Death Valley or Big Bend?

[Justin]

I'm going to be taking a four day weekend coming up soon here and hit the road for a short trip. Having a hell of a time deciding between Death Valley and Big Bend NP's. Both have been on my list for a while now, and both deserved to be visited. So thought I'd see what the experts had to say

If you were leaving on a trip from the Denver area, which of these destinations would you prefer to ride to? Both are about the same distance. I do prefer the ride out west from CO to CA, compared to the ride down through NM/TX on the highway.

[Orson]

That's a tough one.

I love Big Bend but, Utah's Highway 12 might be enough to sway me in the other direction.

Either way, it's a win-win situation  

[Justin]

That's a tough one.

I love Big Bend but, Utah's Highway 12 might be enough to sway me in the other direction.

Either way, it's a win-win situation  

You're not helping me!  

Same dilemma I'm having, either way is a win-win  

If it helps making a choice, I'll be slabbing to/from either destination (although I may be tempted to detour on UT 12 and cut over to cedar city) - kinda hard to pass the UT 24 turnoff and not turn when heading out I-70

[BwanaDik]

What's "soon"?  You might have a little less snow getting to Big Bend this time of year  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Wait 'til the day you're leaving and check the weather - make your decision based on which route looks most promising  

Seriously, if they're both on your list then there's nothing that we can really say. It really depends on what you want to see and what you're in the mood for. I haven't been to Big Bend, so I can't say much about it, but I did enjoy Death Valley. Will you be going during a spring bloom time? That might be something to consider as well.

[tomss25]

I've read a lot about Death Valley, recently.  But, I've not read any ride reports of Big Bend.  Anybody have any threads?
Tom

[HipGnosis]

Weather Underground has a pretty cool feature called "Trip Planner".  You type in a location along with a date range... and it will return average high and low temps for that location (and historical temp ranges), average daily precipitation, average cloud cover, average wind and humidity... and a table of historical weather stats.  http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

Use that and check a reliable weather source right before you leave.

[Duc OT]

Justin,

I guess you didn't make the Big Bend trip in December either!

I would lean towards the Death Valley trip, but either is good.  Do you have a particular route in mind?

[miles]

In the winter, Death Valley will be colder, and you'll have a much greater chance of snow being an issue.  Not so much in the Valley itself, but the hills surrounding it are of decent size.

[Justin]

Justin,

I guess you didn't make the Big Bend trip in December either!

I would lean towards the Death Valley trip, but either is good.  Do you have a particular route in mind?

Yeah, I didn't make it - was a busy month, and couldn't squeeze in a long riding weekend. And it's looking more and more like I won't squeeze this ride in till Feb either. Of course the poll is 6-6 now, so I am still faced with a dilemma  

But based on weather, my gut says Big Bend will be the safer choice in the winter - too many mountains on the way to and around Death Valley.

[just roy]

i did both on my 9860 mile trip to laguna seca. both are amazing for different reasons. don't do the valley in august like i did if you don't like riding in extreme pain. whenever i ride that way i like to see monument valley. i can never get enough of it.