Road Trip Nevada | daring to dive into the Death Drive

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A Death Drive to tell your grandchildren aboutYou can never have too many adventures when it comes to road tripping across Nevada in a Las Vegas motorhome rental. From fresh air, the open road, stunning sights and sounds and adventures to tell the grandchildren for years to come. What more could you possibly want?

If you’re looking for the ultimate adventure, why not embark on one of Nevada’s most famous routes – The Death Drive.

Despite the name, this 315-mile looping road trip from Las Vegas to western Nevada is nothing to fear – and I promise you will come out alive (but just make sure you slap on the sunscreen, drink lots of water, and have a functioning air-conditioning in your motorhome).

Enter at your own risk: Death Valley National Park is one place to before you die. Picture: Sydney Martinez/TravelNevada

Death Valley National Park

There is plenty of excitement along the way, rugged beautiful landscapes, forests and national parks, Death Valley National Park and old mining towns.

Plus you get to choose your very own adventure, whether you decide to kick off from Las Vegas to Pahrump and then to Death Valley National Park or even straight from Las Vegas to the mysterious Death Valley National Park.

Nevada's No.1 Desert Winery: Stop off for a tipple at Pahrump Winery. Picture: Sydney Martinez/TravelNevada

Wine tasting and Coffinwood

The long and winding trip from Las Vegas to Death Valley National Park is only about 120 miles and it will take you a couple of hours to be conservative.

I recommend spreading out your road trip and stopping at some great stops, including Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Mountain Springs Saloon, Coffinwood and enjoy some wine-tasting and the best of southern Nevada in the city of Pahrump, along the way.

CHECK OUT ALL THE DEATH DRIVE TIPS FROM TRAVEL NEVADA

Loads of character: Check out the Mountain Springs Saloon before or after your nature drive. Picture: TravelNevada

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

The Spring Mountain Ranch State Park offers stunning bubbling springs and is located within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, you can then head to one of the state’s best biker bars, the Mountain Springs Saloon for some burgers or ice cold beers.

If you’re travelling during the last Saturday of the month, March through to October, you may be lucky enough to join into the regularly scheduled pig roast.

Once you’ve finished exploring, you can head 30 minutes down the road to Pahrump - as mentioned above - which boasts award-winning wineries, two golf courses and a stunning lake. You can also choose to explore a local coffin-themed home with coffin-shaped furniture before you head to Death Valley National Park.

That sinking feeling: Badwater Basin sits 85 metres below sea level. Picture: TravelNevada

Largest national park outside Alaska

Sandwiched between Nevada and California, the Death Valley National Park is the largest national park outside Alaska.

If you like road trips with a view and natural beauty galore, don’t forget to stop at Zabriskie Point and see the spectacular views across golden badlands. You can also visit Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Badwater Basin with its surreal landscape and salt plain, Devils Golf Course, Salt Creek, Scotty’s Castle, Golden Canyon, Dante’s View and Rhyolite, a ghost town just outside the Death Valley eastern park boundary.

There are nine campgrounds available around Death Valley National Park for you to park your vehicle, including Furnace Creek Campgrounds, Wildrose Campground, Mahogany Flat Campground, Mesquite Spring Campground, Sunset Campground, Saline Valley Warm Springs and many more possibilities for backcountry camping.

The park is also America’s lowest, hottest and driest national park, so pack plenty of water for your road trip.

Scott Podmore

Award-winning writer, editor, photographer, videographer and owner of October Grey Media. Specialising in travel and lifestyle content and a full member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. Has contributed regular content for the NewsCorp stable of newspapers and magazines, TravelTalk mag, The Departure Lounge and many more publications in Australia and internationally. Follow on Twitter & instragram #scottpodmore