Ghost towns and abandoned mines scattered throughout Death Valley, for you to explore. Happy Thanksgiving! They can get quite huge and they’re scattered everywhere! We had a few goals in mind, but no explicit itinerary. Be glad you would be driving back to (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? How far to ____ ? Canyons, sand dunes, salt flats, dry lake beds, craters..a geological amazement! AUTUMN Arrives in late October, with warm but pleasant temperatures and generally clear skies. For now, all food service is take-out. The 66 upscale room Inn, which consists of rooms, suites and a bungalow, sprawls across a low hill, at the mouth of the Furnace Creek Wash. The wildlife in Death Valley, so cool, including bighorn sheep (yes, we’ve seen them!) ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-107843297', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Death Valley. November 27, 2016 Cass Leave a comment. We are hoping for less crowds, beautiful scenery, cooler weather. WILDLIFE - do they bite? The highest of these is Townes Pass at close to 5000 feet above sea level. There are over 1,000 types of plants living in the park, including Joshua Trees, creosote bushes, desert hollies and gorgeous wildflowers blooming in the Spring. Other truly amazing wonders of Death Valley include Devil’s Cornfield, Devil’s Golf Course and the astonishing Devil’s Racetrack. Get answers to your questions about Death Valley National... WINTER - does it exist in Death Valley, or does summer last forever? Death Valley National Park is at its least crowded between Thanksgiving and before Christmas but it will be at its peak from Christmas to New Year’s, on MLK Day weekend in January, and on Presidents’ Day weekend in February. What maps to use? How do those rocks move? Located in the enclosed Eureka Valley, northwest of Death Valley. Thanksgiving in Death Valley, California. WILDFLOWERS - will this be a superbloom year? Just a moment before the sun came over the ridge, a rose color washed over Death Valley on Thanksgiving Day. As most of you know, every Thanksgiving Sherry and I try to get together with our children and grandchildren. Some of them are hidden gems, so stay tuned! Mid-month, WHO declares COVID a pandemic. You’ll also find the world’s lowest elevation golf course and the Furnace Creek Horse Stables, on the the grounds at The Furnace Creek Ranch. The historic Inn at Death Valley was built in 1927 by the Pacific Coast Borax Company as a means to save their newly built Death Valley Railroad. Let me start  by sharing with you some reasons why Death Valley should be on your bucket list…. Also, some people enter and leave the park multiple times over several days. Save Hi- we are hoping to visit Death Valley over Thanksgiving (approx 11/26-12/1) or New Years (12/30-1/4). Thanks again for all the advice. This post is part of Just Ahead’s Death Valley Trip Planner—our guide to everything you need to know to plan your trip to Death Valley National Park. Please stay tuned for more about this phenomenal place! Thanksgiving In Death Valley National Park. I assume there will be more US travelers staying local, but perhaps less international travelers? This post has been removed at the author's request. When I was a kid, my family went on a trip to Death Valley for Thanksgiving. The camping season begins in fall and so do the Ranger Programs, which continue through spring.Although it is relatively uncrowded at this time of year, the weeks leading up to Death Valley '49ers Encampment (second week in November) and the Thanksgiving holiday are busy. While the name isn’t inviting and most people think of Death Valley as just a scorching hot desert. As for shopping, pre Covid19 most stores are closed Thanksgiving Day and open around 6pm for Black Friday with great sales. Autumn is here, so I’d like to share with you one of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving tradition to one of my all time favorite parks, Death Valley National Park. There are 3 trails you can hike to explore these craters. Each time we’ve gone to Eureka Dunes, there has been less than 10 cars there. Death Valley is located on the eastern border of south central California and borders a small area of Nevada. Thursday, Nov 22. It’s surface is rough and jagged, so much so,  that only a devil would play golf here! But, guess what, I ended up fallIng in love with this national park. I found Scotty’s castle to be most interesting! So you (and others) can see the visitation trend over spring and summer of the past three years, here are the recreational visitor numbers for corresponding months of 2018, 2019, and this year. And it’s relatively uncrowded, though Thanksgiving is an obvious exception. Fishyhead , Oct 22, 2009 There’s so much more to talk about still. I remembered camping, hiking and touring Scotty’s Castle, in the middle of the desert. December 7, 2016; Story By Lori Carey; We had such a great time exploring trails in Panamint Valley over the Thanksgiving holiday last year that it was hard to wait an entire year for Cal4Wheel’s Panamint Valley Days event. Whitney Historic Fish Hatchery, Trona Pinnacles, Red Rock Canyon (California) State Park, and the mining ghost towns or semi-ghost towns of Rhyolite, Randsburg, Johannesburg, and Red Mountain. