Death valley 2026

Death Valley

February 16th - 21st and 22nd - 25th, 2026

Death Valley 2026 Ride Report

(Aka, “The Great 2026 SEAT Death Valley Adventure”)

February 16th – February 21st and February 22 – 25th

The weather forecast for the week of the 16th was not great. They projected two winter weather fronts going through the area of our ride. Group 4 decided to postpone it to the following week, and they are currently on the ride. I will update this report once they return.

As this is the100th anniversary of Route 66, all groups rode Route 66 from Kingman to Oatman and on to Laughlin.

Monday, Group 2 departed and scouted the way for group 1 and 3 going to Laughlin. Monday was just overcast and very windy.

Tuesday, the ride started a little wet for all groups. It rained Monday night into Tuesday morning. Group 2 got to Kingman at 11:00am. Temperatures reached the upper 30s and continued to rise. The ride from Kingman to Oatman was as good as I’ve ever seen. The road is old and the last 8 miles are twisty on degrading road but, a true experience. Groups 1,2 and 3 all reached Laughlin as expected. We had a nice dinner at Outback and great conversation about the day’s ride. Also, a major topic was the approaching 1st wave of a winter storm.

Wednesday morning brought more weather concerns as the TV was lit up with the results of front that passed through during the late night / early morning hours. In addition, projections for the 2nd winter weather front were scheduled to pass through on Thursday. The only remaining alert was for high winds. We certainly can testify they were correct. Group 1 had a planned route to Valley of Fire that was outside the weather alert area. They proceeded on plan and only avoided going to Mount Charleston. Group 2 (my group) decided to delay a little to allow it to warm up and get further route weather information. Group 2 departed and rode through Searchlight to Nipton and up I15 to Baker. The ride over the pass to Nipton was difficult as road conditions for the last mile over the pass were marginal. We slowed down and carefully made our way over the pass that had snow on the sides of the road.

The Group 2 ride from Baker to Death Valley was excellent. Jubilee pass and the south entrance were in the best shape I’ve seen. The ride and the scenery were excellent. Badwater had some water from a previous storm and there were a lot of people there. We also rode Artist Palette and through furnace Creek.

Group 1 made their ride through Boulder City and on to Valley of Fire. They avoided Mt Charleston and the heavy snow they had at higher elevations.

Both Group 1 and Group 2 got to Beatty before sundown. We were all sad to find out that the Happy Burro had gone out of business but, it has been sold and will reopen after remodeling. Bill will be glad to know that Miss Kitty is working at the saloon next door to Happy Burro. We enjoyed drinks and talked with the owner.

Thursday, we woke up to 26 degrees in Beatty. Group1 headed out toward Father Crowley racing the incoming storm. The storm was moving into Death Valley and eventually to Beatty. Group 1 rode toward the storm and got to Father Crowley just as the snow started. They got a quick picture and headed back to the east into Death Valley and away from the storm. Group 1 was rewarded with a very unusual view of Father Crowley.

I found 2 new routes out of Death Valley One from Death Valley Junction to US 95 and one from Pahrump to US95. Group 1 took the Pahrump to US95 route and avoided the Sunshine pass down to Las Vegas. A storm had moved into that area from the south. I’ll map out these routes for future use.

Both Group 1 and Group 2 made it into Boulder City. It was a cold day of riding ending with dinner and drinks that were well deserved. The storm passed through during the night, and Arizona high country got a fair amount of snow. Some decided to head back to Tucson in the morning and forego the Route 66 ride going east.

Friday, Group 1 and 2 were down to 9 bikes. Both groups followed the same route through Kingman to eastbound Route 66. Group 1 rode to Peach Springs while Group 2 rode to Seligman. It was a cold winter ride with snow on the sides of the road, but the road was dry.

Heading south from Route 66, we all rode to Prescott turning east on US89A toward Jerome and Cottonwood. Prescott didn’t have any snow that I could see but Mingus pass had snow on the sides of the road. The road was mostly dry with some snow melting in places. It was an outstanding memorable ride. Group 1 made to Cottonwood and Group 2 stayed in Jerome.

Saturday, both groups rode through the Verde Valley, Strawberry, Pine, Payson and Roosevelt Lake. Going back up into high country brought some cold riding but the views were spectacular. Group 2 stopped for lunch at Ffinch and Group 1 in Globe with some just heading home.

Group 1: 7 of the 8 riders completed 1562 miles of the planned 1620 (some more or less depending on where they started/ended). We held daily group meeting prior to heading out making sure everyone was in agreement with the days planned route, weather conditions, etc.. Weather conditions ranged from snow, rain and plenty of sunshine with temp’s ranging from mid 20’s to low 60’s.

Thanks to Mike Brewer for orchestrating and heading up this years ride (now known in my book as “The Great 2026 SEAT Death Valley Adventure”). Thanks to both Mike Brewer and Dwight Darling for their support and insight along the way. Also a shout out to Mike Kennedy, Sean Kantorow and Lloyd Koppes for their help in leading/supporting the group.

Some adverse riding conditions resulted in an adventure that was rewarded with views not usually seen on a motorcycle. Death Valley was beautiful with temperatures between 50 – 65 degrees. The ride was not for everyone. For those that went, there will be lots of stories and memories.

The current weather for Group 4 should be very nice. I will update this report upon their return on Wednesday.

Group 1

Tom Butler - Organizer

Mike Kennedy

Sean Kantorow

Dave Robertson

Lloyd Koppes

Jim Philips

Julian Gonzales

Mike Ripley

Group 2

Mike Brewer & Vickie Brewer – Organizer