Quick hits - Phoenix to SF in late Oct

[oren]

I'm hopefully picking up a van in Phoenix in a few weeks, driving back to the SF Bay Area.
My 13 year old son will be with me. Since it's going to be a solo trip, looking for fun places and must see vs the deep routes that OTG has. Will save that up for an official trip. This is my 2nd van, have driven from Cabo to Vancouver Island and all in between but somehow never explored anything east. Currently thinking of

Day 1: PHX -> ~Joshua Tree area
Day 2: Joshua Tree -> Alabama Hills (maybe drive through Death Valley on the way?)
Day 3: Alabama Hills -> Upper Owens River area
Day 4: drive home.

Lots of highway clearly. Don't have the time for deep backcountry. But if there are any favorite spots (in an area I could easily spend months) LMK!

 

[OTG Ben]

Congrats on picking up a new rig! Let me sprinkly in a couple of suggestions that you may have overlooked.

Kofa
You may want to check out Kofa that's south of I-10 and Quartzsite. Queen Canyon can be easily accessed by a Sprinter 4x4 and has some amazing campsites.


Queen Canyon, the photo doesn't do it justice and lots of campsites on the way end!


Joshua tree
I'd recommend coming in via the Cottonwood entrance. There's a big dispersed camping area on BLM land called Joshua Tree south, but really nothing spectacular. You can get into the park by way of Pinto Basin. Sheep Pass has some really nice sites. They're group sites so they offer quite a bit more privacy than the typical JTNP campsite. Unfortunately, there's not dispersed camping in JTNP for vehicles. You can try the BLM land if you keep going up Old Dale Road, but unless you're in an old Ford Sportsmobile/Quigley, I wouldn't try to go through the mountains in something like Sprinter.

Owens Valley/395 Corridor
Depending on the weather, if it's warm you may want to head to higher elevation around Mammoth, which should be much cooler than areas like Bishop. If you're up for a bit of an adventure, you can probably get to Badger Flat via Mazourka Canyon in around 35-40 minutes. There's a spectacularly campsite that overlooks the Sierra Crest. It may not have the cool rock formations that Alabama Hills does, but you likely won't have any neighbors. These two EarthCruisers looked as if they had no plans to leave anytime soon!



There's also some great camping around Mammoth. Check out Willy's hot springs-- lots of camping out that way!

 

[joeray]

I'd skip Joshua Tree NP. It's okay, but nothing I'd consider spectacular. It would also put you off course for going through Death Valley.

Instead, I would head northwest out of Phoenix thru Kingman and go to Valley of Fire State Park north of Las Vegas. From there you can cross Death Valley out of Pahrump or Beatty. Then do the Alabama Hills and head north into Bishop. On the way make a stop at Manzanar. While you're in Bishop check out the petroglyphs. The local BLM office can give you a map. Most of them are located north of Bishop in the Volcanic Tablelands. If you have some extra time to burn, go to the Devil's Postpile out of Mammoth. If you want the scenic route from there, go up to Lee Vining and cross the mountains through Yosemite NP.

 

[oren]

Thanks @joeray for the suggestion. Currently planning this, times are rough driving time. Day 1 probably won't get on the road till ~1pm, so close is good. I have great off-road lights but still would be nice to setup with a little light. Then a long day 2 drive. Day 3 slower paced, more exploring.

• Day 1: 3:30
  • Camp: Kofa Queen Canyon
• Day 2: 7:00
  • Cholla cactus Garden
  • Arch Rock
  • Camp: Trona Pinnacles
• Day 3: 3:30
  • Ancient Bristlecone Pine
  • Alabama Hills
  • Big pine Lakes?
  • Petroglyphs
  • Camp: Owens Gorge
• Day 4: 6:00 Home
  • Sonora Pass Road 108

 

[joeray]

Sounds like you have a nice trip planned. I've never driven across the mountains north of Bridgeport, I should do that some day. If it doesn't work out camping in the Owens gorge, go over to Horton Creek. Creekside campsites overlooking Round Valley. Have fun!

 

[oren]

Wound up doing Vegas (stayed with family), Alabama Hills, Owens Gorge, home. Had an amazing time.

Some of the camping spots off Benton Crossing Road - wow. 37.63318, -118.67141 was just about as good as one could hope for. The last picture is a view from that GPS coordinate. Plenty of flat space for 2 vehicles.

 

[OTG Ben]

Fantastic photos @oren ! Looks like your son had a blast as well