Death Valley National Park

We weren’t totally sure what to expect from Death Valley. Was this going to be some stark, barren abyss with carcasses of wildlife strown about the hot desert floor? Would it be safe or would it result in certain death? Should we go or should we drive hundreds of miles to detour around it? We decided to ignore our fears with the goal of overcoming them and give it a chance, after all it might make for a good blog.

Death Valley, in California, is one of the most geologically diverse parks we’ve been to. Snow capped mountains shadow the salt basin which sits at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest spot in North America. Orange mounds, red rocks and dark jagged mountains surround you anywhere you go in this immense national park. There are sand dunes, canyons and amazing overlooks, all within the confines of one park. I think the reason it was hard to know what to expect is because it is impossible to capture all of this through the lense of a camera.

Death Valley is also the hottest place on earth, with a recorded temperature of 134 degrees, and the driest place in North America with an average annual rainfall of just 2.24 inches. We visited in the first half of February 2024 and experienced a very different Death Valley. We arrived during one of the atmospheric river events (we used to call those rainstorms) that the state has been recently experiencing. This was on the heels of a huge rain event back in August 2023 from the remnants of hurricane Hillary and a record rainfall the previous year. Badwater Basin, normally a vast salt basin, was once again a lake, something that hasn’t occurred in almost 20 years. The park has endured considerable damage due to these flooding events, but the park service has been doing a great job of restoring the park. Still, many areas were closed during our two-week visit, but there was still plenty to experience.

We stayed east of the park in Pahrump, Nevada which we thought was a good central location. However, we vastly underestimated the size of the park and just how long it takes to get from one point to the other. It was almost an hour and a half drive just to get to the Furnace Creek area in the central part of the park. From there, you can venture for another hour to get to the far west part of the park or another two hours to venture into the more remote north part of the park. Our recommendation for anyone visiting Death Valley is to stay in the park. Furnace Creek and Stovepipe have RV parks but very few with full hookups, so planning well in advance is advised. There is also traditional lodging at both of these locations in addition to the historic Inn at Death Valley. The one advantage for staying in Pahrump is that you are a little over an hour from Las Vegas. Since we have family in Las Vegas that we were visiting, this was a bonus for us.

As with most national parks, there are many ways to explore Death Valley including scenic drives, overlooks, historical points and lots of hiking. Let’s cover our favorites and the “must do’s” along with some of the items we weren’t able to do because of closures and distance restraints.

SCENIC OVERLOOKS

There are three must see scenic overlooks that should be on the top of anyone’s list visiting Death Valley:

Zabriskie Point

190 is the main road through the park and Zabriskie Point is located right off the road. This is probably the most popular spot in the park and for good reason. A short uphill walk on a paved pathway takes you to an amazing overlook and a great introduction to the diversity of the park.

Father Crowley Overlook

This is a long drive along 190 to the far western side of the park, but don’t let the long drive deter you from checking this out, in fact the drive alone makes this worth the experience. You drive over two mountain pases with a salt flat in between. At on point the road appears as though it continues up to the heavens. The overlook is at a point of Rainbow Canyon where fighter jets sometime do low altitude maneuvers. It’s also the location of some Star Wars scenes. Just off of the parking lot is a short dirt road that takes you to another vantage point well worth exploring, Jeep recommended.

Dante’s View

A winding, narrow and steep road takes you to this point that will take your breath away. At almost 5,500 feet you are directly across from snow covered mountains that look like you can reach out and touch. In-between and directly below you, at 282 feet below sea level, is Badwater Basin. There are some trails that take you further along the ridge for more fantastic views. My 3-year-old great nephew insisted we do some adventuring along the ridge trail, so I obliged him.

SCENIC DRIVES

Not that the main road through the park isn’t scenic, but there are a few driving areas in particular that can’t be missed:

Artists Palette

This 9 mile winding one-way road goes through colorful hills and some of the more unique area of the park. There are a couple places where you can get out and walk around but it’s mostly about enjoying the ride.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Road takes you along the 37 mile salt basin which is normally all dry, but for the first time in almost 20 years it was full of water, providing a very unique experience. Along the way there is a stop where you can walk along a short boardwalk. We saw many people taking off their shoes and walking in the shallow water.

Twenty Mule Team Canyon was closed so we didn’t’ get to drive it, but it’s a short 2.5 mile road that goes through the yellow hills area. Must be beautiful.

