| BackRoadsWest presents: | Death Valley |
Hunter Mountain Road Trip Log
Getting There
The most popular way to enjoy a trip through
Hunter Mountain is to start and stop at the junction of Saline Valley Road and
S.R. 190. This junction is well marked on S.R. 190.
From the west (Lone Pine or Olancha): From the junction of S.R. 190 and S.R. 136, go east for just over 17 miles. Turn left onto Saline Valley Road and continue reading directions at the * below.
From the east (Stovepipe Wells): Take S.R.190 for 50.7 miles (20 miles past Panamint Springs). Turn right onto Saline Valley Road and continue reading directions at the * below. If you are returning to Stovepipe Wells, your quickest route home will be to take Racetrack Valley Road east towards Scotty's Castle, then turn south on S.R. 190 back to Stovepipe Wells. Be advised that even though Racetrack Valley Road is wide and frequently used, it often contains long stretches of washboard that will rattle the teeth out of any living thing! We have had to turn around before because it was just intolerable! To plan your best route, check with the National Park Service to see when the road was last graded.
*After turning onto Saline Valley Road, travel north 15.2 miles to the junction with Hunter Mountain Road. Bear right on Hunter Mountain Road (Saline Valley Road continues straight and down to the left). If you are taking the loop route via Racetrack and Lippincot Road, you will return to this junction at the end of the day.
Be aware that some maps show a different alignment for Saline Valley Road leaving S.R. 190. They show Saline Valley Road leaving S.R. 190 2.8 miles west of the intersection of S.R. 190 with Darwin Road. In reality, it is 4.2 miles east of Darwin Road. You can travel this other route, which goes through several talc mine ruins, however, it is a dirt road as opposed to the rough pavement on Saline Valley Road.
The Road
As you can see from the Difficulty Chart above, this Road Trip is not for
your standard car. The road is dirt all the way with many of the
"standard" off-road challenges. There are narrow spots, steep inclines/declines,
sharp drop-offs in some portions, possible soft sand and large boulders in the
wash areas and, depending on weather conditions, you may also encounter mud
and/or snow. Please read the Trip Log before
taking your journey. It offers not only the mileages to the different
(unmarked) turning points along the way but details of the possible road
conditions you might run into.
Because of the many possible side trips on this Road Trip, there really isn't a recommended direction of travel. We started at Hunter Mountain and went through Hidden Valley first because we included the Lippencott Mine Road. If you plan to incorporate the Lippencott Mine Road, be sure to read that chapter before going.
And remember, there are no services so make sure you have everything you need including fuel, water and food before starting your journey.
Road Trip Log:
By using this Trip Log with your vehicles' trip
odometer and/or your GPS device, you'll know exactly which turn in the road to
take and where the different points of interest are along your route.
The top (larger, black) number in the Mileage
column reflects mileage based on our direction of travel as described in
The Road section above. The bottom (smaller,
purple) number reflects mileage based on travel from the opposite
direction.
Note: all GPS waypoints assume Northern
hemisphere latitude and Western hemisphere longitude.
| What You Will See and Where: | Mileage: Other Way: |
Next Event: |
Waypoints: Latitude / Long. |
| Junction of S.R. 190 and Saline Valley Road (reset your trip odometer). The road at this point is old broken pavement. Watch out for pot holes because it is tempting to drive faster than normal on this segment of the road. | 0 57.8 |
8.2 miles | 36° 21.92' 117° 37.58' |
| The pavement ends and the road enters Lee Flat which contains a large stand of healthy Joshua Trees. The road to the left goes up Lee Flat and continues up the back side of Cerro Gordo. | 8.2 49.6 |
5.9 | 36° 28.00' 117° 37.66' |
| An outstanding view of Panamint Valley [see picture] comes into view on the right side of the road. The view continues until the junction with Hunter Mountain Road. | 14.1 43.7 |
1.3 | 36° 31.01' 117° 33.82' |
| Junction with Hunter Mountain Road. Bear right [see picture]. Saline Valley Road continues straight and then left as it follows Jackass Canyon to Saline Valley. After 1.5 miles, the road enters a small canyon with a creek [see picture]. Look for petroglyphys on the left across the creek. | 15.4 42.4 |
2.9 | 36° 31.61' 117° 32.83' |
