Steens Mountain’s loop road starts closing for winter just as the West Coast’s deserts get good

Everyone else is packing rain jackets right now. The better move is heading for the driest corners of the West Coast, because October and November are when the desert finally lets you in.

Oregon’s high desert is still playable, Death Valley’s heat is breaking, and eastern Washington’s coulee country is quiet. Here’s the three-state plan, and the clock that’s ticking on one of its best drives.

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Oregon: drive Steens Mountain before the snow does

The Steens Mountain Loop is a 52-mile backcountry byway that climbs past 9,500 feet, and then it just stops at a rim where the east face drops more than a mile to the Alvord Desert. We drove it, and the first look over that edge is the kind of view that makes you stop talking mid-sentence.

The catch is the calendar. Winter weather closes the loop in stages, and in 2023 the first stretch shut on October 30 while the last section held out until November 30, so there’s no guarantee for any given week. Call the Bureau of Land Management’s Burns District Office at 541-573-4400 for current conditions before you commit to the drive.

Down below, the Alvord Desert playa is six miles wide and 11 miles long, and the BLM calls June through November the ideal window because it’s usually dry enough to drive.

Here’s the rule that matters: if the surface looks even slightly wet, stay off it. The clay turns slick, a puddle becomes sticky mud, and getting towed out of that corner of Oregon is not a cheap phone call.

We ended our Steens day soaking at Alvord Hot Springs at the edge of the playa, which is exactly as good as it sounds. There’s no cell service out here, so download your maps before you leave pavement.

California: Death Valley is worth waiting for until November

Here’s my confident opinion: skip Death Valley in summer, and go when the National Park Service’s own numbers say it’s civilized. October’s average high at Furnace Creek is about 93°F, which is still serious, but November drops to about 77°F with overnight lows around 48°F.

That’s the month to walk out onto Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level and the lowest point in North America. We parked at the pullout, strolled the boardwalk onto the salt flats, and looked back at the sea-level sign on the cliff high above us. It’s a strange feeling to stand on dry ground with the ocean technically over your head.

Check the park’s alerts before you plan a route, because flood damage has closed a lot of backroads.

Scotty’s Castle and Bonnie Clare Road are closed with no reopening date, and the one-way section of Titus Canyon Road is closed for repairs. Its two-way western section also closes October 27 through December, per the National Park Service. Entry is $30 per vehicle for seven days, and it’s covered if you already carry an America the Beautiful Pass.

Washington: Dry Falls, the waterfall that already happened

Nothing pours over Dry Falls anymore, and it’s still one of the most jaw-dropping things you can drive up to in the state. The dry cliff is about 400 feet tall and 3.5 miles across, carved by Ice Age floods in central Washington’s coulee country.

Sun Lakes–Dry Falls State Park wraps around it with about 15 miles of trails through sage-covered hills and along tabletop cliffs. A Discover Pass is $10 for a day or $45 for a year, and the park’s lower campsites (numbers 1 through 31) close November 1.

Wildfire season isn’t quite over either: the park posted a Level 2 burn ban on September 25. Call the park at 509-632-5583 about overlook conditions and fire rules before you go.

Putting the three together

The cleanest way to stack these is a long drive, with Oregon first while the Steens road may still be open, then south to Death Valley as the heat fades. Eastern Washington works best as its own trip, since it sits a long way north of the other two. So which desert is your first stop?

Want the full story on each stop? We wrote up Steens Mountain, Badwater Basin, and Dry Falls in detail.

Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your room before the good ones are gone, or skip both and book a camper van instead.

Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.