Mid-Winter Adventure

Duration: 5-day Price: $3,695 Food: Food/Lodging: Included Difficulty:

Moderate

All US-based Rawhyde training tours include private accommodations by default. Double occupancy is available upon request.

How about a great little mid-winter adventure? This ride is built for our friends in the colder parts of North America where motorcycles get parked for the season and riders long for sun, traction, and open desert. If you live in Atlanta, Boise, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Fargo, or anywhere winter feels endless, the warm southwest offers the perfect escape. So how does five days of adventure riding in the sunny deserts of California and Nevada sound?

The desert is a fantastic way to break free from winter, and the centerpiece of our Mid-Winter Adventure is Death Valley, CA. As America’s second largest National Park, Death Valley is both iconic and unique. From December through March, temperatures typically range from the mid-60s to around 80ºF with less than an inch of rainfall. It’s an ideal window for riding and for training in varied terrain without battling extreme heat.

Picture this… it’s the middle of January, nearly 70ºF, and you’re riding a new BMW GS across the Mojave Desert toward Rawhyde’s ZAKAR facility. Over the following days, you’ll explore world-famous locations like the Racetrack, Badwater Basin at 287 feet below sea level, Dante’s View, Titus Canyon, Scotty’s Castle, and more. Throughout the tour, Rawhyde coaches make instructional stops before major terrain changes to reinforce off-road fundamentals, review advanced techniques, and help riders safely navigate everything from loose gravel to rocky climbs and canyon transitions.

This six-night, five-day training-tour takes you through the Mojave Desert, the rugged Panamint Valley, and legendary Death Valley. The adventure is fully supported with an experienced guide, a sweep rider, a four-wheel-drive support truck for luggage, and a professionally trained chef who prepares excellent meals under the stars on camping nights. On hotel nights, we dine together at local restaurants to recharge for the next day’s ride.

It’s the perfect winter escape – skill building, sunshine, and some of the most unforgettable terrain in North America.

Mid-Winter Adventure schedule

Day 1 Sunday

Arrival at Rawhyde. Join us in the late afternoon for orientation, a chance to spend some time with your fellow riders, and a great welcome dinner. Accommodations – Private room, private cabin, or community bunkhouse at Rawhyde

Day 2 Monday

To ZAKAR – We head out through the high-desert to Red Rock Canyon for lunch. From there it is on to the famous Burro Schmidt Tunnel and the Mojave Mining District. Accommodations at ZAKAR.

Day 3 Tuesday

Today you’ll have the opportunity to explore the magnificent Panamint Valley, the ghost town of Ballarat, the charcoal kilns of Wildrose, and the historic Minietta Mine. Throughout the day, Rawhyde coaches provide on-trail instruction before key terrain features, reviewing body positioning, control inputs, and line choice to help riders safely navigate the changing desert surfaces. This region offers a vivid glimpse into the rugged and unforgiving life of hard rock miners from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The landscape is harsh, beautiful, and filled with relics of the past. While the challenges of the terrain once pushed miners to their limits, today it serves as an incredible training environment for adventure riders. Even now, a few hardy individuals still call this place home, carving out a life in the rocky desert environment. There are hundreds of miles of exploration opportunities in this area, on pavement or off-road, and riders are encouraged to choose routes that match their interests and skill goals. With coaching support and the expansive desert at your doorstep, it’s a perfect day to build skills while experiencing the deep history and stunning vistas of the Panamint Valley. Accommodations at ZAKAR