| Highest summit of Hunter Mountain Road at about 7,100 feet. This part of the road is notorious for mud and ruts so, if going up or down this summit during wet periods, take extra driving care if you encounter muddy conditions. | 18.3 39.5 |
4.3 | 36° 32.83' 117° 30.97' |
| Hunter Mountain Road begins to descend steeply into the various valleys below [see picture]. During wet/muddy conditions, this part of the road is well known for getting very slick and "slimy". | 22.6 35.2 |
2.8 | 36° 35.02' 117° 28.58' |
| Junction with road to Quackenbush Mine, Goldbelt Spring and Shorty Harris Canyon. Turn left to follow Hunter Mountain Road. Turning right will take you through the Goldbelt Mining District (as explained in the History section above) and will eventually loop back to Hunter Mountain Road. | 25.4 32.4 |
1.7 | 36° 36.03' 117° 27.14' |
| Junction with the road through the Goldbelt district. Continue straight, following the main road. This is also your closest spot to access the Sand Flat dry lake. About a mile after this point, there is a faint road to the right that leads to a few mines in the hills to the right. The main road goes around them. | 27.1 30.7 |
5.7 | 36° 37.00' 117° 27.78' |
| You will reach the edge of Hidden Valley's dry lake which is extremely powdery. Make sure to have all the vents closed on your vehicle! Non-4WD vehicles, be careful because the dirt is very soft. Make sure you have enough speed and don't stop in the soft spots. | 32.8 25.0 |
9.7 | 36° 40.30' 117° 29.77' |
| Junction with road to Lost Burro Mine. Turn left to the mine. This road will require 4WD for the last half of the one mile distance. If you can't make it, you can park and hike the remaining distance. Turning right at this intersection will take you to Perdido Canyon and Rest Spring. The canyon is known for its fossils. Read Hiking Death Valley [references] for more details. If you went to Lost Burro mine, make sure to adjust your mileage by adding 2.2 miles. | 42.5 15.3 |
1.6 | 36° 43.75' 117° 30.31' |
| You are now in the middle of Lost Burro Gap. Hiking up the narrow canyon to the left [see picture] reveals some interesting narrows. | 44.1 13.7 |
1.6 | 36° 44.83' 117° 31.27' |
| Teakettle Junction: a Death Valley tradition [see picture]. Why not bring a teakettle and add to the collection! This is Racetrack Valley Road. Turn left to continue this trip to Racetrack Playa. Turning right will take you to the pavement at Scotty's Castle. | 45.7 12.1 |
2.1 | 36° 45.60' 117° 32.55' |
| Road going to the right will lead you to the Copper Bell and Ubehebe Mines [see picture] in 0.6 miles. Read the History section (above) for more about the Ubehebe Mine. The dry lake to the south is Racetrack Playa. | 47.8 10.0 |
3.7 | 36° 44.72' 117° 34.51' |
| Parking area for The Grandstand - the unusual rock outcropping in the middle of Racetrack Playa. Do not attempt to walk over the playa [glossary] when it is wet. Not only will you get stuck but you will also destroy the beautiful patterns on the floor of the playa. | 51.5 6.3 |
1.9 | 36° 41.59' 117° 34.29' |
| Racetrack parking area and NPS kiosk explaining the story behind the sliding rocks. Again, do not attempt to walk over the playa if it is wet or raining. Please don't destroy what it takes Nature so long to create! | 53.4 4.4 |
3.7 | 36° 39.98' 117° 34.10' |
| Intersection with Lippencott Road. Continue straight for ¼ mile to a campground and on to the Lippencott Lead Mine. Or, turn right here to take the challenging Lippencott Road down into Saline Valley - if you dare! Be sure to read the chapter on this road before you go. | 57.1 0.7 |
0.7 | 36° 38.48' 117° 34.47' |
| The camp of the Lippencott Lead Mine. The lower road to the right goes to the bottom portion of the mine and road that bears left goes to several of the horizontal shafts. Most of the tunnels have been closed-off by the NPS. | 57.8 0 |
36° 37.91' 117° 34.48' |
From this point, you can return via three routes:
- Retrace the entire route
through Lost Burro Gap, Hidden Valley, over Hunter Mountain and back to S.R.
190.
- Go down the adventurous Lippencott Road for 6.5 miles
to the junction of Saline Valley Road, turn left and go another 10 miles to
the junction with Hunter Mountain Road. Then, retrace your route
proceeding south on Saline Valley Road back to S.R. 190.
- Take Racetrack Valley Road east to the paved road near Scotty's Castle. The distance from the junction of Lippencott and Racetrack Valley Roads to the pavement at Ubehebe Crater is 28.7 miles. Be aware: this route is over a long, and potentially rough, washboard dirt road! We have turned back before!
Be sure to take along a good map to verify your
route!
We recommend a AAA map of Death Valley and/or a Delorme Topo book map.