Best hikes on roads?

[WilliamBevan]

I'm planning a trip for next spring with my dog and looking to find the best hikes on roads since you're not supposed to take them on trails. I hiked with my sister's dog up Titus canyon after driving up the dirt road to the exit of the canyon, ideally trying to find more hikes like that. We're taking a Toyota Sienna so can't drive on very high clearance roads.

I was thinking maybe lemoigne canyon, eureka mine/aguereberry point, possibly hole in the wall and chloride city depending how far down the road the minivan will make it. Been using this map as reference:

https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/u...s-map_.pdf

Also the dog loves dunes so will probably check out "big dune" outside the park to the east or maybe dumont dunes to the southeast of the park.

Thanks!

[Kauri]

This forum's been a bit quiet recently during the summer, but hopefully other folks will chime in with ideas!
Depending on what your preferences are for hikes with your pup on dirt roads:
- Lemoigne Canyon Road is very rough (please don't attempt it in your minivan), and your views will pretty much be the same, of the valley, so I personally wouldn't recommend that one.
- I *think* you should be able to do Aguereberry Point in your Sienna (is it 4WD? one of my cousins has a Sienna which is 4WD and at least last time I was at Aguereberry quite a few years ago I think it'd make it fine). Main concern would be if you have good tires.
- I personally think Hole in the Wall and Echo Canyon are likely to be really good hikes. How far are you thinking you'd be able to hike? I'd recommend looking up distances on those two. As far as the Sienna on those roads, that's really going to depend a lot on the conditions and your comfort level. You may not get far at all by vehicle, or you may be fine for a short ways.
- Chloride City: Just don't come in from Monarch Canyon. That's a serious 4x4 road. Hopefully other folks here can give input on the route in from the Nevada side. But there will be a point past which you shouldn't take the Sienna, as the road gets steep and off-camber (I think there are some good videos on YouTube).
- Cottonwood Canyon / Marble Canyon: If it's not too sandy, you could make it a ways on that road with the Sienna, then hike in. I've seen Priuses at the Cottonwood Canyon gates after the road has recently been graded. I've also been up there where we were very happy to have our stock FJ Cruiser to get to the canyon mouth.
- Telephone Canyon: You probably won't be able to do any of it with your Sienna, but I think that might be another nice hike to consider.
(Disclaimer: I haven't checked the current NPS rules about hiking with dogs on dirt roads, so please double-check with the park rangers to make sure there aren't any rules about no dogs on some of these roads)

[shane]

The Gold valley spur roads off Greenwater road would be nice for dog hiking. Go to the head of upper Scotty’s canyon for some truly great views

[MojaveGeek]

The first miles of the road up to Butte Valley are not bad for ordinary sedans, and there's a bunch of mines which also have roads (4WD) which would be nice hikes with good views in the area where the foothills start.

Aguereberry Point road is sedan-able, but why would you want to drive all the way to the end, better to drive to say Harrisburg and then hike to the point?

How about the road to Pinyon Mesa, site of the old superintendent house? Cooler as it is high. I am pretty sure that road is open to vehicle (4WD) travel.

[WilliamBevan]

Thanks for the all the recommendations! Yeah I'm not sure how far the Sienna will make it since it's just 2WD but it's got decent clearance, the dog can make it around 6 miles. I'll have to do more research into road conditions at the time, but just glad to hear there are options with a dog besides just walking on the highway.

Thanks!

[Brice]

- Chloride City: Just don't come in from Monarch Canyon. That's a serious 4x4 road. Hopefully other folks here can give input on the route in from the Nevada side. But there will be a point past which you shouldn't take the Sienna, as the road gets steep and off-camber (I think there are some good videos on YouTube).
- Telephone Canyon: You probably won't be able to do any of it with your Sienna, but I think that might be another nice hike to consider.

There are three roads that one could reasonably use to approach chloride city from the Nevada side. I'm very familiar with two of them, and have never driven the third.

Most people use the road from Hwy 374 at the "welcome to nevada" sign, very near the Death valley entrance sign.  This road is somewhat bumpy/rocky, but not a problem overall with one exception.  There is one water cut drainage that could be tough for low clearance vehicles around 3.5 miles from the Hwy.  Though once I saw something like a sedan go that way and I didn't see them come back, so I guess they made it? 

Another way that I've never tried, also joins with Hwy 374 at these coordinates 36.87215, -116.82908. It's in a flatter part of the basin and I wonder if it might be real easy, but I've never bothered to find out.

The final approach road is from Hwy 95 near a VHF tower 36.81219, -116.72950.  It's a great road if you can get past the two washes that you must drive down into and then out of.   They're about 3 miles from the highway.  Clearance isn't a problem, but 2WD might be. One of them has a somewhat steep drive out and might be trouble, or maybe not?  I'm always in 4WD, so I can't say for sure.

