Sierra Nevada Adventures Multi Day Rides

DEATH VALLEY NORTHERN ADVENTURE 3-Days

Death Valley Northern ADVENTURE ride EXPLORES an amazing OFF-ROAD route that combines a scenic Sierra mountain pass, historic wagon routes, abandoned mining sites, secluded hot springs oasis, and the most remote large, deep, and arid valley in the northern region of Death Valley National Park.

Your amazing three-day dual-sport ADVENTURE ride begins in the small desert town of Ridgecrest with a two-night stay in Lone Pine located at the base of Mt. Whitney 14,505 ft. the highest mountain in the 48 contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada.

Day one of your adventure ride begins in Ridgecrest and explores a unique canyon with striking red-colored sandstone cliffs to a remote off-road wagon route to the scenic Sherman Pass 9,200 ft. the third highest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada including an ancient dry waterfall on your adventure ride to Lone Pine California for your first-night stay.

Sherman Pass located in the Sequoia National Forest provides an incredible journey through several climate zones. Your adventure on Sherman Pass begins near the Kern River with a mix of desert plants and common plants found in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Before long your adventure ride climbs a series of switchbacks leaving the desert plants behind and ventures into a pine forest eventually reaching the Sherman Pass summit at 9,200 ft. elevation. From the summit, you will have a unique view of the southwest side of Mt. Whitney in the distance. Beyond the summit, your adventure descends into the Kern Plateau which is a vast area of forest-covered hills and mountain meadows. This gently rolling landscape creates a feast for the eyes that contrast sharply with the rugged Sierra Peaks to the north. Towards the eastern edge of the plateau, the landscape suddenly changes from Sierra pine forest to the Mojave Desert climate zone as you descend a dramatic canyon peppered with Joshua Trees. Beyond Sherman Pass, your adventure explores a combination of on and off-road adventures along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada to the small mountain town of Lone Pine.  This small mountain town located at the base of Mt. Whitney has a rich film history of being a favorite location for Hollywood films, especially Western film history. The area around Lone Pine including the unique rock formations known as the Alabama Hills has starred in hundreds of movies and countless commercials including several classic John Wayne movies to Clint Eastwood’s classic movie Joe Kidd, filmed in 1972.

Day two of your adventure ride begins in Lone Pine and before long ventures off the tarmac on an amazing 100-mile off-road adventure into the most remote large, deep, arid valley in the northern region of Death Valley National Park. This amazing off-road adventure explores past ancient Joshua Trees, over two mountain passes with the northern pass reaching an elevation of over 7,500 ft. to the remote tectonic sink known as Saline Valley including a secluded hot springs oasis surrounded by lush palm trees in the middle of nowhere.

Saline Valley is a large, deep, and arid graben valley about 27 miles in length in the northern region of Death Valley. This remote arid dry lake basin is a tectonic sink defined by fault-block Mountains which surprisingly supports a salt marsh, which contains a variety of native plants and animal life. You may also see wild burro’s wondering about in this remote valley that was introduced to this area during the mining days. The salt marsh is fed by a perennial stream from Hunter Canyon which provides plant life for the animals. North of the dry lake bed is a large area of low and sweeping sand dunes that stretch out across the valley. Beyond the sand dunes are a number of hot springs oasis surrounded by lush palm trees that create a striking contrast to the arid landscape. The Valley’s lowest elevations are about 1,000 ft. and it lies in the rain shadow of the 14,000 ft. Sierra Nevada Range plus the 11,000 ft. Inyo Mountains tower over the arid valley to the west.

Saline Valley was a significant mineral source in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The borax company of the day mined borax from the salt marsh from 1874 to 1895. The remains of this historic site can be seen today as a few shallow pits near Saline Valley Road. Salt was also a significant mineral source in the dry lake valley that created a salt mining operation in 1903 at the south end of the lake and continued into the 1930s. An electric aerial tram was constructed in 1911 to carry the salt 14 miles over the Inyo Mountains to a terminus northeast of Keeler, California in the Owens Valley. It operated sporadically from 1913 to 1936 but ultimately proved to be too expensive to run. The tram, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, was the steepest ever constructed in the United States. It rose from an elevation of 1100 feet in Saline Valley to 8,500 feet over the mountains, and then down to 3600 feet. The route was south from Salt Lake to Daisy Canyon then southwest and terminated at the Southern Pacific RR between Dolomite and Swansea. A few remains of this historic tram system still remain to be seen in the remote arid valley. Today the main attraction is this arid valley is the Saline Valley Hot Springs which is a unique super remote free hot springs oasis surrounded by lush palm trees in the middle of nowhere. This desert gem is a communal sanctuary in the great Death Valley National Park and is only visited by those who seek adventure.

Day three of your adventure begins in Lone Pine as you travel a short distance from the town where your off-road adventure begins as you explore the unique rock formations known as the Alabama Hills. As you venture through this unique landscape you will have amazing views of Mt. Whitney and the majestic Eastern Sierra Nevada. Beyond the Alabama Hills, your adventure travels southwest into Death Valley National Park with a brief visit to the rugged Star Wars Canyon. If we’re lucky we may get a glimpse of a Top Gun Fighter Jet flying through this rugged canyon. Beyond Star Wars Canyon you will have the opportunity to explore off-road to an abandoned gold mine and beyond to the most amazing off-road vista point that overlooks Death Valley. Beyond this amazing vista point, your adventure travels through Panamint Valley and eventually back to the small desert town of Ridgecrest.

Death Valley Northern Adventure is an amazing three-day adventure ride with an incredible off-road route that explores just about every type of landscape imaginable from below sea level to the highest mountain in the 48 contiguous United States. If you’ve been looking for an amazing three-day adventure ride, then this is the adventure ride you’ve been looking for.