Badwater, Death Valley
Badwater Road runs through the southern floor of Death Valley, in California, USA, below sea level from start to finish. A lake once filled the valley, up to about 180 m deep. It is known as Lake Manly, after William Lewis Manly, who led a stranded party of 1849 wagon travellers out of the valley. In 2024, after the remnants of Hurricane Hilary and later storms, a shallow lake came back, and for a few weeks people paddled kayaks on it.
This ride starts at the Jubilee Pass road junction and heads north. The whole road was part of the course of the Death Valley Century, held from 2001 to 2013. It passes the ruins of Ashford Mill, built for a gold mine that never paid, and Shoreline Butte, whose terraces mark the old lake’s levels. Past Mormon Point the ride ends at Badwater Basin; stories say it got its name when a surveyor’s mule refused to drink from its salty pool.
Region: California
City: Inyo County
Distance: 47.05 km
Elevation Gain: 216 m
Elevation Loss: 312 m
Difficulty: 171 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.02 FIETS
Avg Grade: ∞ %
Max cat climb: 4
Min elevation: -82 m
Max elevation: 13 m
Ride Category: Flat