Biking
Because most of the park is federally designated wilderness, cycling is allowed only on roads used by cars. Bikes are not allowed on hiking trails. Check tel. 760/786-3200 for road and trail conditions.
Good routes for bikers include Racetrack (28 miles, mainly level), Greenwater Valley (30 miles, mostly level), Cottonwood Canyon (20 miles), and West Side Road (40 miles, fairly level with some washboard sections). Artists Drive is 8 miles long and paved, with some steep uphills. A favorite is Titus Canyon, a 28-mile one-way route that starts 2 3/4 miles east of the park boundary on Nevada Highway 374.
Hiking
The trails in Death Valley range from the half-mile Salt Creek Nature Trail, an easy boardwalk suitable for everyone in the family, to the grueling Telescope Peak Trail (14 miles round-trip). Telescope Peak is a day-long, 3,000-foot climb to the 11,049-foot summit. Snow-covered in winter, the peak is best climbed between May and November.
For moderate hikes, try the trail into Mosaic Canyon, near Stovepipe Wells, where water has polished the marble rock into mosaics. It's an easy, 2.5-mile scramble through long, narrow walls that provide shade at every turn.
Romping among the Sand Dunes on the way to Stovepipe Wells is also fun, particularly for kids. It's a free-form adventure, and the dunes aren't particularly high -- but the sun can be merciless. The sand in the dunes is actually tiny pieces of rock, most of them quartz fragments. As with all desert activities, having an adequate water supply is crucial.
Near the park's eastern border, two trails lead from the Keane Wonder Mill, site of a successful gold mine. The first is a steep and strenuous 2-mile challenge leading to the mine itself, passing along the way the solid, efficient wooden tramway that carried ore out of the mountain. The 2-mile Keane Wonder Spring Trail is much easier. The spring announces itself with a sulfur smell and piping birdcalls.
If you're visiting Ubehebe Crater, check out the steep but plain trail leading from the parking area up to the crater's lip and around some of the contours. Fierce winds can hamper your progress, but you'll feel like you're on another planet.
Park rangers can provide topographical maps and detailed directions to these and a dozen other hiking trails within the national park.
