This is not at all an ideal time to go to Death Valley. It is likely to be extremely hot by this time. Yes, the Racetrack Playa is a few thousand feet higher that the lowest points in the park, but it is still a very hot/arid place during the warm months. Contrary to an earlier post, it will most certainly not get \"cold\" there at night at the end of May, and it will most certainly be quite to very hot in the daytime.
If you can visit at a different time, I would change my plans if I were you.
The drive does not require 4WD in normal conditions, though good tires and high clearance are very important. Contrary to an earlier post, the section at the end to the southern area of the playa and the campground a bit further on is not a very challenging portion of the drive. Those come much sooner along on the route and are mostly due to very bad washboard surface and deeply grooved sections where you could high center your vehicle.
This is not at all an ideal time to go to Death Valley. It is likely to be extremely hot by this time. Yes, the Racetrack Playa is a few thousand feet higher that the lowest points in the park, but it is still a very hot/arid place during the warm months. Contrary to an earlier post, it will most certainly not get \"cold\" there at night at the end of May, and it will most certainly be quite to very hot in the daytime.
If you can visit at a different time, I would change my plans if I were you.
The drive does not require 4WD in normal conditions, though good tires and high clearance are very important. Contrary to an earlier post the section at the end to the southern area of the playa and the the campground a bit further on is not a very challenging portion of the drive. Those come much earlier on the route.
Dan
May 16, 2013 at 05:51 PM
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