Hike Needle Peak Death Valley National Park, CA

Mar 05, 2022 — Needle Peak is remote peak deep in Death Valley National Park, reached via an area known as Butte Valley. It's usually paired with Manly Peak due to their close proximity, a summit we did earlier in the day. I found it to be a really beautiful desert peak, not only because of its summit views, but also because of its interesting hoodoo formations around the base that were visible along the ascent.

To reach Needle Peak, some may choose to attempt the reportedly horrible drive from the west, but we decided to take the much better road coming from the east off of Badwater Road within Death Valley National Park. To get out into Butte Valley, start by heading west along the West Side Road starting here (35.93759, -116.70477), then take a left here (35.9541, -116.74655) onto Warm Springs Road. Follow this very good road until it reaches Warm Springs Camp, then keep right here (35.9692, -116.92706) and continue on the less good road as it continues west. After a while, keep left as the road turns into Butte Valley Road here (35.98548, -117.0004). The road continues to a series of historic cabins where people can stay for the night. Before reaching these cabins, head south along a good road here (35.92352, -117.08259) and follow it to its end to Willow Spring. I would have felt confident getting a vehicle with even some clearance and good tires out here, but it's long and slow and feels like it takes forever.

We started south through a short riparian section surrounding Willow Spring, wrapping around the south side of a large desert hump and ascending on a casual, sandy slope as we generally trended southeast. There is a wash that drains to the northwest from Needle Peak that we wanted to get to, but there is no straightforward route to reach this wash. The route requires a couple of light elevation gains and losses to navigate the lumpy terrain for the first mile or so of the hike, but soon we gained a low ridge/slope where Needle Peak came into view, and an animal trail led down into the aforementioned wash. This wash would take us to the base of Needle Peak, where the cool formations and colors surrounding the peak were unfortunately dulled a bit by overcast weather, which would soon turn to snow flurries.

We left the drainage and ascended a minor spur ridge to gain Needle Peak's west ridge. From here the route is mostly straightforward, cairns sometimes marking the way, but really there is a pretty well-defined social trail leading up the Class 2 terrain. The ridge becomes wider and less defined, more a slope than a ridge crest. Steep rock outcrops appear on either side, but they're easy to avoid as the route enters a wide, rocky gully nestled between the cliffs. With the exception of a short section of scree, I found the slope to be really pleasant, though steep. Toward the top of this rocky gully, a short Class 2/2+ scramble leads up a few moves of loose rock, or Class 2 within an eroded dirty chute. Past here the terrain calmed down briefly as the route traversed along the base of another rock outcrop and spit us into another wide, rocky gully a hunded feet or so below the ridge crest higher up. It may be tempting to keep to the wide and loose gully, but I recommend instead heading to the right to gain more solid footing on a minor grassy slope.

Once past this loose and steep stuff, we reached the ridgeline higher up and continued to a false summit on easy terrain. Needle Peak's true summit became visible ahead, a short walk from the false summit. The final couple hundred feet was somewhat steep, easy Class 2. Excellent views all around, and the cloudy day added a unique vibe.