Summer Planning Questions - Death Valley in May, Great Basin

DV: Yes, miserable at lower elevations, but if you are willing to get up before sunrise and do your wandering before 8 a.m., you can enjoy it. Mostly plan to stay high.
GB: at the high elevations, you're good. We hiked Wheeler Peak in mid-June a couple of years ago and it was good. In fact, we have only ever done that park in summer, and it's fine, though I think the lower elevation camps and trails might be warm. If you can reserve, I'd nail down a campsite at the high camp. That's at 10,000', so it will also allow you to acclimatize maybe a night or two before you go for the peak (we did the peak after driving straight out from SF and survived, but there was some puking involved).
What besides the peak? Definitely the cave tour. And I understand there are some nice trails in some of the less-traveled areas, but I haven't explored them. It's usually just a stop-over for us between CA and CO.

General advice: about summer travel in the hot places. We have done a fair bit of this, due to the spouse's academic calendar, which gives us lots of free time in summer, and not much anytime else. We have hiked some very hot places at very hot times of year, carrying plenty of water and using the early and late hours. We always plan to spend mid-days either in the car with AC on or in town, visitor's center, etc. And you have the other idea already: go high. I can recall one summer getting tired of heat as we crossed the CO Plateau, so we headed up to Cedar Breaks--and dang near froze, at 10,000'. There was a really great t-storm, though!

Thanks zeke and whistlepunk . Will be sure to bring coolant/distilled water for the road (honestly car overheating has me more worried than anything, but car has been pretty solid thus far).

Thanks for the FYI on Lexington Arch whistlepunk I'll see if that's a viable drive, or if not that, a hike. Sounds like it might be a no go for my Prius, though I've been able to surprise myself at times with some of the places I've managed to drive it.

Follow up on the Death Valley trip:

Was amazing.

The drive itself was pretty great too. Drove to Ridgecrest overnight, but drove from there through Panamint Valley to Stovepipe Wells. Having grown up on the east coast, and having lived in California for only 2, I've never seen such a vast, open remote area before, even compared to some of the other areas I've been in before. Stunning area (aside from Trona).

Stayed 2 nights in the mountains so temperature was very comfortable. Made it to Thorndike in my low-clearance, 2WD vehicle and that was enough for me. Did Wildrose Peak first day. Was okay. Good for acclimating. Did Telescope Peak second day and was blown away. Probably one of my favorite hikes now. Was constantly amazed how many living things were there. Loved the Bristlecone Pine Trees.

Wandered around the Valley floor to do some touristy things before driving out the east entrance, through Death Valley Junction where I stopped at a nice, artsy cafe I'd like to go back to (Amargosa Cafe, I think). Went back to SoCal through the Mojave, which once again redefined my ideas of remoteness. Again though, it was a stunningly beautiful, wild, undeveloped area (which I hope doesn't turn into another Cadillac desert).

Overall, great trip. Exactly what I needed. Now planning out Great Basin, though considering swapping it for Lassen Volcanic, a 4 day backpacking trip in the southern Sierras, or using some airline points to visit a National Park near Seattle.

Trona is seriously ugly. But the Trona Towers are kind of cool, if a bit worn.

I've never been up Telescope Peak, since we are always in DV in spring. It's on my list

rebeccad I can't recommend Telescope enough. Spring is probably ideal time as well, though you may need an ice axe and crampons/microspikes depending on the snow. I'm guessing the wildflowers on the drive up through Wildrose canyon are stunning as well. The views are incredible though with Panamint Valley on one side alone with all the mountain ranges between the Panamints and the Sierras (which were very snow-capped while I was there). On the other side of course is Death Valley, and more mountains reaching into Nevada. The Panamints themselves are stunning, and I was surprised by all the trees, even though I knew they'd be there. The trees are short, and while the foliage isn't too dense, it is an honest to god forest, contrasting against the desert below.

If you have the right vehicle, or are willing to backpack up from Charcoal Kilns, Mahogany Flats looked like a really stunning campground as well, with both tree cover and views of the Sierras and the valley below. Seems like this area isn't too much of a secret anymore though, since Mahogany, Thorndike, and even Wildrose all filled up over the long weekend. There are definitely some spots you could backcountry camp on Telescope as well, though I hear it gets extremely windy at times.

Wildrose Peak I think you could take or leave. I'll say this about though: still great views or Death Valley and the Sierras (though not Panamint Valley). Great views of Wildrose Canyon. And you hike through a lot of this scrubby forest so it's an interesting, close up view of this unique biome. As mentioned too, doing it the day before Telescope really helped me acclimatize.