Death Valley geology hiking/camping trip Dec 2021

My 2021 Meetup trip to Death Valley will take place December 28^th – January 1^st. We spend two days driving, and three days hiking and exploring the valley. Most days have two shorter hikes, and folks are welcome to pick one or both, depending on their interest and energy levels.

Reservations are now open via my website here (the Meetup website does not provide enough flexibility in RSVP options, so official RSVPs will be on this site).

We created a new set of general FAQs for all our geology hiking/camping trips that you can visit here.

Map

I have a general map here showing locations of interest. The map changes each year, and we won’t likely get to all destinations, but it gives you a good overview of the park and our potential travels.

COVID-19

This is a science education group, and as such Katie and I are firm believers in the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as masks and distancing. Our guidelines start with CDC guidelines, and are somewhat more strict than that.

If you are not vaccinated, you must be willing to wear a mask at all times we are gathered as a group. If you are not willing to comply with our regulations, please don’t RSVP. In the RSVP form, you will be asked to commit to these regulations.

Preliminary schedule

• Mon, Dec 27: Optional early arrival
  • In some years, a smaller group spends the night of the 27^th at a nearby Red Rock Canyon State Recreation Area, which cuts the driving on the 28th down to about three hours.
• Tues, Dec 28: Travel day
  • Drive, carpool, fly, etc, but get to the Furnace Creek area.
  • Our gathering point will be in the Texas Spring Campgrounds, but there are hotel options as well (see below).
  • Sunset is about 4:40 PM, so getting there before that really helps with settling in.
  • 7:00: Brief check-in and background information presentation on the big picture of Death Valley geology. We’ll meet at the campground, and folks staying at the hotel are encouraged to drive up (about 1 mile) and join us.
• Wed, Dec 29: Exploring central Death Valley.
  • Carpooling and caravans are suggested to get to daily hikes.
  • After the long travel day, we’ll take a couple hikes that don’t require as much driving.
  • Sunrise is around 7:00 am, so we’ll try to start each day by 8:30 (we only have about 9.5 hours of daylight, and most days require at least an hour of driving).
  • Sunrise at Zabriskie Point for those who are interested.
  • Quick stop at Historic Lake Manly beach shoreline.
  • Mosiac Canyon. A short hike up an amazing canyon.
  • Lunch near Stovepipe Wells (bring lunch or buy there)
  • Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Amazing dunes that seem to go on forever. We’ll talk a bit about the dunes, then folks are free to explore them in groups or on their own.
  • Short hike up the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail to see (possibly) the Death Valley pupfish. We might do this Thursday morning instead.
  • Sunset at Zabriskie Point for those who are interested (and make it back in time).
• Thurs, Dec 30: Exploring the north end
  • A lot of driving today, so we’ll want to get out by 8:00; Ubehebe Crate is over an hour’s drive away!
  • Ubehebe Crater for sure!
  • Other stops will be decided before October 1
    • Other possibilities include Scottie’s Castle Tour, drive down a long a washboard road to Racetrack Playa.
• Fri, Dec 31: South-central Death Valley
  • Sunrise at Zabriskie Point for those who are interested.
  • Ventifact Ridge: right off the road we can see rocks that show sanding features due to continual natural ‘sandblasting.’
  • Badwater Basin. A short stroll around the lowest point in the USA.
  • Willow Canyon waterfall hike.
  • On the drive back, those who are interested can drive through Artists Drive.
  • New Year’s Eve celebration dinner at the restaurant at the Ranch at Death Valley (the complex where those opting for a local hotel will likely stay).
• Sat, Jan 1: Travel day.
  • Head out on your own pace and time.
  • Optional stop to see tufa towers at the Trona Pinnacles, about 2 hours outside the park on the drive home (about six miles down a fairly smooth dirt road that just about any car can handle).

Expenses & logistics

The $75 is per person fee is to help Katie and I keep leading these trips 😉 and covers camping fees. Children and low/limited income registration is $32. Other expenses include:

• Park entrance fee ($30 per car, good for one week, discounts and passes available).
• Lodging:
  • Campers: Camping fees is covered by your donation.
  • Hotels: Your on your own, but may also want to find someone on the trip to share a room with. The Ranch at Death Valley is right near us, but there are other, lower-priced, hotels that folks have used in Beatty, Nevada (about an hours drive away).
• Food: Everyone is responsible for their own food. Katie and I will have a couple of two-burner stoves, and folks who don’t have their own camp-stove are welcome to use ours.
• Equipment: If you need to rent tents, sleeping bags and pads, etc, I recommend REI as they have a complete list of almost anything you’ll need. We once flew to Las Vegas, rented a car, then rented equipment at REI, then drove to the park. Flights to Vegas can be pretty cheap, and the driving time to Texas Spring is only about two hours!

RSVP and attendance limits

• RSVPs will open on October 1st here on this website.
• Attendance limit is set at 40, however we usually get around 10-20 people.
• RSVPs is with a donation of $75 per person that is not refundable. Children are $32, as well as limited/low income. If there is a waitlist there are usually people on it who can ‘buy your space.’ My goal is that you don’t RSVP until you are sure you can come.
  • In the event that the event is cancelled due to “acts of nature” or other requirements, all donations will be refunded.

Camping

We’ll stay at Texas Spring Campground. There are no reservations here, but we can usually fit two carloads of people in each camping space. There is no group site here, but we can usually find a few campsites next to each other so we can feel like a group.

If you are coming in a full-size RV and want hookups, you can make a reservation at Furnace Creek Campground, which includes camping sites with hookups.

Hotel options

Hotels in the park in December are quite expensive (much less in the 110+ summer!). Most folks who have stayed in the hotel in the past have (1) stayed with a friend/partner, (2) shared the room with another member of the group, or (3) stayed in Beatty, NV. Below are a few options, with approximate pricing.

• The Ranch at Death Valley. Most affordable option next to the campground–$279 when I checked.
• The Inn at Death Valley. More of a resort-type hotel, but also right nearby–$507/night when I checked.
• Stovepipe Wells hotel. I’m not sure how the price here compares to the Ranch, and it’s about 30 minutes from Texas Spring. Prices may be $144-226/night.
• Hotels/motels in Beatty, NV (about an hour away). Here’s a Yelp search for hotels in Beatty. A quick check of one hotel in Beatty shows a rate $69-76/night.

Food

Everyone is responsible for their own food.

Breakfasts should be something you can prepare quickly, and lunches something you can bring in the car. Snacks to eat during hikes are recommended, as well as water/liquid to drink. Dinner will be at the campground, or you can eat in the restaurant near the hotel.

There is plenty of tap water available at the campground, as well as restrooms with running water (no showers).

Katie and I will bring two two-burner stoves, so we’ll have four burners available for those who don’t have their own stove.

Weather

Death Valley in December can be cold, so be ready to bundle up. The average high for December is only 65°F and the average low is 38°F.

Sunrise is around 7:00 AM, and sunset is around 4:40 PM.

Other questions?

Please use the comment section below to ask questions. I’ll answer them, and likely incorporate the answers into the description above.