OTHER MUST SEE SPOTS

Harmony Borax Works

Borax was one of the most profitable resources mined in the park. These historical processing ruins are well worth a stop and are easily accessible by a short walking trail

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Adding to the diversity of the park is this vast area of sand dunes, some towering nearly 100 feet. Take your shoes off and stroll for a while or tackle one of the higher dunes and enjoy the view from the top. Although the lighting for pictures is said to be best early or late in the day, it’s a fun experience anytime of the day.

Scotty’s Castle is a Death Valley ranch which is a window into the life and times of the Roaring ’20s and Depression ’30s. It was and is an engineer’s dream home, a wealthy matron’s vacation home and a man-of-mysteries’ hideout and getaway. Unfortunately it is closed until late 2025 due to the floods.

Racetrack Playa was a big miss for us due to the remote area. It takes a 4WD to reach the area where rocks mysteriously move on their own along the sandy desert floor. If you’re staying in the park and have a capable vehicle, don’t miss this.

HIKING

Natural Bridge Trail

This was a good easy canyon hike that provided a good introduction to the area. The natural bridge goes right over the canyon and it a great photo spot. If you take the trail further it gets to a pretty tricky wall that you have to climb, and then there’s some more hiking on the other side. I climbed the wall a little ways, then my better senses (Shannon) got the best of me. Don’t forget to see the dry waterfall along the way as well.

Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral

There’s a couple of ways to get to Red Cathedral, either from the trails on the Zabriskie Point side or on the backside off of Badwater Basin as we did. I understand the Zabriskie Point side takes a higher rout across the ridge, whereas the Golden Canyon trail traverses through a beautiful canyon. It was such a diversity of rock and colors starting with mustard colored mounds and dark rocks and finally the red rock hills. The trail itself was pretty simple until the end that required some rock scrambling – both over and under. The trail dead ends to a steep but very short trail to an overlook. Even if you don’t do this part the trail is well worth it… but if you do this part… WOW!

Mosaic Canyon

This hike can be an easy 2.6-mile adventure through the amazing canyon or one a bit longer with a lot of extracurricular activities. The rock is different in this canyon, more shaped by water that once (and possibly sometimes still does) rushed through and carved it beautifully. At the 1.3 mile point it gets tricky with multiple rock scrambles that can be a bit difficult to tackle. Shannon hung back and made a new friend while I did some fun scrambling. On the way back there are all kinds of ridges and other rock hills that can be free climbed. The rocks are pretty grippy so it’s not too difficult but a whole lot of fun with some great views.

We didn’t get up to see Ubehebe Crater in the northern section of the park, but I understand there is an easy 1.8 mile loop trail around it. I’m also told that the 600 foot crater, formed 2,000 years ago from an explosion when rising magma came in contact with groundwater, can be viewed from the parking lot and doesn’t even require a hike (but what’s the fun in that!).

OFF-ROAD TRAILS

There are many off-road trails in the park and they are all marked on the park map. However, these are typically in the more remote areas and therefore more impacted by the floods. Most of the trails we wanted to check out were inaccessible or just too far to get to.

In my pre-trip research the following were top on our list and hopefully someday we will return to explore them. If you’ve driven any of these, drop us a line and let us know how they are. Many of these can be combined together for a comprehensive day tour.

• Aguereberry Point Road
• Ibex Spring Road
• West Side Road
• Titus Canyon
• Racetrack Valley Road
• Hunter Mountain Road
• Lippincott Pass
• Saline Valley Road
• Steel Pass Road

However, all wasn’t lost on the off-road front, we actually found two trails easily accessible off of 190, Echo Canyon Road and Hole in the Wall Road. Both were pretty easy by off-road standards and provided amazing up close beauty of the terrain. There’s several dry camping spots along both trails, which make for a great spot to stop for a picnic lunch. Don’t miss the “Eye of the Needle” arch on Echo Canyon, which is more noticeable on the return.

Death Valley exceeded our expectation and was actually nothing like what we expected. However, it should be noted that we saw it in a way that many do not, due to all the recent rain storms. It’s not a park that you can do in a day, it’s just too big. We recommend staying in the park which will maximize your stay and also give you a better chance to see the stars and take in some of the amazing sunrises and sunsets. The optimal time to visit is between November and March to avoid it living up to its name. We’ll have to return someday to see what we missed and experience what we did see over again, because it’s well worth another visit.

Check out all of our pictures from Death Valley.