Trip Date: 1/23/2016
Location: Death Valley National Park
Permit/Pass: Vehicle Entrance Fee: $20 for 7 Days. This permit allows all persons traveling with the permit holder in one single private, non-commercial vehicle (car/truck/van) to leave and re-enter the park as many times as they wish during the 7-day period from the date of purchase.
Trail maps: mappery.com
Directions: Exit Interstate 15 in Baker, CA, and take CA Highway 127 north for 83 miles. Turn left onto CA Highway 190 and head west, then northwest, then west again for 52.6 miles. As the road meanders, it first visits the Furnace Creek area, then veers west at the junction with Scotty's Castle Rd for the last five miles to a right turn into the parking area for Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Synopsis: There are several dune areas in Death Valley, with Mesquite Flats being the most accessible, and therefore the most popular. Sunrise and sunset in these dunes can be dazzling, but is seldom, in my experience, secluded. But don't let that stop you. Just continue hiking out into the windswept mounds until you find a dune all your own.
Trail sequence: Parking area use trails
Type: Loop (or whatever)
Distance: 1.6 miles +?
Elevation: Min. - -3', Max. - 85'
Profile:
Rating: Easy (factors: sand-walking, route-finding)
Notes: This hike can be as easy or challenging as you desire - this guide follows a short sunrise-seeking route. But note the profile above - that's not a gps anomaly, that's the hike, there are lots of ups and downs over sand dunes involved in even a fairly short hike.
Track: Mesquite Flat Dunes - Death Valley NP
Turn by Turn:
-- There are no established trails here apart from the first few yards heading north from the parking lot. Just be sure to stay within your skill limits. If you don't know how to do dead-reckoning or work a compass (really, all you have to do is climb to the nearest dune to look for landmarks) then don't venture too far from the your car. The dunes close to the trailhead are just as beautiful, if a bit more traveled.
Photos: Flickr
Video: Youtube