Telescope Peak
Panamint Range, Death Valley NP · near Death Valley (Furnace Creek) / Ridgecrest · California Desert
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- nontechnical
- Elevation
- 11043
- Best season
- May–Oct as a hike; the road & summit hold snow in winter
What is here
- Terrain
- desert-peak
- Amenities
- Mahogany Flat trailhead (rough road) · National Park entry fee · Bristlecone pines near the summit · Highest-to-lowest views in the Lower 48
- Best for
- Death Valley's summit — desert hike or winter snow climb
- Features
- Highest point in Death Valley NP · Sees both Whitney and Badwater · Non-technical summit trail · A winter desert snow climb
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Winter snow & ice on the upper trail — axe & crampons in season · Rough high-clearance road to Mahogany Flat trailhead · Extreme heat at lower elevations; thin air up high · Afternoon storms; big exposed summit ridge
- Beginner friendly
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- No
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- scrambling · altitude
- Style
- walk-up
- Altitude
- 2
- Route notes
- The roof of Death Valley — a non-technical class-1/2 trail to an 11,000-foot summit from which you can see both the highest and lowest points in the Lower 48, with a winter ascent that turns this desert peak into a genuine snow climb
- Beta note
- ~11,043 ft; Class 1–2 trail from Mahogany Flat; winter is a snow climb; huge desert relief
- Intl tip
- The high point of Death Valley NP, rising over 11,000 ft above the Badwater salt flats — the greatest relief of any Lower-48 peak above the lowest land in North America. The standard route is a non-technical class-1/2 trail from Mahogany Flat (rough high-clearance road), climbing through ancient bristlecone pines to a summit that sees both Mt. Whitney (highest) and Badwater (lowest) on a clear day. A superb desert hike in summer; in winter, snow and ice make it a genuine modest snow climb needing axe and crampons. Remarkable and uncrowded.
- Directions note
- Trail leaves from Mahogany Flat at the top of Upper Wildrose Rd (rough final miles)
The guide
Telescope Peak is the high point of Death Valley National Park, rising over 11,000 feet above the salt flats of Badwater — the …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Telescope Peak — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.1697, -117.0892