telescope peak trail

I like to hike this trail in November or May. Summer is too hot for me in the valley and there can be snow on this trail in the winter. Drive in and camp at Thorndike. You may need a 4x4 to get up there. Then its 7.5 miles each way. The trail is good; however, this is not a trail for the novice. Consider Wildrose Peak trail down by the Charcoal Kilns for your first adventure. The view is excellent from either summit.

To the top of Telescope Peak. Snow stopped us one year, sickness another year, but third time was the charm. I cached water about three miles out the night before. Views from the summit are wondrous, I had a ham radio handheld with me and I was able to bring up repeaters 100 miles away. Just take care to have enough water and pace yourself for the 14 mile round trip.

We were still experiencing jet lag so a horribly early start wasn't so painful. It took two and a half hours driving from Beatty due to the low speed limits, beautiful winding roads, a few photo stops and the "suitable for high clearance vehicle" track at the end that reduced us to six miles per hour for the last stint. We set off at seven horrified by some recent entries in the trail head log book such as "set out at 10:30 back by 7:15". The trail is just to the left of a large, obvious service road. There are tiny areas of shade along the way and plenty of assertive black bees. I thought I might be suffering from the heat but I think it was the altitude getting me. It was about twenty degrees cooler than in the bottom of the valley. Great views the whole length of the trail and very much worth the effort if you can set out early and take all the necessary safety precautions for this environment.

•Trail is not very hot as cool wind is blowing all the way up. At the summit, you can see both the lowest (Badwater basin) and highest points(Mt, Whitney, if the weather is clear) in contiguous US.•Trailhead: Mahogany Flat campgrounds. 4x4 and High Clearance vehicle is recommended for last 1.5 mile to trailhead if the road conditions are bad. Otherwise, 2 wheel drive can also work.

This is great place to hike for a first time to Death Valley. It really gives you an idea of the diversity of the park- simply because you can see everything.Views of Bad Water Basin below are incredible. This is also a great hike if you're not used to high altitudes. It gives you a taste without making you sick (at least for me). You begin to feel it around 10,000 feet. Although, if you're really sensitive to it, you might get it at 8k.Not a very challenging hike. Gets a little tough at the switchbacks close to the peak. Lots to look out- wildlife, trees, flowers- incredible views on both sides. We got sudden rain storms that blew through. You can actually see them coming. Pretty cool. Nothing to worry about. Just wet.If you're coming from the west this is the place to hit first in Death Valley.

winter = snow and ice; summer = wonderful place to be - cool, flowers!7 mi. one way to top from Mahogany flats CG; about 3000 ft. elevation gain. Amazing views the whole way, but especially from the top. Good place for deer and big horn sheep!

The road in is super rough. Our rental couldn't make it to Mahogany Flat, so we hiked in from the kilns. This added about 3 miles to the start of our hike(and 3 miles to the end). It was 122F in Badwater the day before, so heat was an issue. If you aren't acclimated to the altitude, the mountain will kick your butt. Be prepared and aware of the symptoms of altitude sickness. Headache, nausea, and dizziness are early symptoms. All that said it was a great hike with amazing views. Two suggestions: 1. Don't hike in the heat of August. The trail and altitude are tough enough. 2. Rent/borrow a 4WD vehicle and drive the rough road all the way to the trailhead at Mahogany Flat. The round trip from the kilns where we had to park was about 20 miles. No joke.

My son & I drove up to Mahogany Flats Campground Friday July 25, 2003. Road in is horrible by my Suburban did OK. Arrived just as it was getting dark. The wind kicked up & it was actually quite cool. We got up pre-dawn & started on the trail to Telescope Peak at 5:30am. The trail was much prettier than I imagined. Lots of pine trees and wildflowers. The trail gives you wonderful views of Death Valley and towards the Sierras, but it wasn't clear enough to see Mt. Whitney. We took plenty of water, some Propel & a quart of Gatorade. We summited at 10:30am which sets no records, but we made it to the top. We had the peak to ourselves for about 20 minutes & then 2 guys from Edwards AFB joined us. We made it down at 3:30pm & while we were resting the storm clouds moved in, so we threw gear in the car & took off. Can't wait to go back next Spring on a really clear day!