For more than four decades, four-wheelers have made their way to Panamint Valley each fall for a weekend that's hard to describe until you've experienced it yourself.

Maybe it's watching the sun come up over the mountains, spending the day exploring old mining roads and historic sites, challenging yourself and your rig on one of the area's tougher trails, or sitting around camp with friends you've known for decades—and meeting new ones who may become lifelong friends. Maybe it's looking up at a night sky filled with more stars than you thought possible, or getting treated to an impromptu air show as military jets from nearby China Lake come through the surrounding mountains and put on a show that never fails to stop people in their tracks.

Whatever it is, there's something special about Panamint Valley Days that keeps people coming back year after year.

Whether this is your first Panamint Valley Days or you've been attending for decades, you'll quickly understand why this has become one of Cal4Wheel's favorite annual traditions. Panamint Valley is one of California's truly unique desert landscapes, filled with incredible scenery, colorful sunrises and sunsets, fascinating history, and miles of trails waiting to be explored.

Panamint Valley Days is also about much more than a weekend of four-wheeling. It's one of Cal4Wheel's important fundraising events, and every dollar raised helps support the California Four-Wheel Drive Association. Those funds help cover the Association's day-to-day operations, support our natural resource consultants, promote responsible recreation, and continue the work of protecting motorized access and keeping our public lands and trails open for everyone to enjoy.

Simply by coming out, having a great weekend, supporting the raffle, and participating in the event, you're also helping Cal4Wheel continue the work we've been doing for generations to preserve four-wheel-drive recreation and access to California's public lands.

And when it comes to the wheeling, there really is something for just about everyone.

You don't need a heavily modified rock crawler to enjoy Panamint Valley Days. The Gear Grinders 4x4 Club from Ridgecrest puts together a great selection of guided runs ranging from easy scenic trips suitable for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles to historic mining trails and more technical routes that will challenge even well-built rigs.

Some runs are about the obstacles; others are about the destination. Throughout the area you'll find remnants of Panamint Valley's mining past, old roads, abandoned mining areas and structures, historic sites, incredible geological formations, and pieces of California desert history that you might otherwise never have the opportunity to see.

A run board will be posted at Base Camp with descriptions and information for the available trails so you can choose the run that best fits you, your experience level, and your vehicle. If you're not sure where to start, just ask one of the Gear Grinders. Their members have spent years exploring this area and are always happy to help point you in the right direction.

For those looking to turn Panamint Valley Days into an even bigger adventure, Cal4Wheel also offers the limited-entry Escape from Death Valley run in the days leading up to PVD. This overlanding-style adventure retraces portions of the route traveled by the pioneers of 1849 as they struggled to escape Death Valley and make their way toward California. The run finishes just in time to join everyone at Panamint Valley Days, making it an incredible way to experience the history and landscape of the region before the main event begins.

Of course, the trails are only part of what makes Panamint Valley Days special.

When everyone starts rolling back into Base Camp after a day on the trail, the evening becomes its own part of the experience. It's a chance to relax, walk around camp, see what everybody did that day, catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and probably hear a few trail stories that get a little better every time they're told.

That's the part that's difficult to put into an event schedule or trail description. Cal4Wheel events have always been about the people, and Panamint Valley Days is one of the best examples of that.

You may come for the trails, but you'll come back for the people.

Panamint Valley Days is organized and operated by volunteers who give countless hours of their time to make the weekend possible. From the event chairs and registration volunteers to the people organizing the raffle, setting up Base Camp, coordinating runs, leading and tailing trails, and helping wherever they're needed, this event happens because members and clubs step forward year after year to make it happen. A special thank you goes to the Gear Grinders and all of the Cal4Wheel volunteers whose hard work makes Panamint Valley Days possible.

And be sure you're back at Base Camp Saturday night for one of the highlights of the weekend—the Panamint Valley Days raffle!

Thanks to the incredible support of Cal4Wheel's sponsors, clubs, members, and industry partners, the raffle is always packed with great prizes. Over the years, attendees have had the opportunity to take home everything from BFGoodrich tires and WARN winches to camping and off-road equipment and countless other prizes. Every raffle ticket purchased directly supports Cal4Wheel and the work the Association does throughout California.

Whether you come for the wheeling, the history, the scenery, the people—or simply to get away for a few days and enjoy the desert—we hope you'll join us.

Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring your four-wheel drive and come experience a Cal4Wheel tradition more than four decades in the making.

Come see for yourself what keeps people returning to Panamint Valley year after year.

We'll see you at Panamint Valley Days!

We have a variety of runs to choose from on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the event.

Difficulty ranges from mild SUV runs for stock vehicles, all the way up to hardcore four-wheeling.

For run descriptions and the schedule, visit this link

Be sure to check the board in base camp for each run's staging location.

All registrants receive 1 dash plaque, choice of runs on Friday & Saturday, and camping Thursday through Sunday. Pre-registrants also receive 1 raffle ticket.

REGISTRATION - per vehicle
Vehicle registration - (members: $75 / non-members: $100)
Add-on Escape from Death Valley run - $65
Extra dash plaques - $5
Camping fee (optional) - $10

On Site Registration add $10 - $85 for Members / $110 for Non-Members

APPAREL
Shirts - $25
Long-sleeve shirts - $30
Sweatshirts - $35
Hooded Sweatshirts - $40
Zippered Hoodies - $45
Youth shirts - $20