Just in case any of you haven't been there and plan on making a trip: these are distances and driving times I googled before the trip, and they seem to be reasonably close:
- Las Vegas To Beatty - 117 miles, about 2 hours
- LA to Beatty via Baker - 313 miles, about 5 hours
- LA to Beatty via CA 14, Panamint Springs, and center of Death Valley - 276 miles, about 5 hours
- San Diego to Beatty via Baker - 6 hours
- Beatty - Leadfield via Rhyolite and Titus Canyon Road): 22 mi, ~1. hr (+30 min - an hour and half in Rhyolite)
- Leadfield to Ubehebe Crater: 35 miles, ~1.5 hours
- Ubehebe Crater to Racetrack Playa: 27 mi, ~1.5 hours
- Racetrack Playa to Saline Warm Springs: 37 mi, ~3 hours
- Saline Warm Springs to Eureka Dunes via Steel Pass: 29 miles, ~3 hours
- Eureka Dunes to Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest: 67 mi, 3 hours
- Bristlecone to Bishop: ~20 mi, ~2 hours (snow permitting)
- Bishop to Las Vegas - 270 mi, ~4.5 hours
- Bishop to LA - 270mi, ~4 hours
- Bishop to San Diego - 350-380 mi, ~6 hours
Should you fly to Southwest and rent a vehicle: Titus Canyon, Racetrack Road, and Lippincott Trail are passable in a rental SUV. Steele Pass requires at least a JK Wrangler, but
maybe one can make it in a Grand Cherokee. Silver Canyon Road - any rental SUV uphill, possible downhill with care.
Here's a map.