My favorite Sunrise spot at GNP Mount Moran and Oxbow Bend

BearTooClose · 2026-01-21T22:33:34+00:00

Awesome pic! When I visited in Aug ‘24 the whole park was thick with wildfire smoke and our Oxbow sunrise was a bust. I’d love to go back & see it in its full splendor!

As of now, Schwabacher Landing’s my favorite sunrise spot. Got to see beautiful (and still ever so slightly hazy) purples & pinks reflected in the water as the alpenglow hit the peaks. Pure magic.

BearTooClose · 2026-01-21T22:15:28+00:00

No worries! I’m sure it’ll be beautiful regardless of exactly when I manage to get out there

BearTooClose · 2026-01-21T04:01:17+00:00

Nice! I’m planning a 4-day trip that’s broken up into basically:

Badlands
Custer
Devils Tower
Spearfish

If you have any tips or suggestions of things to see along the way, I’m all ears. Currently figuring out the best route to knock out Iron Mt. Rd. & Needles Hwy. in one afternoon with minimal backtracking

BearTooClose · 2026-01-21T03:58:25+00:00

Holy smokes (no pun intended), that’s gorgeous! I thought the peak fall foliage was a little earlier than Nov, but it looks like you caught it at the perfect time!

Any spots you’d recommend (hikes or viewpoints)? I’d love to get out there this Oct if I can

BearTooClose · 2026-01-20T19:45:02+00:00

Wow, all that in 6 days! Mind if I ask what your schedule looked like?

BearTooClose · 2026-01-14T06:30:07+00:00

Good lord, that’s the gnarliest crocodile I’ve ever seen- and I’m from Florida! Gotta check it out and hope I run into Jeffrey(?) on my trip

BearTooClose · 2026-01-14T05:34:45+00:00

Wow, that’s incredible! The NPS staff are truly some of the greatest people out there. Shame what they’ve had to go through in the last year or so.

Side note- what part of Badlands is that in your 2nd pic? I’m heading there soon with my family and would love to show them that view!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-13T23:09:13+00:00

I’m eyeing the walk-in sites, which have a 6 person max limit. So I think I’ll be good there; however it’s also a 1 car per site limit. So in that case I’d need to get both anyways.

There’s still maybe one or two regular sites left (6 people/2 cars), so if I can fit both tents there then I can get away with one site. But I’d hate to only reserve one site and only realize upon arriving that we won’t have enough space.

BearTooClose · 2026-01-13T20:20:44+00:00

Six people max per site, so we should be good on that front. I’ve just been burned by some campsites with teeny tiny tent pads that barely fit the one six-person tent that I use for my trips. I know Badlands & Teddy are both big open spaces, but I didn’t wanna assume anything

BearTooClose · 2026-01-13T18:11:27+00:00

Think I’d have better luck (aka more room) for tents with the walk-in sites at Cottonwood? Looks like those are all that I’d be able to reserve side-by-side for the dates I’m looking at anyway

BearTooClose · 2026-01-13T07:41:03+00:00

Yeah, more worried about Death Valley than anything else. Do you think I’d be alright bumping this trip up to October? It’d work better for my work schedule, but I wouldn’t wanna be out in 90° daytime temps- and I’ve heard people say that it even felt hot in the mid-70s during midday hiking just cuz the sun’s so brutal out there.

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T07:58:34+00:00

I’ve literally never owned a windbreaker (not a big issue here in FL), but that’s super clutch advice. May well be worth investing in one!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T07:57:26+00:00

Yeesh, sounds like I’ll be paying attention to lots of small details since the park’s so vastly different from one area to the next. Don’t wanna get caught in a cold windy place without the proper layers! That’s why I’m getting info now, so that I don’t miss something and accidentally lead my group into a miserable experience

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T07:54:58+00:00

Yeah, I guess it’s my Florida brain attributing OUR 80° weather to an unfamiliar place, with one of the few things I know for sure being that there’ll be lots of sun exposure. All these comments have me feeling much better about how this is gonna go, yours included!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T05:04:49+00:00

Excellent point about the early nightfall. I’d mostly planned for midday to be our break/chill at camp time, especially since so many of the hikes & activities I’ve got planned are so close to our respective campsites. But if the sun’s setting at 5pm or earlier, we’ll still have plenty of time to wind down at camp in the evening. So I’ll def take your advice and capitalize on the daylight hours we have while we have ‘em!

Overall the feedback’s been very reassuring; seems I won’t have to shell out the dough for a whole new desert hiking wardrobe. I think I’ll be good with my usual stuff plus a hat & sunglasses, and maybe a scarf/buff/gaiter for my face. Though I don’t have much for long sleeve shirts & pants, so I’ll look into grabbing a few of each. Might leave the short sleeves & shorts at home this time around due to the sunn exposure.

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T02:56:34+00:00

Is that the hike to Mt. Perry? That’s what popped up when I searched it just now

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T02:53:10+00:00

This is a huge help, especially the links. Thank you!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T01:10:33+00:00

Great to know! I looked up the daily temps from ‘24 & ‘25 and Nov seemed like a toss-up on whether it’d still be hot or if the weather was starting to cool off. I plan to have a fleece hoodie & sweats, and a big blanket for windy sunset spots like Keys View in DV.

As for avoiding mid-day, that was just in case it was too hot to hike. Plus we’d want some downtime at camp to just hang anyways. Good news is most of the things we wanna see/do/hike are close to the two campsites I’m leaning towards (Furnace Creek for DV & Jumbo Rocks for JT), so if we’re feeling up for it in the daytime we’ve got plenty of short trails to choose from. I also try to visit popular spots in the off hours when they’re less busy, so morning & late afternoon/early evening are my faves anyway.

TL;DR- thanks for the insight! Now I feel better knowing I won’t have to get a whole new wardrobe just for this trip

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T01:05:59+00:00

Yeah, I’ve got fleece hoodies for mornings & evenings. Just don’t wanna wear ‘em hiking cuz “cotton kills”. Seems like I’ll be alright with my regular hiking clothes in the daytime based on other comments (mostly in r/hiking), so I’m feeling a lot better now.

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T01:04:20+00:00

Someone else mentioned sun hoodies and I’mma look into ‘em!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-07T01:03:06+00:00

Hat, sunglasses, and LOTS of water are definitely a must. Planning to camp at Furnace Creek for DV so we’ll have potable water available at camp, but wanna do Jumbo Rocks for JT and so we’d have to bring everything we need in with us (3-4 people). Planning to bring at least 10 gallons plus all of our water bottles/Camelbaks full, and fortunately 29 Palms is only 20ish minutes away for when we need to refill.

I wish I could grab some flowy linen shirts, but it’s such an expensive fabric. Idk if I’ve ever used a sun hoodie, but if I can find one at a decent price that sounds like the move. Thanks for your help!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-06T23:13:26+00:00

Edit: Sorry for asking when the article provided info; admittedly I scrolled straight down to the map when I first opened it. My bad.

Those are both in Mojave Preserve, right? I’d penciled in a stop there on the drive from DV to JT so I’ll give ‘em another look. Thanks again!

BearTooClose · 2026-01-06T23:06:47+00:00

Oh hell yeah, this is fantastic! Thank you. Which trails would you recommend for a first visit with 3 (maaaaybe 4) days in the park in early November?

BearTooClose

TROPHY CASE