Death Valley National Park

Death Valley holds the verified world record for highest air temperature (56.7C in July 1913 at Furnace Creek) and sits at the lowest point in North America (Badwater Basin, 86 metres below sea level). The park covers 13,600 square kilometres of desert, salt flat, and mountain range in eastern California and Nevada, and it is genuinely hostile for about four months of the year. From June through September, daytime temperatures regularly exceed 48 degrees Celsius on the valley floor. People die here every summer, usually from heat and dehydration combined with poor planning.

October through April is when Death Valley makes sense as a destination. March and April occasionally produce wildflower blooms across the valley if winter rainfall has been sufficient. November through February is mild during the day (15 to 25C) and cold at night. The park entrance fee is 35 dollars per vehicle, valid for seven days.

Key Sites

Badwater Basin, 30 kilometres south of Furnace Creek on Highway 190, is the primary landmark: a 280-square-kilometre salt flat that forms when seasonal flooding evaporates and leaves behind sodium chloride deposits in hexagonal crystalline patterns. The walk onto the flats is flat and straightforward; in cooler months you can walk for kilometres. A sign on the cliff above marks sea level, 86 metres up from where you are standing.

Zabriskie Point, east of Furnace Creek, overlooks a landscape of eroded badlands in brown and gold tones formed from lakebeds that dried 5 million years ago. Sunrise from the viewpoint is reliably good. The short walk down into the badlands (Golden Canyon trail, 5 kilometres return) is better than standing at the viewpoint.

Mesquite Flat Dunes, near Stovepipe Wells, are the photogenic sand dunes most associated with Death Valley in photographs. They are 30 metres high at most; the walk from the car park to the main dune field takes 20 minutes. Arrive very early or at sunset for the best light and cooler temperatures.

Staying and Eating

The Oasis at Death Valley (formerly the Inn at Death Valley) is the upscale option at Furnace Creek: Spanish colonial architecture from 1927 with a spring-fed pool at 33 degrees, rooms from $350 per night. The Ranch at Death Valley nearby is the mid-range alternative, considerably cheaper and less atmospheric. Both are operated by the same concessionaire. Stovepipe Wells Village, on the west side of the valley, is a simpler motel option.

Outside the park, Pahrump, Nevada (about an hour east) has chain motels at half the price. Beatty, Nevada is closer and has several basic motels.

Getting There

The nearest major cities are Las Vegas (about 2.5 hours on US-95 and Nevada 374) and Los Angeles (about 4 hours via I-15 and CA-127). There is no public transport to Death Valley. A hire car with a full tank and an emergency water supply is not optional.