Class A vs Death Valley

No problems with the road, just don't break down!

Mr.Mark wrote:
You could definitely cook an egg on it!

Unfortunately that's a bit of a myth ;)

Trying to cook an egg in Death Valley

Just keep in mind, that 120+ degrees is not unusual in the summer. RV rental companies will not let you go through Death Valley in the summer (the company we rented from). Can you imagine how hot the pavement is if it's 120 outside? You could definitely cook an egg on it!

Death Valley gets less than 3 inches of rain a year from what I remember. Beautiful area though. If you visit the area, don't miss Scotty's Castle....neat story.

MM.

I just drove through Death Valley the week before last. Make sure you check road conditions because this time of year they can get some of those desert monsoons. Two days before I drove through the park the roads had been closed for a day because of washouts. I'd also recommend checking the temps. If it's going to be a really hot day I don't think I'd want to go through Death Valley during the heat of the day. I'd get a real early start and try and drive through in the morning. If it's 110 plus degrees it isn't a lot of fun to stop and look around anyway.

When?

Then going through Death Valley is a nice scenic drive for you. I was just concerned that with the wording of your post you thought you were going directly to Sequoia from that angle.

If you really want a scenic route to get into Sequoia then when you hit 395 go north up to 120 and then cross the Sierras through Yosemite. You can then go south down to Sequoia from there.

Lone Pine is a great place to explore too. The Alabama Hills are right outside of Lone Pine and you'll recognize them as soon as you see them because you've seen them in hundreds of movies as well as TV commercials.

msmith1199, thanks for the info on the 12,000 peaks! LOL Our interest is mainly Sequoia, but thought going via Death Valley might be interesting. We will look at optional routes.

Bob & Ann wrote:
We would like to travel from Vegas to the Sequoia NP which would take us on CA 190 through Death Valley. Is that a drivable road for a motorhome? Has anyone done this?

Yes, it's doable, but that route doesn't get you to Sequoia NP unless you plan to hike in from the backside over 12,000 peaks. If your intent is to go to Sequoia and not sightsee in Death Valley then you need to go around to the west side of the park and enter from that side. That means I15 to 58 to 99 and then enter the park on 198. There is a very steep road out of Lone Pine on the east side of the mountains, where you can drive up to about a 10,000 elevation and there is a parking lot up there. From there you can hike in to the back side of Sequoia but it's all wilderness area and rugged terrain up there.

If you have problems can you handle 129 degree heat? If so the road is the least of problems.

Yes it is a drivable road in a Class A. Used regularly by many RVs.