Photo:
Christian David / CC BY-SA 4.0
Death Valley is a land of superlatives, the hottest, driest and lowest place in North America, where summer air temperatures have topped 130°F and the salt flats of Badwater Basin sink to 282 feet below sea level. Yet this vast desert is also achingly beautiful: sculpted badlands, rolling dunes, wildflower spring blooms and some of the darkest, starriest skies in the country.
Death Valley is a deep basin walled by high desert ranges. The Panamint Mountains climb to over 11,000 feet just west of the sub-sea-level valley floor. Salt flats, eroded badlands at Zabriskie Point, the Mesquite Flat sand dunes, colourful mineral hills and hidden canyons fill the basin, while the surrounding mountains catch snow in winter. Bighorn sheep, coyotes, and hardy desert plants and pupfish survive here.
Late fall through early spring is the only sensible time to explore actively, with pleasant days and cool nights, and, in rare wet years, a spectacular spring wildflower bloom. Summer is genuinely dangerous, with heat that can kill, so any summer visit means staying in a vehicle, near services, and out of the backcountry. Winter can bring snow to the high peaks above the warm valley floor.
The park is enormous and spread out, reached mainly via CA-190 from the Lone Pine area or from Las Vegas. Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells are the service hubs with fuel, water and lodging. Distances between sights are long, many roads are remote, and some backcountry routes require high-clearance or 4WD, so plan fuel, water and time carefully.
Drive to Badwater Basin’s salt flats, catch sunrise at Zabriskie Point, wind through Artists Palette, and walk the Mesquite Flat dunes. Hikes lead into Golden Canyon and Mosaic Canyon and up to Dante’s View, higher routes climb Telescope Peak in the cool season, and after dark the park is one of the finest stargazing destinations in the country.
Heat is the overriding danger: in the warm months, do not hike in the low country after morning, carry and drink far more water than seems necessary, and never rely on finding water in the park. Watch for flash floods in canyons during storms, fuel up before long drives, and prepare for vast distances with no cell service. Carry extra water, a paper map and a satellite messenger.
A park pass is required, backcountry camping is by free self-registration, and services are concentrated at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells, so plan fuel and water around the distances. This page is a general overview, not a live conditions report; always confirm current conditions, road status and heat warnings with the National Park Service before your trip.
Set this declination on your compass, then align it to the map's north lines; it is the angle between true north and magnetic north, refreshed each year.
