger said the road was in good shape and asked if I had plenty of water with me - I replied that my camper had a 30 gallon tank and it was full. She then turned to another ranger, older than she, and asked if it was safe to drive a camper to the Racetrack. "Absolutely not!" was the reply. Never asked me what kind of camper I had, what truck it was on, just "Absolutely not!". I went anyway and had no problem, could have driven a Cadillac in there. BTW this was a lightweight popup camper on a 4 x 4 F150. So ask the rangers if they are available but remember that they would rather err on the side of caution and avoid the need for a rescue operation. As always, YMMV, use your own judgment, etc.

[twogypsies]

Before going to Death Valley Nat'l Park.... or any other national park, check out their awesome web site giving lots of good information like places to go, things to see, map, special alerts, road conditions, closings, camping, etc.

https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/safety.htm

[GordSClemnte]

We went this year in Mid-March.
I would not wanted to have been there too much later than that.
We were able to not really use the AC, but it was getting close.

I actually played a round of golf at Furnace Creek mid day. I could walk there from our camp site, but used a cart on the golf course
A subset of the sites at Furnace Creek Camp ground have FHU.
That would make it easier to be there after March. But only for another month in my opinion.

On a lighter note. We froze are butts off on a couple of excursions.
We would leave the coach and it would be mid 80's and by the time we reached our destination it was freezing. The mistake was not realizing that we were going to climb to more than a mile high in a short period of time.
We left the camp in flip-flops, tee shirts and shorts.
I found snow behind one of the "bee-hives".

[Gammel]

^^^ If you were at the 'bee hives' you were 8000' above the valley. I've been there with temps in the 20's.

[Atlee]

Will be way too hot in June.

I spent 4 nights there in March 2014. Day time temperatures ranged from high 70's to high 80's.

Originally Posted by burgmark

My wife and I are planning a three month RV tour of the western national parks starting with Arches and working our way clockwise to the Badlands. The dates we've chosen will put us at Death Valley the first week of June. My question, is it too hot that time of year to visit Death Valley in a motorhome? We will have full hookups and the motorhome has two 35,000 BTU air conditioners in a 35 foot motorhome. I'm new to RVing and wonder if the air conditioners will be able to maintain liveable conditions. I know that I need to cool down the motorhome before I arrive at Death Valley or at least cool it down gradually.

[ArtJoyce]

I get it, going that way, let knock it off the park list. But at that time of the year will you even want to get out of the AC car to walk 100 feet???

[MrsChilerick]

February 9AM



I wouldn’t take DV off the list of parks I want to see, it’s a unique place, but I wouldn’t go there after mid-March or before mid-November.

[twogypsies]

Death Valley is a 'winter' park just like Yellowstone is basically a 'summer' park. Yes, you can visit each at any time of the year but it's not primary visitation time.

I'd highly recommend attending the 49ers Encampment in Death Valley for a fun time. It's planned for Nov. 7-14 this year. It's always excellent weather.

The official website of the Death Valley '49ers, Inc. - Home

We've been to Death Valley a handful of times in winter. One time we wanted to basically do a drive through from AZ to heading north so we were boondocking in mid-March. We could only last one night and we slept outside in our chairs!! It was hot, hot all night long. We weren't alone though... many others were there.