Don’t expect to see wilderness, expect to experience wilderness over 5 days mountain biking and exploring this iconic part of the US. While big swathes of North America deals with snow and icy roads, you will enjoy exemplary outdoor wintertime adventure in the heart of the Mojave Desert, from Death Valley National Park to Red Rock Canyon. Roam America’s largest national park outside Alaska: 3,373,063-acre Death Valley National Park.
Despite its rather foreboding name, Death Valley represents a stellar trekking destination. Hikers and bikers, climbers to rock hounds come to marvel at Spring’s astounding wildflower blooms, not to mention the mild temperatures of fall and winter. Outdoors people will relish no less than 3,000-square miles of headspace, while cyclists find enviable elbowroom afforded by 350-miles of road and trails. (A full 91% of Death Valley is designated wilderness.)
You'll cycle across the big valley floor, stopping to visit historic sites, most of them accessed by 1930s-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) roads. Almost immediately you'll come to appreciate a very subtle legacy of the CCC: the bygone wisdom seen in roads built to respect, rather than conquer the landscape.
Leaving the tourist spots behind, you'll venture into the surprising backcountry of Death Valley. The first ride, Dante's View, is a 6,000-foot descent from the abrupt peaks behind Badwater to the golden foothills of Mustard Canyon. A ride along an ancient mining track to the top of Chloride Cliffs allows you to gaze at both the lowest point in the contiguous United States and one of the highest (Mt. Whitney, elevation 14,400). Abandoned crystal mines await your exploration, while a deep, narrowing canyon takes you past petroglyphs and ghost towns. Finally, two days of non-stop wild mustang trails complete your appreciation for the untamed Spirit of the Mojave!
When you experience these lands by mountain bike, led by people who have a deep connection to Red Rock and Death Valley, you’ll quickly learn this is not a place to be endured, but rather a world-class outdoor recreation destination.