Customer Reviews

Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park (Travel and Local Interest)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent book with a few, minor flaws. The book tells you at what mileage markers you can find specific landmarks, so you shouldn't have any difficulties finding old mines, ghost towns, etc., whether on a paved or 4X4 backcountry road. The author includes a brief history of each mine and ghost town, though they sometimes leave me with more questions than they answer. However, in a book that attempts to cover as much as this one does, such shortcomings are inevitable. Indeed, one gets the impression that the author wanted to include more anecdotes, but the publisher wouldn't allow it. People interested in botany and geology should find this book especially useful, while those interested in wildlife will find this book to contain only basic information.

There are a few minor inaccuracies...for example, an abandoned camp along Butte Valley Road is listed as being abandoned since the early 80's, but a marker at the site says it was abandoned in 1988. Also, though the book covers most roads in the park, it hardly mentions a few, including the (difficult!) road from Eureka Valley to Saline via Steele Pass. This omission won't be a problem for most readers, since the vast majority will stick to the paved roads. And the author writes about the paved roads with the same detail and enthusiasm as the unpaved ones.

Some remarks are downright mysterious and leave the reader hungry for more. For example, when describing the features of a particular road, the author says "a few maps show a 'Marble Bath' but no one can agree on where or what it is." Well...?!? Has the author seen this landmark? Can he tell us what SOME people think it is? Give us a hint!

While the book is very good at telling you exactly where to find major landmarks, there are no maps. Even though the book describes in words where to turn, what route to take, etc., a map would be most helpful. This omission can be rectified by visiting your AAA travel center.

But don't let these flaws stop you from buying the book. If you're going to Death Valley, and especially if you're taking an unpaved, backcountry road, this book is an invaluable resource.

This is the best book, to date, for a Death Valley visitors/explorers while in their vehicle. The authors cover a tremendous amount territory. It would probably take you a few years of solid exploration of Death Valley to complete all that is listed within these pages. I cannot say enough about the authors, both of whom have been associated professionally and recreationally to Death Valley for years.

The book is a beautiful guide for those of us who want to learn more, or find certain locations. The Bryans help us find, sometimes, locations that are unknown by the general public. After 30 years of exploring and enjoining Death Valley, I still appreciate their book. No book is perfectly correct, but doggone it, it really is a fantastic book. I recommend, that after getting the book, covering the book with acetate. It will be used very frequent and often.

Along with this book I recommend, Death Valley and the Amargosa, and Hiking guide to Death Valley.

An excellent one volume guide to the park which has detailed trip logs, mileages, and points of interest assembled in an easy-to-read day trip format. Good historical perspective especially the ghost town and mining infomation. The author was suprintendent of the park in the 1980s when it was still classed as a National Monument and has a wide knowledge of the park and its many attractions. I recommend this book to all travellers by car (virtually 100%), but check carefully to see if the route is recommended for all cars or just 4WD rigs; the road conditions change frequently in the desert and the storms of 1998 and 1999 did considerable damage to once well-maintained routes so a call to a DVNP ranger station before adventuring would be advised.

It would take years of visits to Death Valley to enjoy all the trips outlined in this book, and without this book, you won't get as much out of them. This book really made my recent trip to Death Valley a success.
One suggestion: get a map to use with this book. The book itself has only tiny outline-maps of the various trips described imposed on small silhouettes of Death Valley. A map will help you get an overview of where you are and where you want to go. A map will make it easier to plan your itinerary. I used Tom Harrison's excellent map of Death Valley, which you can score at outdoor-oriented stores. When you pay your user-fee at the park, they also will give you a simple map.
Enjoy.

We picked up a copy of "The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley" and found this book to be a fantastic resource for our visit! The book is very comprehensive in nature, with detailed descriptions of drives along ALL the roads in the park. It turned out that during our visit in March 2005, a large number of the roads through the park were closed due to storm damage from this winter's record rains, so the book was truly a godsend in figuring out alternate routes through the park.

Another great feature is that the authors tell you pretty accurately the condition of the roads (most of the roads are unpaved), including such important details as washed out areas, how steep are the grades, and the like. We also really appreciated the details on what mining ruins were to be found at the end of the bumpy drives.

We found the information in this book to be very accurate and honest, helping us to decide what we wanted to see in our way-too-short visit to the park. This book is a great one-volume source for seeing the most when you visit Death Valley. Enjoy!

The book offers detailed information on many of DV's back country features. Mileages given are very accurate and are useful in locating geographic and historical sites. The most referred to DV book I own. Only drawback is that since 1995, many of the roads have been closed by NPS.

For a general introduction to DV and several of its scenic roadways, unpaved roads, and hiking trails, it's not bad at all. Of course, you always need a good topographic map(s) of the park as well, and the latest information from the rangers, as roads wash out, and trails become blocked or impassible. Only a fool would explore DV, even by car or 4WD, with only the tiny maps in a guide such as this.

While motor vehicle travelers can get by with plenty of water, a full-size spare, a recently checked-over vehicle and proper caution for remote areas of the park, inexperienced desert hikers would be well advised to acquire some additional knowledge on trip planning, equipment, first aid, and map reading. An excellent resource for this is The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson.

We planned a week exploring around Death Valley based on this book. Not visiting the touristy places that you can find on any map, but exploring canyons that don't get nearly as much traffic. Maybe it was partially because the book hasn't been updated in awhile, but the descriptions of the places were wildly different from what we found on the ground.

This guy was a Superintendant there for a few years, and thought he'd write a book -- big deal. Coming out of one canyon where he described springs all over the place but we found only rock, we met some people who had another guide that was much better -- sorry that I can't remember the name. Anyway, my advice is to look around, and buy something else -- and something with maps in it, for one thing.

This book provides a good general introduction to Death Valley, but lacks detail on hiking routes. If you're going to be hiking Death Valley, Michel Digonnet's "Hiking Death Valley: A Guide to Its Natural Wonders & Mining Past" provides better details. The Bryans' book covers more locations, but provides less detail on each.

This book provides a great deal of interesting commentary. The distances between points in and around Death Valley are great, per the NPS, Scotty's Castle is 53 miles from Furnace Creek. _The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park, Second Edition_ will give you interesting facts and features nearly every step of the way and keep you entertained the entire trip.

This book will be your constant companion. It is well worth the small cost to purchase!!