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It’s time again for another of our Fall Expeditions. Black Rhino Expeditions are run during the cooler parts of the year and are a combination of driving, exploring mining camps, photographic opportunities, and hiking. Because even a 4×4 truck can only get you so far, much of the great stuff to see is only accessible by foot, though none of our hikes are too strenuous, or too long.
We’ve been working hard to find accessible roads for this trip – Death Valley was hit tremendously hard in September with a set of powerful storms that resulting in hugely destructive flash floods. For example, as of this writing (Oct. 5), all the roads south of Furnace Creek are closed (see map). The Park is working diligently to get damaged roads re-openend. If they are successful, I’m reserving the right to alter our itinerary slightly.
For this expedition, we’ll be camping at Gold Point Ghost Town for our night halt on Friday night. Camping fee is $12/person. Dinner, plus breakfast Saturday morning, will be available for purchase from the Saloon. Gold Point only accepts CASH! Donations are encouraged as they do not have a liquor license. Details below.
Our night halt for Saturday night will be at Stovepipe Wells Village. The Village offers nice rooms, gasoline, a restaurant, a General Store, and a wonderful, year-round heated pool. (If there is enough interest, we may be able to qualify for a Group Rate.)
During the expedition, we’ll be using SPOT (a satellite tracking device) which will allow those folks who couldn’t make the trip to follow on their computer our daily travels. We’ll supply the link for the arm-chair expeditioners.
After this expedition, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to visit Death Valley.
Health notice/restrictions: Off-road tours are rough, bumpy rides often through rough terrain. Our off-road Expeditions are not suitable for guests with back problems, neck problems, motion sickness, pregnancy, major medical conditions, or any other health condition(s) that could be aggravated by a bumpy ride through rough terrain.
** NOTE: What if a specific Expedition is canceled? While incredibly rare, from time to time, an Expedition may have to be canceled. For almost all of our events, you will be given the choice to either receive a full refund, or transfer your registration to another event that has openings. For some Expeditions, we may deduct up to a 15% fee from your refund to offset unrecoverable expenses. Due to unforeseen circumstances, all Black Rhino Expeditions trips and trails are subject to change or cancellation without advance notice.
Death Valley in known around the world for its spectacular geology – the sight-seeing and discovery is incredible!
We will expertly guide you through this magnificent wilderness and introduce you to life-changing experiences.
Our Expedition Group is small with a limit of 12 vehicles – come be a part of the adventure!
November 21, 2025 – Arrive at Big Pine by 10 am.
Intersection of Hwy 395 and Hwy 168
(GPS – N 37.1728 W -118.2895)
Be sure to arrive fueled up. We’ll have a driver’s meeting describing the plans for the next three days and then get started.
We may do some Geocaching along the way. Details to be shared with participants.
From Big Pine, we’ll head east on Hwy 168 for about 8-9 miles where we’ll turn north and head up White Mountain Road to visit the Ancient Bristlecone Forest where the oldest living thing on earth stands – “Methuselah” is believed to be over 4,850 years old. We’ll spend a little time exploring the Visitor Center before heading north a short distance to Wyman Canyon Road.
We’ll continue our eastward trek down the twisting and turning canyon, with numerous creek crossings, to rejoin Hwy 168 which will take us to our next scheduled stop at Crater Sulfur Mine.
Crater Sulfur mine contains the largest deposit of sulfur west of the Mississippi River. Mining began here in 1929, and there was a small company town named Crater which had a peak population of 36 people in 1931.
The Crater mine was active until 1953, when a sulfur dust explosion destroyed the mill. Some small-scale mining continued off and on until 1986. In the 1990s a larger scale operation took place that destroyed or damaged what remained of the town site and some of the equipment.
From Crater Mine, we’ll continue our eastward trajectory toward our night halt – Gold Point Ghost Town.
Gold Point, and its Saloon, has always been a requested favorite stop by previous adventurers. It’s a little out of the way, but easily accessible. Previously, we could stay in the cabins and only pay for that night’s stay. Now, there is a two-night minimum and it’s hard to plan enough exploring nearby to justify staying two nights.
