Pasadena to Death Valley to Sequoia/Kings Canyon

Although we initially planned to rent a camper for our trip to Death Valley, we decided to rent an SUV and take our tent instead. We really wanted to get a little bit off the beaten path, which you can%26#39;t do with a camper of any size.

So, I%26#39;m looking for input into our plans and have some questions, which I%26#39;ll pose along the way as I outline our route. We really don%26#39;t know how long we%26#39;ll want to spend in Death Valley, and since we%26#39;re leaving Pasadena March 14, I know it will be busy. Therefore, I need a plan A, B and even C. We%26#39;ll be back in Pasadena March 26.

Tet, I think it was, had suggested heading to Zion and so on, but we%26#39;ve decided to do a trip next year or the year after heading in that direction from Las Vegas, so we%26#39;ll head to Sequoia/Kings Canyon and maybe the Big Sur coast after Death Valley.

The journey is part of the trip. We don%26#39;t have to see every thing or race from place to place. We%26#39;re 63 and 65 and like a slow vacation.

Starting in Pasadena, we plan to drive through Angeles National Forest. I see on the map that when we hit Route 14 there%26#39;s a parallel Sierra Highway that takes us through towns. Palmdale, Lancaster and Mojave might not be exciting, but I%26#39;d like to pass through unless anyone sees anything wrong with this idea.

At Ridgecrest, we might stop at the Maturango Museum. It seems interesting. Where to stay the night is the next question. Ridgecrest is about 100 miles from Pasadena, so it depends on the time of the day. If it%26#39;s midafternoon by the time we see the museum, we might spend the night in a Ridgecrest motel. Are they likely to be booked up on a mid-march Saturday night? That%26#39;s where the plan A, B and C comes in.

If we want to continue on, I was thinking of camping at Trona Pinnacles. We are prepared from primitive camping and don%26#39;t need any amenities even with our tent. We were canoeists in our younger years and used to roughing it.

If we still want to drive further, what about Ballerat. I%26#39;ve seen references to people camping there, but is it suitable for tent camping?

Wildrose Campground in Death Valley National Park seems like the next likely spot, but I%26#39;m concerned that it will be late in the day and given it%26#39;s a weekend in March, there might be no space. And will it be too cold? We%26#39;ll have plenty of sleeping bags etc.

We want to see the charcoal kilns before heading toward Stovepipe Wells. Is the campground there likely to be filled up by say, 2 p.m. If so, my plan B is to drive the eight required miles down Cottonwood Canyon and primitive camp. Anyone see problems with this.

We%26#39;ll then head toward Furnace Creek, seeing the sights along the way. Looks like Furnace Creek campground is the best for tents, but since it%26#39;s reservable, it will probably be full. My preferred camping plan is actually to drive the required two miles up Echo Canyon or Hole in the wall and primitive camp. If we made it as far south as Dante%26#39;s View, Greenwater Road is a primitive camping option.

Then, I can%26#39;t see any point in continuing to drive south on Greenwater unless someone thinks we should, so we%26#39;d turn around and head for Badwater and Artist%26#39;s Drive. If we need a camping spot we can head down Westside Road. Can%26#39;t camp there, but we can drive the required two miles up Trail Canyon. Anyone see any problems here?

We%26#39;ll then head back through Furnace Creek to Beatty, where I think we%26#39;ll stay in a motel. Are they likely to be filled up? By now it will be early or mid-week. Motel 6 has a coin laundry, which we%26#39;ll probably need by then. However, El Portal seems okay but its website doesn%26#39;t mention a coin laundry. Any input on this idea?

After a stop at Rhyolite, we%26#39;ll head down Titus Canyon then up to either Scotty%26#39;s Castle or Ubehebe Crater, depending on the time of day. My DH wants to go to the Racetrack. I see mixed messages about the road - it shreds your tires or its fine for cars. What do you folks think?

We plan to exit Death Valley via Death Valley/Big Pine Road, but will check with rangers on the condition before undertaking this trip. If that%26#39;s not feasible, we%26#39;ll exit through Panamint Springs. This will call for some backtracking, but it seems inevitable if Death Valley/Big Pine Road isn%26#39;t doable. Anyway, the scenery always looks different going the other way.

If we haven%26#39;t used up our two weeks in Death Valley, we%26#39;ll head to Sequoia/ Kings Canyon National Parks via 395 and 178. On 395, we plan to visit Manzanar. We%26#39;ll probably have to sleep in a motel in Independence or Lone Pine. Or will it be warm enough to camp, say, in one of those campgrounds near the Alabama Hills or maybe Fossil Falls.

We%26#39;ll head on 178 through Lake Isabella to Glennville and then north to Three Rivers. We definitely aren%26#39;t camping in Sequoia/ Kings Canyon, so what%26#39;s your suggestion for a place to stay. Wuksachi, Montecito, John Muir? They all seem to be similarly priced and Wuksachi has some good deals that time of the year, but the others do too. Pros and cons of all three?

If we still have time left, we plan to head over to the coast to Monterrey and head down the Big Sur Coast. Any suggestions on route from Kings Canyon to Monterrey.

We plan to spend the last night somewhere that will put us close to the Getty Center (off Route 405) no matter whether we%26#39;re coming from Death Valley, Sequoia/Kings Canyon or the coast. There are a couple of hotels nearby, but they%26#39;re way out of our price range. I was thinking of maybe Sherman Oaks. There%26#39;s a Best Western there that isn%26#39;t too pricey. Any suggestions for this.

Thanks for reading through my long, involved route and questions. And thanks for the answers too.

