Death Valley Adventure (TourzPlus)

Highlights: Rhyolite, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Your adventure begins in Las Vegas where you’ll be shuttled to Death Valley National Park, your home for the next five nights. On the way, we’ll stop in the once booming town of Rhyolite, now a desolate ghost town with only remnants of its glory days as a gold mining hub. From there we’ll saddle up for the first ride into Death Valley. After an epic descent down Daylight Pass you’ll arrive at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes where you are free to roam viewing the surrounding mountains in the warm afternoon light before settling in to our hotel.

Highlights: Panamint Range, Wildrose Peak

You’ll lace up your hiking boots and head to the towering Panamint Range today. Up on the ridge, your starting point is 7,000 feet, from which you’ll hike to the summit of Wildrose Peak at 9,064 feet. You’ll discover the view from the peak is nothing short of stunning, displaying the varied landscape before a splendid multi-hued backdrop. On the return trip you’ll have a chance to see the 100 year old, bee-hive shaped Wildrose charcoal kilns that were once used to provide fuel to refine ore at nearby lead-silver mines

Highlights: Hiking Ubehebe Crater

This morning we’ll shuttle up to Ubehebe Crater which was created by a steam explosion when magma hit groundwater. After hiking the 2 miles around the rim of the massive half-mile wide crater. You’ll then head downhill on a bike route that takes you through the northern part of Death Valley back to Furnace Creek. Given the net elevation loss of 2,400 feet, you may find you can bike the full distance more easily. This afternoon you can relax in the soothing, spring-fed waters of the hotel pool before dinner at the Ranch.

Highlights: Sunrise at Zabriskie Point, Dante’s View

Your day starts early as you rise for sunrise at Zabriskie Point. Prepare to be dazzled as you watch the sunlight gradually illuminate the Badlands and Manly Beacon. After breakfast we’ll drive up Dante’s View at 5,475 feet to take in a stunning view of the valley. We’ll then setup the bikes at Zabriskie Point and descend into the Badwater salt flat at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest place in North America. From there you’ll shuttle or bike to one of the least traveled areas of the park, Ashford Mill, where you may enjoy your lunch at your leisure. In the spring, this can be a great place to see wildflowers. If you are looking for more miles, you are free to ride back north toward Badwater. We’ll shuttle back to Furnace Creek, stopping along the way to witness the beautiful natural pastels of the Artist’s Palette. Tonight after such a long day you are free to dine on your own.

Highlights: Colorful canyon walls, old borax mines, the “red cathedral”

After yesterday, you’ve earned a day off the bike. We’ll explore Golden Canyon where parts of the first Star Wars Movie (Episode IV) were filmed. We’ll the enjoy a sensational hike through the canyon and nearby Gower Gulch below Manly Beacon. It’s an amazing hike offering a magnificent array of colorful canyon walls, old borax mines, the famous “red cathedral” and many more exciting geological sites. This afternoon is free for you to spend as you see fit and we recommend you stop by the visitor center and/or spend some time at the blissful spring-fed pool at the hotel. Tonight we enjoy a farewell dinner at the elegant, historic Inn dining room.

Highlights: Shuttle to Las Vegas

After breakfast we depart for Las Vegas. Along the way we’ll stop at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. At the visitor center there you’ll learn a bit more about this unique desert refuge’s life-sustaining springs and watch a 20-minute video about their endemic Devils Hole pupfish. The world’s rarest fish, it was threatened with extinction by groundwater pumping for farming and a proposed housing development that was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to protect it. After you’ll take a walk along the Crystal Springs boardwalk where you can see the beautiful azure waters that bubble out of the ground at 87 degrees and provide precious habitat to pupfish among other flora and fauna. We then continue our drive back to Las Vegas.