All that said, if you can get past the aforementioned obstacles, I think you can easily drive to the road junction where it starts to climb to Chloride city, 36.71776, -116.88524.  You'll definitely not want to go any further.  Also there's a good roadside campsite just inside the park boundary if that's something you're looking for.

Dumont dunes is reliably busy with ATVs.  I can't imagine you'll enjoy walking there and it probably wouldn't be safe.  I've never been to Big dune, but it looks nice from the highway and I expect sees far fewer visitors.  I think it's worth checking out.

[MojaveGeek]

A sedan can drive in from the DV side west of Daylight Pass to where the road crosses Monarch Canyon without too much trouble, and there is room to park and even camp there. From there it's about 4 miles to the Chloride City site, and another mile-ish to the views at Chloride Cliff. You can push a sedan further up the road but if you're there for a walk, better to not bother and just hoof it.

[DAW89446]

One item that hasn't been mentioned yet. Tires.

If you plan on travel on Death Valley back country roads and trails, I'd heartily recommend LT rated truck tires to be spooned onto your Sienna, best if they are of an all terrain tread. No need to go with a bigger tire. Those will give you better protection from stone puncture caused flat tires, plus added traction to those two driving wheels. Those with multiple ply sidewalls, such as B.F. Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 and others, will allow you to drop the air pressure for added floatation over washboards, better resistance to stone puncture in the sidewalls and additional traction in loose soils.

For maximum protection, I'd have those tires on all four wheels. Stick with a true truck rated tire, not imitation all terrain types that come as OEM tires on many 4x4 vehicles. They might look rugged but are passenger car rated construction thus prone to flat tires like any other. And carry some fix-a-flat in a can, or best a simple tire plug kit; and a 12v air compressor.

How do I know? A brand new 1996 Chevy 4x4 pickup with Goodyear Wrangler tires on its maiden voyage. Three flats in one day. On the maintained Racetrack and Big Pine-Death Valley roads. All caused by gravel stuck in the tire treads. Fifteen or sixteen flats in a short time later, I got LT rated tires and have motored on happily ever after.

[Kauri]

Thanks DAW for bringing up the concern of tires!
A few thoughts (and I'm not trying to derail this thread onto the subject of tires!)
- I've heard mixed info whether BFG's hydro-plane more easily, but I did want to mention that some folks have made this observation.
- A LT tire aimed at trucks is heavier and can reduce your MPG. Some tire brands are introducing off-road tires aimed more at crossover-size vehicles. I don't know enough about this to know whether a crossover-type off-road tire or a light-truck-type off-road tire would be better for a Sienna, but something maybe to consider and ask a trustworthy shop / tire installer.
- The folks at my local Toyota off-road shop highly recommended the Falken Wildpeak AT Trail's to replace the Toyo Open Country HT's I'd put on my RAV4 (the original tires the dealership had put on it were certainly not something I'd want to drive on rough dirt roads with). I've been very pleased with them--and the shop recommended them knowing the sort of nasty roads I expect my RAV4 to handle. I've gotten back close to original MPG's with the Falkens (it had dropped noticeably with the Toyos), they handle well in the wet (4 in per hour atmospheric river downpour last winter and felt solid), and I've smashed the sidewalls in to tree roots, rocks, and the like.
Just my 2 cents

[DAW89446]

In recent years, tire manufactures have come up with a bewildering array of A/T tires, with mixed results. It would be wise for a shopper to do some homework to see what works, including reading off road type forums. Since I own a Subaru Outback and a Toyota 4Runner, I am a member of forums dedicated to those vehicles. Tire discussions come up often. Brand and model loyalty often rears its ugly head, but can be educational if you can manage to tune out the rhetoric.

Not knowing the year of the original poster's Sienna, what size tires will fit is another concern. I do know, however, that around these parts there are a couple of AWD Siennas of the generation from the 2000s that run BFG All Terrain T/As. So I assume fitment of an LT rated truck tire isn't an issue on this vehicle. Since some Subaru models have become popular for overlanding, tire manufacturers are bringing out tires to fit them and handle the rigors of off roading. At any rate, I'd recommend sticking to the OEM tire size to avoid incurring clearance and handling issues.

As Kauri mentioned, LT tires are heavier and will lower your mileage. By nature of their tread design, on road handling in certain situations is compromised to varying degrees.

One could mount AT tires on dedicated wheels for those times one wishes to venture, but that would be an expensive outlay of funds. So, if the original poster doesn't think it to be in his best interest, then at the very least, I'd recommend that WilliamBevan carry a minimum of a good spare, tire changing tools, a couple cans of Fix-A-Flat and a 12v air compressor.

As far as driving some of the roads that were brought up, I think a lot of us have forgotten how far one can actually travel in 2WD. If of enough clearance, and the nature of the trail isn't too sandy, a vehicle can travel farther than we might give it credit for. But, I advise not traveling farther than you feel comfortable, and not beyond where you can turn around.