Tour Summary


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2024 Price

$3,150.00


2024 Dates

TBD

Tour: 10 Spots Left


2024 Meals

Included:
6
Lunches
1 Group Dinner
5 Continental Brkfst

Not Included:
4 Dinners
Hot Breakfast

(Continental Breakfast items always available in Trailer: greek yogurt, cereal, bagels)

Duration
6 Days / 5 Nights

Single Room
$695.00

Highlights
Death Valley NP
Giant Sand Dunes
Scotty's Castle
Park Map

Lodging
Ranch at Death Valley

Dining
Inn at Death Valley

Start / Finish
Death Valley, CA

Airport
Las Vegas

Transortation:
Airport Car Rental

Meetup Time:
Sunday 10:00am
Oasis Resort


We can't think of anything to improve the tour, we had a brilliant time! We loved the place, and the cycling and the company and the heat!
- Helen & Pete, Scotland 2009
I don't think the Death Valley tour could have been improved. We had a great time. Thanks again for a wonderful tour!
- Rich and Diane Freggiaro, CA 2008

Cindy and I believe Cycling Escapes stands head and shoulders above the competition and we will continue to use Cycling Escapes exclusively.
- Don & Cindy 2008

California Cycling Tours

Death Valley National Park

6 Days 5 Nights • 440 Mi • 21,000' • $3,150.00

Death Valley National Park is famous for striking views, colorful geologic formations, and scenic vistas. On this cycling vacation we'll tour the park by bike, exploring it's scenic roads, rock formations, sand dunes, ghost towns and even castles.

The National Park Lodge will be our base camp for the week. From here we explore all the park has to offer by bicycle, alternating climbing days with flatter routes down the valley. Choose your ride each day, either a short or long route. In five days you'll ride most of the park. We'll also hike a few spectacular trails that must be seen when visiting the area.

This California bicycle tour is the perfect winter and spring get away. Because Death Valley is located below sea level, the winter temperatures are mild, and as a bonus, the roads are practically empty of cars!

Day
Weekday
Ride
Day
2024 Cycling Route
Elevation
Gain
Miles
1
Sunday
...
Meet in Death Valley National Park
---
---
...
...
1
Hells Gate & Daylight Pass
2,800'
42
2
Monday
2
Badwater
2,310'
60-86
4
Tuesday
3
Ubehebe Crater & Scotty's Castle
4,000'
55-78
3
Wednesday
4
Off Day - Explore the Park
3,000'
25-40
5
Thursday
5
Panamint Range
5,000'
50-76
6
Friday
6
Artists Drive
2,384'
25
...
Depart 12:00 Noon
---
---
...
.
...
Total
20,000'
347

Scroll down for 2024 Itinerary



Day 1 - Meet in Death Valley, California


Cycling tour California Day 1

Our base camp for the week on this bicycle tour is the Oasis Resort in Death Valley, California.

The Tour meets in Death Valley National Park on Sunday at 10:00 am. If you are flying, the closest Airport is Las Vegas. You will need to rent a car at the airport and drive to Death Valley. There are no shuttles. It is about a 2 hour scenic drive.

After introductions and a brief orientation, we will pass out route slips, set up the bikes, and go for an afternoon ride.

Day 1 - Hells Gate & Daylight Pass


Cycling tour California Day 7

All our bike rides begin and end at the Furnace Creek Resort. Today we cycle up to Hells Gate & Daylight Pass, a 10-16 mile climb up the east side of the valley. From here we can see all of Death Valley spread out below us, the Sand Dunes to the right, Badwater to the left. This is a preview of the week to come. The big climb is rewarded with a great descent

Fact - In 1929, no rain was recorded in Death Valley, California. From 1931 through 1934, a 40 month period, only 0.64 inches of rain fell.

42 miles / 2,800 ft. elevation gain

death valley

Death Valley Cycling Tour Day 2 - Badwater


Cycling tour California Day 3

Where else can you cycle below sea level all day long! We start our cycling vacation with an out and back from Furnace Creek that spends almost the entire ride below sea level. Ride either 89 or 100 miles.

We'll also ride by Devil's Golf Course, which is not actually a golf course at all, but rather an expansive salt field caused by evaporated bodies of water. You can actually see the crystallization process at work as you walk along the surface.

Fact - Badwater Basin, in Death Valley National Park, is the lowest place in North America and one of the lowest places in the world at 282 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordon, is the lowest at 1371 feet below sea level.

60 - 86 miles / 2,500 ft. elevation gain

death valley

Day 3 - Ubehebe Crater & Scotty's Castle


Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater is a large volcanic crater 600 feet deep and half a mile across formed as recently as 300 years ago. It was created by steam and gas explosions when hot magma rising up from the depths reached ground water.

Death Valley Scotty told everyone he built this castle with the riches made off his secret gold mine. But that wasn't quite the truth! Albert Johnson, a Chicago businessman, built the castle and let his cowboy "mining partner", Scotty, live there as a guest. After lunch we will tour the castle, where guides dressed in period costume show us around.

(NOTE: The Castle is closed until 2024 due to flashflood damage)

55 -78 miles / 4,000 ft. elevation gain

death valley

Day 4 - Layover Day - Explore the Park!


Death Valley Junction

Today is your chance to explore the Park! Come along with us as we hike along the giant sand dunes, explore Golden Canyon and it's narrow walls, take a short hike to a natural arch, explore Devils Gold Course, and take a stroll on Badwater, the lowest point in North America. If you'd rather ride there is a 25-40 mile quiet road right out our door where you can climb 3,000' to the top of the Valley.

25-40 miles / 3,000 ft. elevation gain

death valley

Death Valley Cycling Tour Day 5 - Panamint Range


Hells Gate

Today we ride by the most photographed sand dunes in the world on our way to the west side of the valley. The Panamint Range is home to 11,049' Telescope Peak, but we'll only climb part way up this dramatic landscape. Along the way, Devil's Cornfield is named for the stalks of arroweed plants that seem to sprout straight up from the ground. Like our ride up to Hells Gate, a big climb deserves a big downhill!

Fact - The highest mountain in Death Valley National Park is 11,049 foot Telescope Peak. The vertical drop from the peak to the Badwater Basin is twice the depth of Grand Canyon.

50-76 miles / 5,000 ft. elevation gain

death valley

Day 6 - Artist's Drive


Cycling tour California Day 2

Our last ride of the week is a geological wonderland. Artist's Drive is a one lane road carved out of the side of the mountain. We climb up into the hills before diving down through canyons carved by flash-floods. A short ride from the one way scenic drive takes us back to the hotel where we can shower, pack up and say our goodbyes to an Epic week of cycling!

Fact - In July 1913 it hit 134°F (57°C) at what is now Furnace Creek Ranch. Although this was the world record at the time, it has since been exceeded by two degrees Fahrenheit at a weather station in Libya.

25 miles / 2,384 ft. elevation gain

death valley

 

Meals:

Lunch on ride days is always included. On this Tour one group dinner is included and riders are on their own for the remaining, with suggested seating times for those wishing to dine with others. A continental breakfast is always included of Greek yogurt, a selection of natural cereals, Bagels, cream cheese, etc. Hot breakfasts are on your own and require eating early in the Lodges.

Similar Tours: Lake Mead & Valley of Fire

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