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| Hiking | 5.81 Miles |
1,117 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.81 Miles | 4 Hrs 29 Mns | | 1.76 mph |
| 1,117 ft AEG | 1 Hour 11 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | We decided to head out towards Mt Perry based on a ranger's recommendation. My kids really don't enjoy hiking much over 5 miles, so when planning family trips I need to keep to that for at least a number of says or face certain mutiny! 
The hike to Mt Perry is 9 miles RT for the entire way, but the ranger mentioned that this hike is rewarding due to the continual fantastic views no matter how long you choose to hike on this trail. The trail is on the Ridgeline with no tree cover, so the views are 360 for the entire hike. And what views they are!! A rainbow of colored rocks and mountains in every direction! And the full expanse of death valley itself spread out in both directions, showcasing the bright white of the salt flats along with some striking gray alluvial fans. The salt flats themselves have a thousand shades of white and almost gray depending on if there are pools of "bad water" present.
The trail starts from Dantes View parking which is along a winding paved 2-lane road taking 40inutes roughly to drive from Furnace Creek. Dante's view is a popular sunset destination in the park, so keep that in mind when planning. The parking lot is big, but even on a Wednesday, there were a lot of people coming and going. Most people just look at view from the benches, but in addition to the Mt Perry trail, there is a lookout trail heading off from the end of the parking lot that has amazing views of the death valley salt flats in both directions depending on how far you go. Lots and lots of people on the viewpoint trail. Sadly, also lots of balled up and blowing toilet paper on the viewpoint trail.  . So sad to see. The tiny restroom just before the parking lot was closed. Hopefully it will reopen soon to ward off this issue.
The Mt Perry trail heads off up the ridge from just before the parking lot entry point. There are a number of Spur trails in the first 1/8 of mile where people walk up from the parking lot to enjoy the views. After that, the trail is well worn and easy to follow. Given the lack of trees, you can always see where to trail is going in both directions from where you stand at any time. There are a few areas of slight exposure, but nothing horrible, and usually the trail is wider sections of the Ridgeline. As you continue on, the views just keep on coming and do not disappoint!! At the 2.5 mile mark (as promised to my kids! ), we turned around and headed back. I look forward to returning and completing this trail to its Terminus. We passed maybe 6 groups of 2 hikers each during our time on this trail. One hiker mentioned that the last part to the top is a bit of a scramble.
So glad that this trail isn't overloaded with people the way some death valley trails are. Death valley is a beautiful and desolate place, but very popular with lots of people everywhere. At least in the more accessible areas. I don't yet have all terrain tires on my jeep (soon!!), so we were unable to access many of the back country roads due to fear of many flat tires. I can't wait to be back to explore more of the remote areas!   |
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