Location: Death Valley National Park
State: California
Length: 15 Miles
Difficulty: Difficult
Elevation: 11,000 feet
Trail Type: Up and Back
The view from the summit of Telescope Peak in Death Valley
Trail Information:
This all-day, 14-mile round-trip climbs 2,916 ft/889 m to the highest point in Death Valley. As you would expect, the views from the 11,049 ft summit are fabulous.
Incredibly as you climb above the floor of Death Valley you will be awestruck by the cool temperatures, lowering about fifty degrees below those in the valley below you.
The wildflowers and lush, nearly alpine meadows will amaze and delight you as you continue upward and in some places in mid summer you will be hiking through snow.
This is not a walk for the faint hearted, and do be certain that you check the trail conditions as in some cases you will need an ice axe to negotiate the trail.
From the trailhead at Mahogany Flat Camp ground, at an elevation of 8133 feet, the strenuous 14-mile round-trip day hike to the top of the 11,049-foot desert mountain called Telescope Peak is a struggle that is absolutely worth the time and energy it will take to help you to arrive at your destination.
Located in the Panamint Range, it is the highest point in the Death Valley National Park.
The trail is often covered with snow until June and if traversed at that time many hikers have laboured through knee-deep snow over the last mile to reach the summit.
Splashed with patches of white evening primrose, yellow flowering prickly pear and pink phlox scattered among lupine and desert paintbrush, if the trail or the altitude don’t take your breath away the scenery most certainly will.
From the summit of Telescope Peak, there is a 360º view of the surrounding basins and mountains, badlands and salt flats. Death Valley lies below you, to the east, a vast panorama. The Sierra Nevada Mountains lay on the distant horizon to the northwest, beyond the Inyo Mountains.
While the trail may be a bit of a struggle, achieving the peak will be that much sweeter.
Directions:
From Highway 178, take Lower Wildrose Canyon east nine miles on a narrow road to the junction of Emigrant Pass Road, or from Highway 190, take Emigrant Pass Road south 21 miles to the junction of Lower Wildrose Canyon. From the junction, continue east through Upper Wildrose Canyon seven miles to the historical Wildrose Charcoal Kilns. Just past the kilns, a sign, “4X4 HIGH CLEARANCE RECOMMENDED,” is posted. The road for the next two miles, to Mahogany Flat Campground, is rough, steep and slow going. All five of our vehicles managed to negotiate the road, even though only two were a 4X4. Be sure to check road conditions and closures.Trail starts at Mahogany Flat campground, 2 miles further on from Charcoal Kilns along a rough dirt road.