Day 4 Wednesday

Death Valley as few have ever seen it – we enter via the back way, riding nearly 90 miles of stunning backcountry terrain on the only easy dirt road entrance into the park. Along this route, Rawhyde coaches make targeted instructional stops to review techniques for loose gravel, rutted sections, and changing elevation, ensuring riders approach each feature with confidence and control. One of the highlights of the day is a visit to the Racetrack, the famous dry lakebed where massive boulders mysteriously slide across the playa, leaving long tracks behind them. The approach and exit from the Racetrack offer ideal opportunities for coaching on momentum management and surface reading as the terrain shifts from hard-packed dirt to looser desert surfaces. As we exit the Racetrack, we visit Ubehebe Crater, the largest steam crater in the continental United States. Formed when groundwater seeped deep enough to hit super-heated rock, the resulting explosion carved a crater nearly a third of a mile deep. It’s an impressive geological feature and an incredible stop before continuing deeper into the park, applying both foundational and advanced riding skills learned along the way. Accommodations at ZAKAR

Day 5 Thursday

Death Valley is America’s second largest National Park. It has approximately 150 miles of paved road and over 1200 miles of dirt roads. Exploration is the name of the game today. We’ll with a run up to Dante’s View and then head to Titus Canyon which is a truly amazing off road experience. One of the dirt road treasures of Death Valley, it’s a place that few motorcyclists ever see–imagine a small Grand Canyon that’s open for riding. 30 miles in length and simply unbelievable in scenic value. Words don’t describe it adequately. If we have time toward the end of the day we’ll run north to Scotty’s Castle which is a wonderful mansion built at the turn of the 20th century by a wealthy Chicago businessman. All the materials were carted in on wagons… you’ll have to see it to believe it. It’s crazy and well worthwhile. Accommodations at ZAKAR

Day 6 Friday

Today we return to Rawhyde via some of the best paved roads in the western US. We'll leave Death Valley early, and take one last look at it from Aguereberry Point. Aguereberry Point is on the western edge of Death Valley high in the Panamint Mountains. The view is beyond words. From Aguereberry Point we'll head west on a mix of beat up asphalt roads and dirt until we reach the crown jewel of southern California's pavement. It's called Snake Road, and just as the name evokes this is one twisty road! It's Highway 178 from Lake Isabella, California to the floor of California's great Central Valley. We'll end our day with a 40 minute ride on Interstate 5 back to Rawhyde HQ. The Dakar Bar will be fully stocked, and a hot dinner awaits us. A good night's sleep and it’s back to the realities of life on Saturday with flights home, etc.

Reviews from our riders

Jeff Camacho

"I was lucky enough to work with this amazing team." It was a great event. So many talented riders from all over the US came to RawHyde Adventures fo...

Daniel Schneider

"I'll be back!" Thank you all for the awesome Intro Course last weekend. Great bunch of instructors and staff. I'll be back! I also want to thank you...

David Haydock | Cambria, CA

"BMW motorcycles and Rawhyde go hand in hand!" Anyone that asks about my bike or talks about getting an adventure bike, I say two things... Get a BMW...

Mats Ceder | Chicago, IL

"Show up Friday, put away my car keys and my wallet, and enjoy the weekend!" I have attended several training classes and events at RawHyde. It remin...

Bill Bergman

"Simply the best experience thus far on my bike." RawHyde Off Road... Simply the best experience thus far on my bike. Why? Here are a few reasons. ...

Kimiko Krekel | Austin, TX

"I truly enjoyed being off road and felt the confidence I had been missing. What an amazing experience!" I came into the Rawhyde training with a bi...

Tony Goble | Tracy, CA

"The time with Rawhyde exceeded our expectations! " Rawhyde is a wonderful place to begin, or advance your adventure riding skills! The instructors a...

Gideon Weinberger

"I had an absolute blast!" I had an absolute blast! I wish I had known how much fun this would be years ago. The scenery was breathtaking, the bikes ...

Gary Isaac

"Great places to ride and train" Jim, It was a wonderful class, It was fun, helpful and challenging at the same time. I had an absolute blast. I tol...

Nigel Thompson | Aspen, CO

"Best Day Ever on a Motorcycle!" We had an amazing Next-Step (level 2 training group) thi, nobody was the best, nobody was the worst. Everybody rocke...

Read All Reviews

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