5 Extraordinary Things to do in Death Valley National Park

Post Topic: Things to do in Death Valley National Park

Let me start off by saying, Death Valley was the last national park I saw myself visiting. The name alone deterred me, who wants to visit a place named after death? All I knew about the park was that it was nothing but desert and hot. Too hot. Summer temperatures reach into the 120s (F) with the record temperature reaching a whopping 134 degrees (F).

Death Valley is essentially known best for two things: being both the hottest and lowest place in the United States. Meaning that it’s best to visit in the winter months to avoid the scorching temps of the summer months.

While doing a bit of research on the best parks to visit in the winter, Death Valley kept reappearing during my research. The warm winter weather, beautiful mountain vistas, and unique desert landscapes all had me wildly intrigued. So I figured, why not?

Another huge deciding factor was the park’s accessibility from the Las Vegas airport. Weekend travelers know how important it is to pick destinations that easy to get to from the airport so that you don’t spend your whole weekend getting to your destination just to turn around and do it all backwards.

But I didn’t want to go alone. So I picked up the phone and called my mom to convince her to join me. After all, my mom is part of the reason for my love of national parks. And after very little convincing, it was settled and we booked our flights. Death Valley here we come!

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How to Get to Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is located in Southeastern California along the Nevada border. It’s just east of the Sierra Nevada in portions of bother the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts.

The McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada is the closest and most convenient major airport to the national park. I recommend booking your flights to this airport and then renting a car.

After landing at the Las Vegas International Airport early in the AM, we took off towards Death Valley National Park.

The Scenic Route: Skip the Highway and Take this Road Instead

Put Death Valley National Park into the GPS on your phone and you’ll be given the quickest route to the park which is almost entirely interstate – how boring!

If you plug Las Vegas to Furnace Creek into your phone and you will get a route roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Instead of taking the interstate, check out this scenic route instead. It’s about three and a half hours depending on how many times you stop to take pictures. It took us approx. 5 hours allowing for time to take some photos.

I highly recommend taking this route because it offers some of the best views in Death Valley and you’ll be able to see most of it from your car!

Directions from Las Vegas

Head west on NV-160W
In Pahrump, turn left onto E Highway 372
In Shoshone, turn right onto 127/178
After a 1.7 miles turn left onto Jubilee Pass Road/178 and head towards Badwater
After 25 miles you will turn on Badwater Road and head North.

You will make most of your stops off of Badwater Road. Below I have listed the points of interest in the order that you will come to them.

What to Do in Death Valley National Park

Make sure that when you enter the park, you stop and take that iconic “national park sign” photo. There is no ranger station or booth on this route, so you’ll have to stop at the visitor center when you get to Furnace Creek to purchase your 7-day pass. Or invest in an annual America the Beautiful, national park pass if you plan to visit more parks throughout the year.

Badwater Basin

Head north on Badwater Road for another 30 miles or so and you will come to Badwater Basin. This salt flat is the lowest and hottest place in all of the U.S and one of the most iconic stops in all of Death Valley NP. I recommend spending 30 minutes to an hour here. Drink plenty of water!

Devil’s Golf Course

A couple of miles north of Badwater Basin is the dirt road turn off for Devil’s Golf Course. Devil’s Golf Course is a very rough salt pan on the floor of Death Valley. It’s said that “Only the devil could play golf” on such a rough surface.

Use caution when driving a car with low ground clearance as it can be a little bumpy. There’s not too much to see here, so just spend a few minutes at this stop before getting in the car and moving on to the next stop.

Artist’s Palate

Eleven miles north of Badwater Basin is Artist’s palate. Here you can see pastel colors of blue, green, and pinks in the rock face. The colors are most vibrant right before sunset and right after sunset but are also worth seeing during the day. The loop road turn off is a one-way road heading north.

Golden Canyon Trail

If you have enough time, stop at the Golden Canyon Trailhead and hike to Zabriskie Point. (If you are limited on time, Zabriskie Point is drivable, only a couple miles east of Furnace Creek.) We chose to do this hike the next morning, after staying the night in Furnace Creek.

This is one of the best hikes in all of the park and you get a real feel for Death Valley NP. The hike is 2.8 miles one-way while ascending almost 1000 feet. Follow the signs for Zabriskie Point. If you want to make this a loop trail, you can return back to the parking lot by way of the Gower Gulch trail which is slightly longer but has little to no elevation change.

After your hike, you will only be about 3 miles away from Furnace Creek. In Furnace Creek, you will find accommodations (book early if you plan to stay in one of their two hotels) and food. The food in Furnace Creek is very expensive and definitely lacking, but to be fair, you’re in the middle of the desert.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Another point of interest worth adding to the list is the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, located past Furnace Creek in Stovepipe Wells. I would recommend visiting the sand dunes in the early AM or at sunset to avoid burning your feet on the hot sand. This would also be a great place to bring a sand sled or board.

Death Valley National Park makes a great weekend trip to warm you up this winter. Make sure you add it to your list!

5 Extraordinary Things to do in Death Valley National Park

How to Get to Death Valley National Park