We’ll be camping at Gold Point – camping fee is $12/person. Gold Point only accepts CASH – plan accordingly. There will also be an opportunity to buy gas at Gold Point. It’ll be a good idea since we’ll be covering quite a bit of ground (approx. 100 miles until the next fuel stop) on Saturday.
The owner of Gold Point, Walt Kremin, is offering us two dinner choices, and breakfast. To not have to bring food (keep it cold), kitchen gear, and the clean-up afterwards while camping, is so nice. You’re not obligated to participate – the choice is yours.
Breakfast for Saturday morning:
Everyone loves to hang out in the Saloon. Then it’ll be time to hit the hay.
Enough for today. Let’s see what’s on deck for Saturday.
November 22, 2025 – We’ll set out shortly after our 9 am driver’s meeting from Gold Point and head to Ubehebe Crater.
Ubehebe Crater is a large volcanic crater 600 feet deep and half a mile across. It was created a recently as 2,100 years ago!
Ubehebe Crater is easily viewed from the parking area on its west rim, and further exploration will bring you to smaller craters.
Walking to the bottom of the main crater is easy; however, the trip back up can be exhausting.
From Ubehebe, we’ll make our way south stopping at Teakettle Junction. While the origin of the name is unknown, it has become a tradition for visitors to attach teakettles to the sign with messages written on, and in, them. Be sure to bring your own teakettle to leave behind. The Park Service will remove a number of teakettles when there are too many.
After Big Four Mine, we’ll make our way east, up over Towne Pass for our night halt and dinner stop at Stovepipe Wells Village. You may make reservations here: https://www.stovepipedeathvalley.com/
If there are no rooms available there, you may also try The Oasis at Death Valley (The Ranch). The Ranch will be our night halt and dinner stop for Saturday night. Make reservations here: https://www.oasisatdeathvalley.com/
We’ll meet up for dinner and maybe later, a dip in the pool. We’ll meet Saturday morning in the parking lot and get ready for the next day of exploration.
May 4, 2025 – Today, we’ll set out shortly after our 9 am driver’s meeting from Furnace Creek and 
head east on Hwy 190 this time and make a stop at one of Death Valley’s most famous landmarks/viewpoints – Zabriskie Point. (If I’m feeling spunky, I may get up a little before sunrise and head to Zabriskie Point to take some sunrise photos.)
Leaving Zabriskie Point, our next stop is a short drive to Twenty Mule Team Canyon. (Twenty Mule Team Canyon has been used for filming locations for Star Wars movies. Six other areas where they filmed include: 1. Artists Palette, 2. Desolation Canyon, 3. Golden Canyon, 4. 20 Mule Team Canyon, 5. Dante’s View, and 6. Mesquite Sand Dunes.)
After Twenty Mule Team Canyon, we’ll backtrack just a little bit to the turn-off for Echo Canyon and 
head to the Eye of the Needle and then continue up-canyon to Inyo Mine. We’ll do some exploring of the remains of the townsite and shoot some photos in the mine.
After Inyo Mine, we’ll make our way back to Highway 190 and continue east to Death Valley Junction and a short stop at the famous Amargosa Opera House & Hotel.
We’ll turn southward onto Highway 127 and make our way to Shoshone. Once through Shoshone, we’re going to make a short detour to China Ranch Date Farm to do a little sight-seeing, learn a little of their history, and of course, partake of their fabulous Date Shake.
After China Ranch, our final stop for this expedition will be one of the few areas where we can drive in the dunes – Dumont Dunes. Dumont Dunes will give us 
an opportunity to practice our sand driving skills and to play in the dunes. Competition Dune is the tallest dune at 450 feet tall! It’ll be a great way to cap off another fantastic weekend. They do charge a $30 fee for a weekly pass to drive on the dunes. I’d also recommend that you bring a whip antenna and mount for increased visibility of your vehicle while we’re driving in the dunes. I plan to shoot some drone footage while we’re there as well.
After we’ve had our fill of Dumont Dunes, it’ll be time to say good-bye… until the next trip.
See you soon.