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-107837117', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Death Valley over Thanksgiving (approx 11/26-12/1) or New Years (12/30-1/4). LAS VEGAS one-day turnaround trips - what can we see? Ideally I’d like to choose some other time to visit the park, but unfortunately this is the best plan I’ve come up with so far. Be sure to go in the late afternoon, when the sun hits the spectacular colored hills. It would be interesting to see stats for other stateside attractions like Disney parks, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone, etc. Another really cool spot is The Artists Palette. In January 2020, the pandemic is still just a localized “flu bug,” mainly in Asia and starting to show up in Australia and some European countries from travel. We felt this acutely on our first night, fighting exhaustion in order to find a place somewhere around Lake Tahoe to … Death Valley Service to Close Noon Dec. 7, 2020, Your vision for Stovepipe Wells & Emigrant areas, Driving from Stovepipe Wells Village to The Strip Vegas, See All Death Valley National Park Conversations, Driving Las Vegas to Yosemite - Where to stop. The drop from January 2019 to 2020 is not tremendous, and a change of that size could have any number of causes. Both are so cool to visit! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Yes you can do this in Death Valley. Learn how your comment data is processed. Scotty’s Castle, a villa from the 1900’s. But look at 2020; by April, parks are shutting down and Death Valley sees almost a 90% drop. Good morning sunshine! Which would be the better time to visit Death Valley, or does it not matter? Autumn is here, so I’d like to share with you one of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving tradition to one of my all time favorite parks, Death Valley National Park. Built by a Chicago millionaire & conman Walter E. Scott. Mesquite Springs is a long way from most of the major visitor sites in the park. Death Valley Adventure What an adventure we had the last few days! The trend continues through summer, although June and July have less drastic year-over-year drops. Stove Pipe Wells is at sea level, Furnace Creek 190' below. Home to moving boulders and has left scientists baffled by this crazy, unexplained phenomenon. We drove to the nice weather and did our best to avoid the crowds and camped out below sea level. Golfing and Horseback riding! The winter months are another great time to visit Death Valley. Wow, thank you all for the helpful responses! Nothing says Thanksgiving like Death Valley. Located at 328 Greenland Blvd, Death Valley, CA 92328. 9 campgrounds and 4  lodging areas inside of the park, as well as others, outside of the park. The racetrack is such a mystery! It takes about 2 hours to get to on a dirt road. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-107838006', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Las Vegas instead of LA The traffic that weekend can be unreal. MojaveMan and his family joined us for the the first day. Death Valley- Thanksgiving or New Years Trip? There are huge green lawns between the rooms, where you can kick around a ball or stargaze on, at night. Re: Death Valley- Thanksgiving or New Years Trip? This is one of the peak times for a visit. NOTE: The reservations office is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, and will close at 12:00 p.m. on the day prior to each of these holidays. You may want to contact them directly (email) to see if they even know what they will be doing this year for Thanksgiving or New Years because of COVID-19. Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park Destination Experts. The year before, we all met at Zion National Park. Your email address will not be published. Telescope Peak, a summit in Death Valley that reaches 11,000 ft. which can be seen from the lowest spot at Badwater. Once the edit period has expired, authors may update their posts by removing and reposting them. It’s relatively uncrowded, except for the Death Valley ‘49ers Week and Thanksgiving (both in November). The Furnace Creek Inn dining room is where you’ll find us for Thanksgiving Dinner! Which would be the better time to visit Death Valley, or does it not matter? Outlets and malls are jammed packed. The rest of Death Valley National Park has a 30-day per calendar year camping limit. It’s the most logical..what do you think? This 44 acre property has several restaurants. Both are busy times to visit. Some people camp here, but we’ll spend the whole day  exploring and picnicking, then head back, before it gets dark. The historic Furnace Creek Inn first opened in 1927. My family doesn't celebrate traditional Thanksgiving so we're looking to take a vacation to Death Valley during that time period instead. The darkest. You can do all three in a 2 mile loop. It doesn’t  happen all too often in Death Valley, it turns out. December will be cooler of course, but end of Nov should be pleasant too. Death Valley Explorer Tour by Tour Trekker, Death Valley National Park - Private, Custom Adventure w/ Pro Photography, Private Tour: Death Valley Day Tour with Evening Milky Way Viewing, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, http://www.tripadvisor.com/help/how_to_edit_your_posts. In recent years, July and August have been among the busiest months because of international travel, but no one is going from continent to continent anymore. November 21, 2017 | 9:00AM. Will post itinerary plans separately. The Inn has a beautiful, naturally fed, warm spring pool. 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