Pasadena to Death Valley to Sequoia/Kings Canyon

Hello islandpaddler,

Wow, lots of information! I%26#39;m not too familiar with Death Valley so I%26#39;m afraid I can%26#39;t be of much assistance with planning your stops or routes there, but I can give you a couple of tips.

First and foremost, you most likely will not have problems finding availability for either campgrounds or hotels at that time of year, regardless of the location. If anything I would say Saturday nights would be the only time you might have trouble, but if you make reservations in advance you should be just fine. Peak travel season tends to be mid- to late May through early to mid-September, so traveling in March should give you a lot of freedom in terms of finding a place to stay for the night.

For getting from Death Valley to Sequoia, one thing to keep in mind is that it is quite a distance from one to the other. However, if you don%26#39;t mind making a long drive that day you should be ok. I personally have never taken 178 to get from 395 to 99, but it doesn%26#39;t appear to take much longer going that route compared to 14/58.

As far as where to stay in Sequoia/Kings Canyon, I%26#39;m obviously a little biased so I%26#39;ll let the other posters offer their recommendations, but I can tell you that it will depend on what area(s) you want to explore. Wuksachi is located in the heart of Sequoia, John Muir is up in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon, and Montecito is roughly half-way between the two. Wuksachi and John Muir are both your typical hotel style lodging, while Montecito is more of a family-camp style property, so it will also depend on what type of lodging you prefer, but all three are open year round.

To get from Kings Canyon to Monterey, the fastest route would be to take 180 west to Fresno, then 99 north to 152 west. There will be a breif point where you will have to hop between 156 and 101 before coming to Monterey so I would advise checking Mapquest or Google Maps to get a better idea about the specifics, but it is a fairly straightforward drive.

That being said, whether you do Death Valley, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, the coastal route down Highway 1, or any combination of the three, I would strongly encourage you to nail down a definite time frame for how long you want to spend in each location. The last thing you%26#39;ll want is to find yourself rushing through some of the most beautiful scenery in the country due to not scheduling enough time in a particular place. Also worth noting is the phone number for current road and weather conditions in Sequoia/Kings Canyon (559-565-3341) as we may still have some snow on the ground in March. Typically the road between the parks is kept very well plowed and is open year round, but if we get a sudden snow storm and there is a road closure, that could greatly affect your itinerary.

Whew! Sorry my response was a little long-winded, but hopefully this helps in your planning. If you have any other questions please don%26#39;t hesitate to ask and I hope you have a fantastic trip!

Pasadena to Death Valley to Sequoia/Kings Canyon

Since you are from the Virgin Islands, just want to be sure you are planning for SNOW and RAIN when tenting. It can be wonderful - but March is our most unpredictable weather for rain and snow.

Palmdale, Lancaster and Mojave are nothing special.

You might instead want to ensure your route includes:

Red Rock Canyon California side - its 25 miles away from Mojave and does have some camping possibilities there.

http://www.desertusa.com/rrsp/rrsp.html

blm.gov/nv/鈥ed_rock_campground.html

Also, consider first driving out to Joshua Tee National Monument and camping there (versus Ridge Crest)

http://www.nps.gov/jotr

If you include these 2 you could depart Pasadena and be in Joshua Tree in about 3 hours. This is a wonderful desert park to enjoy and explore.

From Joshua Tree to Mojave it is then, it is about 3 hour drive to Red Rock Canyon and camp there for the night.

On the drive there you might want to stop by and have lunch and see Calico.

http://www.calicotown.com/

(Note: There is also some camping here which is another alternative to do.)

Then reserve a camping spot in Death Valley, or use your plan.

For the last night,there are some camping spots close to Santa Monica,Malibu area in the hills which are nice. It is a little rugged but sounds like you are very comfortable camping. This ia a good location to see the area.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=614

For the route down the coast from Monterey to Big Sur, etc. there are lots of campgrounds. Exccept for the weekend Saturday, you should have no problem finding at spot.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/

Since you like camping you might want a night or two with nicer facilities (where they have washer dryer etc.). KOA is a popular camping spot.

http://www.koa.com/where/ca/

Some of the places you might want to look at specificallyh for your route are:

Lake Isabella

http://www.koa.com/where/ca/05106/

Pomona

http://www.koa.com/where/ca/05438/

(By Los Angeles)

Barstow/Calico

http://www.koa.com/where/ca/05233/

Your overall plan as is sounds very good, so treat these as just some alternative suggestions.)

Thanks all for your information and advice. I%26#39;m taking it all on board.

We don%26#39;t plan on making any advance reservations so we have the freedom to linger as long as we like at any one place. So this is my concern about having a plan A, B and C in case a place to stay is hard to come by.

In Sequoia/Kings Canyon are the hotels likely to be booked up during the week in March. What about the weekend?

And if the weather is foul, which I hope won%26#39;t be the case in Death Valley where we plan to camp, we%26#39;ll stay in a motel. I know that motel reservations in Death Valley will be impossible in March, so I%26#39;m not counting on that option at all. Winter camping is definitely not my cup of tea, so at Sequoia/Kings Canyon and enroute if it%26#39;s cold, we%26#39;ll stay in a motel.

Right now I don%26#39;t think you will have any problems finding a room in the Sequoia area in March. WuksachiStaff can say if I%26#39;m wrong.

I think this year April is the tougher month for rooms. Easter falls in April this year so nearly all US schools will take their Spring holiday break sometime in April. That will be a heavy family travel period.

FresnoFacts is right. April will be a little bit busier due to spring break, but at the moment March is not a problem for either midweek or weekends.

That%26#39;s good news about the hotels not being too busy. This means we can plan to wing it.