Guide to Death Valley National Park

Important info: 

1. Death Valley is located right on the border between Nevada and California. It's called Death Valley for a reason- there ain't much there. You really need to plan a head and make sure you have enough food, water and gas. We were shocked to find that there were gas stations within the park but the gas was EXTREMELY expensive. 

2. The best times of year to come is the winter to early spring. This park is the hottest and driest place in North America and gets well into the 100s during the summer months. We came in January and found it to be very nice temperate weather. 

3. It's $30 to get into the park for 1 week for one car- or you can get an America the Beautiful Parks pass if you are like us and go to a lot of parks in the year. 

4. In 2022 the park experienced extreme flash flooding which ruined many roads within the park. They are slowly opening up more sections of the park as they are repaired. We travelled here in January 2024 so that is something to keep in mind. The website is very confusing- we just found it easier to ask a park ranger when we got there what was open and what wasn't. 

5. Bring different clothing options. We found it was best to wear light layers. As you go down into the valley the temperature change is quite drastic. To give you an example when we travelled to the park- the temperature at the top of the valley where the park sign is was 34 degrees and there was snow on the ground. When we got to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center deep in the valley the temperature was 55 degrees. 

6. We travelled to this park when I was 28 weeks pregnant with our second child and we had our 18 month old with us. Therefore we weren't looking to do the toughest hikes by any means- we found this park to be extremely family friendly. 

Where to stay: 

We chose to stay in Beatty, NV which is about 20 minutes from the park entrance. We found there isn't much on the California end of the park. You can also camp within the park. Furnace Creek and Stovepipe village both have campgrounds for people to stay at. Camping just wasn't in the cards for us on this this trip. 

Be aware- Beatty doesn't have a true grocery store. The nearest grocery store is 2 hours away in Las Vegas. We planned ahead and got groceries in Vegas before driving north. I cannot emphasize enough how remote this park is and how you need to prepare for it. Beatty does have a family dollar with basics if you get into a pinch but if you want true groceries you need to plan a head. 

Furnace Creek Visitor Center Area

Furnace Creek Visitor Center is the main visitor center for the park. It is about an hour drive from the park entrance to the visitor center. 

Badwater Basin 

If you go nowhere else in the park I would highly recommend coming here. This is the lowest point in the park and North America. All the water in the park runs to this lowest point and mixes with the salt deposits in the ground. There is a small walk out to the "lake". We found it really neat to explore. 

 

Devils Golf Course 

This area is located roughly 1/3 of a mile off the main road on the way to or from badwater basin. In the pictures it appears to be snow on the ground but it's actually salt. Our toddler loved exploring this area and it was neat to see the salt crystals. 

Artists Pallette 

This is a 5 mile one way drive with a pull off area to do a little more exploring if you would like. The drive is beautiful because of the minerals in the rocks- as they erode overtime they turn different colors- such as green or purple. It was neat to see the different colors. 

Stovepipe Village 

Stovepipe Village is located centrally as you drive through the park. There is a small ranger station, gas and a small general store here. There is also a large campground here. 

Mosaic Canyon 

This is located just past Stovepipe Village off a 2 mile dirt road. This is a 4 mile total out and back hike that I would rate as moderate- difficult. The elevation gain is what makes it difficult 1,200 feet total. The ranger recommended this hike to us because some of the most impressive parts of the hike are in the first 1/2 mile. We probably only hiked a mile of this before we turned around (remember very pregnant and with toddler) but it was very neat. There are two different types of rock on each side of the canyon and it is neat to pass through the "narrows" section. I would highly recommend it- you by no means have to do the whole hike to enjoy it. 

Mesquite Sand Dunes 

This is another neat area of the park. This is located near stovepipe village. There is a 2mile hike in this section but it is very much "choose your own adventure". We basically let our toddler run around the dunes to his heart content and he loved it. Don't come to this section if there is a lot of wind. 

Things we would've liked to do but ran out of time:

Unfortunately we probably could've used another day here- it's just so spread out and there is so much to explore. Here are some of the things that we wanted to do but ran out of time. 

1. Ubehebe Crater- This is a 600ft wide volcanic crater. We really wanted to check this out but it was very far out of the way of everything else we wanted to do. You can hike the 1.5 mile trail around the crater if you feel so inclined 

2. Zabriskie Point- This is a very popular overlook in the park. Apparently it is beautiful during sunrise or sunset. Again it was too far away from everything else that we wanted to do so we didn't have time to go and check it out. 

3. Dante's View- This is another very pretty overlook looking out on the Badwater basin. This is a 45 minute drive from Furnace Creek Visitor Center. 

What we would like to do if we come back and it's open

Unfortunately these things weren't open due to the flooding from 2022. If we come back we would really like to check them out. 

1. Scotty's Castle- This is a Spanish mission located within the park. No it's not actually a castle but it is supposed to be really neat. 

2. Titus Canyon- this is a 30 mile off road drive and is supposed to be one of the most scenic drives of the park. I would've loved to do it- but alas the road was destroyed. 

3. Darwin Falls- I was totally shocked to learn that the hottest, driest place in the US also has a waterfall but apparently it does. This is located on the western edge of the park. From the parking lot it is a 1 mile hike to the falls. Unfortunately the road to this area was also damaged in the flood. 

Rhyolite Ghost Town 

While this is not located in the actual park itself it is just outside the park on the eastern edge in Nevada. Rhyolite is Nevada's most famous ghost town. It was built in the early 1900s for the gold rush boom and was quickly abandoned after about 15 years after they discovered very little gold and realized how hard it is to live in the desert. It is very neat to drive around and see the old structures and there is a lot of information explaining each of the different buildings and sections of town. 

Overall

Overall we ended up loving this park a lot more than we thought we would initially. We found the scenery to breathtaking and we found it to be very family friendly. We are so glad that we came here in winter- although I don't think I would ever be foolish to come in summer. It's very much in the middle of nowhere but I would highly recommend a trip to Death Valley if you ever get the opportunity.