The Funeral Range Trail joins a long list of Death Valley areas with morbid names: Coffin Peak, Hell's Gate, Starvation Canyon and Dead Man Pass. The trail runs through the Funeral Mountains along Upper Echo Canyon and offers one of the few difficult trail runs within the national park. Tight canyon walls and rock ledges up to 3' in height will test a vehicle's articulation and a driver's skill level. In addition, the trail lies along the eastern edge of the park and starts and stops in two different states: California and Nevada.
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This trail can be driven in two different directions, from the south and the north. The southern trailhead is along Echo Canyon Trail. There is a sign post for Amargosa and the trail heads directly north over a hill. From the north end of the trail, the entrance to the canyon is southwest of the community of Amargosa Valley, NV. Heading south on Highway 373, turn west on Farm Rd and drive to Saddleback Court where the pavement ends. Head north on Saddleback Ct. and then turn left (west) along Frontier Road. The northern trailhead is at the following location: 36.583312°, -116.612495°.
This write-up is from the direction of the southern trailhead heading north.
The vehicle and motorcycle entrance fees are $25 and $20, respectively, for 7 days. Vehicles are allowed to enter and exit the national park at will as many times as they want. For all entrance fee payment locations, go to: https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/fees-2016.htm.
Funeral Range Trail is currently open year round but in the past it has been known to close during the summer. If there has been recent rain, the road is likely to be closed due to possible flash floods in the canyon. For the most up-to-date road conditions in Death Valley, check this Trailsoffroad website, the Death Valley National Park website (click on "More Information" below), or the Death Valley Road Conditions page on Facebook. The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/DeathValleyRoadConditions/.
Cool trail, starts out in Nevada as a dirt road but gets gradually harder. Several spots are very challenging but we did this with a stock Wrangler Willys 4xe with a minor scrape on the passenger rock rail and rear drivers tow hook. Most of the challenging obstacles look harder than the actually are. Views are insane and this is definitely a trail I will visit again.
Looks scarier than it is, 35", no lockers JKU's went over it with proper spotting no issues at all.
A group that reached it before us with fj's and pickups decided to turn around but honestly I think they would have done fine with rock placement and proper lane selection.
Pretty simple trail up until the steps. The steps definitely make me wish I had a rear locker. A good spotter, some momentum and a few strategically stacked rocks will get you through the first step.
Nice trail, like stated before, only hard part is the step. About 4 foot tall with lots of rocks for stacking if needed. 35's and lockers made short work of it. Anything else expect some trail rash.
This is the trail that makes the Echo Pass trail interesting. It is incredibly scenic and the colors alone on the desert mountains are stunning.
Note that the area is filled with criss-crossing old mining trails so be sure to use the gpx data carefully or have an app like Gaia that will keep you from getting off track.
Once you enter Nevada, you can follow the direction indicated above, connect with the highway, and return to your camping site in Death Valley. But when we did the trail last year we turned northwest rather than southeast and headed on some old, faint trails through the desert until we connected with a back side route up to Chloride City. This made for a marvelous all-day trip that ended with us standing atop the mountains looking over the entire valley.
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Marc Nitz is a southern California native who loves exploring the outdoors. This is in large part due to his parents' love of summer road trips. Each summer the Nitz clan would venture out for at least one week driving and camping to assorted U.S. destinations west of the Rocky Mountains. Marc bought his first 4x4 at 17 years old and began seeking out more places off the beaten path. Now 30 years later, Marc explores the countryside with a family of his own. Some of Marc's favorite trails include California's Titus Canyon Road and the Pleasant Canyon Loop Trail, Colorado's Alpine Loop, and Utah's White Rim Trail. Most of all, Marc enjoys meeting fellow off-roaders and he is affiliated with a few 4X4 clubs in Southern California that has allowed him to do just that.
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