Hike · Telescope Peak trailhead

Telescope Peak

Distance

14.0 mi

Vertical

259 ft

Summit

10,971 ft

Difficulty

Moderate

Telescope Peak is the highest point in Death Valley National Park at 11,043 feet, the crest of the Panamint Range and one of the most extraordinary vertical reliefs of any peak in the lower 48. The summit rises 11,331 feet above Badwater Basin — Death Valley's salt-pan floor at…

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About Telescope Peak

Telescope Peak is the highest point within Death Valley National Park, in the U.S. state of California. It is also the highest point of the Panamint Range, and lies in Inyo County. From atop this desert mountain one can see for over one hundred miles in many directions, including west to Mount Whitney, and east to Charleston Peak. The mountain was named for the great distance visible from the summit.

Summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.

Snow-capped Telescope Peak rises 11,000 feet above the salt flats of Badwater Basin — one of the greatest reliefs in the contiguous United States. — Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0

The summit ridge of Telescope Peak from the upper trail, late-season wildflowers along the path. — Pimlico27 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Badwater Basin's white salt floor and the Amargosa Range, seen from the summit of Telescope Peak more than two vertical miles above. — Pimlico27 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Telescope Peak viewed from the summit of neighboring Wildrose Peak across the high Panamint divide. — National Park Service · Public domain

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