Eureka Dunes

[Richard K.]

Still hoping to get to Death Valley this February. Is it possible to get to the Eureka Dunes by takiing the road NW from Scotty's Castle to Crankshaft Junction and then West and South? Thanks...:)

[Vaughn]

It was possible last February, tho supposively rough in a couple places. The ranger did not seem overly keen on recommending the road...can't blame them. Rescuing idiots is probably not fun. So getting the latest info from the Park will be needed. A good winter storm could change things on that road (I have driven it a couple times -- entering and exiting the Park).

I was going to head that way out of the Park on my last trip, but upon inspection of a couple of my tires, I decided not to travel any long gravel/dirt roads. And while my Euro Van has much better clearance than a mini-van, it is not overly impressive. I have done some minor off-road with it. I spent the extra time over at the Alabama Hills instead, so no loss.

Vaughn

[Eric Woodbury]

I've gone both ways, that is from the Valley north by Scottie's and in from the north. It really depends. One time, it was actually faster to go out of the valley and around and come in from the north rather than go what would seem like the shorter route up by Scottie's. Never done either way in Feb. Let's see what kind of winter we have.

[J. Fada]

I did that road a good decade or so ago. Wouldn't really recommend it since the road is grated the whole way from what I recall so you either need to go real slow or have a lot of guts and go real fast to deal with the washboard surface. I did the fast route but I was younger and stupid. I wouldn't do it again. If you have any doubts then just go around.

[eric black]

If you decide on the washboard track and are renting a vehicle, check the tire pressure before proceeding. Rental agencies are infamous for incorrect tire pressure and overinflation + washboard= pinch flat.

[Richard K.]

Thanks for the good advice all!

[brianam]

Per other posts above, not really recommended. it's a l o n g washboard road..
Come in from Big Pine/395 if possible.

A couple years ago at the dunes I spoke with a Subaru driver who had destroyed her car's struts driving too fast on the washboard from Scotty's. And their other friends had gotten a flat. downer on their trip.

[Robert Oliver]

I took it a couple of years ago in a 2wd Chevy Tahoe... Didn't have any problems at all

[J. Fada]

I neglected to mention that about an hour after I arrived at Eureka dunes I noticed that I had a flat. It was a puncture, not a snakebite, but I have only ever had two flats in my Jeep in all he wacky places I have been and the other was caused by a drill bit. Just saying, be careful. It is not a good place to get a flat tire. I was prepared, but make sure you are especially if you have a rental car. Check it before you leave the lot.

[Michael Gordon]

Death Valley Road is good maintained road that is typically in fast condition. On good aired-down off-road tires (not cheap urban passenger-car tires), my travel time from Eureka Dunes to Stovepipe Wells is 2 - 2.5 hours one way at the most. The key is *airing down* and maintaining sufficient speed to iron out any washboard (that tends to be about 30-35mph).

[Kevin Crisp]

Parts of this thread suggest that airing down tires is something to be done to prevent rim cuts and also to accommodate washboard roads. I can't agree with either idea.

Airing down for soft surfaces and, especially, deep sand makes perfect sense, but not for a washboard road. Driving at high speeds on a dirt or gravel road with aired down tires makes it more likely you will get a rim cut, not less likely. The faster you go the more you flex the sidewalls and the heat from that alone damages them. And you need the pressure to resist the rocks you are inevitably going to go over at some point in the road. So high speeds on aired down tires isn't generally considered a good idea.

If you think your little $20 tire inflator has enough capacity to air up 4 tires that were down 10 psi each from airing down, you've got a surprise coming. It will overheat and need to be shut down every 15 minutes and it will take forever to put that much air back in. You need a serious compressor, hooked directly to your battery since it will otherwise blow the fuse on your cigarette lighter.

If you are going far off the beaten path, getting a junk wheel and a second full sized spare is good insurance. Make sure it fits before you need it. Otherwise, if you get one flat, you're pretty much done exploring since the next one will leave you stranded. The tire assortment in the park is rather limited, but it is somewhat better in Beatty.

Every time you stop, eye ball the tires to make sure they are up and not slowly leaking. It is easy to pick up nails just driving around heavily visited sites like Rhyolite and Bullfrog. Especially on a washboard road when driving an SUV, it is very hard to pick up the fact that your tire has a slow leak and is getting very low. Your first notice will be a lack of acceleration, which will cause you to finally notice that one of your tires has turned into a ruined, steaming mess. If you can catch the nail early you can change the tire or plug it until you can do a proper repair.

[Jim Galli]

Still hoping to get to Death Valley this February. Is it possible to get to the Eureka Dunes by takiing the road NW from Scotty's Castle to Crankshaft Junction and then West and South? Thanks...:)

Only in a rental car. Buy the insurance policy.

I was going the other direction one time pulling my vintage canned ham camping trailer and the road is so bad the axle loosened up and started sliding forward on one side. We had to stop and do repairs at "tea kettle junction (http://www.kenrockwell.com/trips/2009-01-dv/images/89960001-1500.jpg)"

If you do go that way, shop ebay for a tea kettle of some distinction :cool:

:o !! oops. Wrong road, but you'll be going to the racetrack so get the tea kettle anyways. I meant to say "crankshaft crossing (http://media.photobucket.com/image/crankshaft%20crossing/aostling/CrankshaftCrossing-1.jpg)". Ouch, that's going to be a bitch bringing that crankshaft with your luggage on the airlines these days.

Or stop in Tonopah, I'll fix you up. The Mizpah Hotel is open!


http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/01/AtTheBar_MizpahS.jpg
at the bar, mizpah hotel

[eric black]

my recommendation is to check the tires for correct inflation- both times I have run into troubles (both Las Vegas rentals) the tires were all overinflated by 5-10 psi each. Both times a pinch flat left me looking for replacements in Moab and DV respetively-not an easily remidied proposition. After getting the replacements, and adjusting the remaining tires to the correct inflation, I had no problems regardless of the roads I was on. A tire guage now accompanies me on every trip I make.