Death Valley National Park is the largest contiguous American national park which straddles between California and Nevada. Surprised about the name of this national park? Even I was, when I first heard about this park. So before exploring the park, let me tell you the story behind its name “Death Valley”. A group of European-Americans, trapped in the valley in 1849 while looking for a shortcut to the gold fields of California, gave the valley its name, even though only one of their group died here due to extreme heat. Record Summer heat, steady drought and below sea level basin make Death valley a land of Extremes. Now that you know the history behind the name, Read through this ultimate guide to know more about Death Valley National Park.
- How to get there/Accommodation
- Best Time to Visit
- Entrance Fee
- Must visit places at Death valley
- Travel Tips
How to get there/Accommodation
Death Valley National Park is at a distance of 458 miles from San-Francisco. 214 miles from Los Angeles. 127 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada.
By Car: California Highway 190 transects this park from east to west. On the east of Nevada, U.S. route 95 parallels the park from north to south with connecting highways at Beatty(Nevada State route 374) and Lathrop Wells(State route 373). At Lathrop Wells turn on to Nevada State Route 373 and then take California State Highway 190 at Death Valley Junction. To the south of the park, Interstate 15 passes through Baker, California on its way from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
By Air: The nearest major airport is Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, which is 129 miles southeast of the park. There is a small airport at Furnace Creek (Personal planes only). Call the park service for more information.
Accommodation
Hotels
There are very few options to stay at the heart of the Death valley. They are mostly booked and pricey. The notable ones at the heart of the Death valley are “The Ranch at Death Valley” and “The Inn at Death Valley“.
However, we opted not to stay at the above mentioned hotels as they were pricey. Since we were travelling from San Francisco side, we decided to halt at RidgeCrest. Death Valley is 2 hours drive form Ridgecrest. At Ridgecrest, we opted to stay at “Quality Inn Near China Lake Naval Station“. The Rooms were clean, spacious and also very close to gas stations. Complimentary breakfast was good.
If you are travelling from Nevada Side, then Beatty is the right place to stay overnight while exploring Death Valley. We chose to stay at “Death Valley Inn & RV Park” after our first day Death valley exploration.
Camping
If you are interested to camp in Death Valley then there are 7 camp grounds available. They are mostly first come first serve. Furnace creek campground, Emigrant campground and Wildrose campground operate entire year. While the others are generally open between mid October to April/May.
Best Time to visit
Spring(March to May) is the most favourable season of the year to visit Death Valley. If the previous winter brought rain, the desert can put on an impressive floral display, usually peaking in late March to early April. Summer is the hottest season and best avoided.
Winter has cool days, chilly nights and rarely, rainstorms. With snow capping the high peaks and low angled winter light, this season is especially beautiful for exploring the valley. Some of the points may be closed during this season due to snow. Check Death Valley website before planning your trip.
Entrance Fee
Death Valley National Park is open every day of the year. There is an entrance fee to the park and varies depending on the type of the vehicle you are travelling. The prices mentioned in this page is bound to change with time. Please visit Death Valley official website for current fee rates.
- Cars, Truck and vans- $30 for 7 days
- Motorcycle- $25
- Bicycle- $15 for 7 days
Must Visit Places at Death Valley
Death Valley is full of life despite its name. This fabled park features spectacular dessert scenery and unusual wildlife. Also for record books: The Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. Death valley is not a place to explore in jiffy. Every point of interest is spread across 3.4 million acres land and takes a lot to time to explore all points of interest. We tried to cover a few points of interest in 2 days and here is what we saw and I think below mentioned points/places are not to be missed.
1. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are present in the heart of the Death Valley and the easiest to visit in Death Valley. This is very close to Stovepipe Wells. This dune field includes three types of dunes: crescent, linear, and star shaped. Polygon-cracked clay of an ancient lakebed forms the floor.
Sand dunes means a ridge of sand created by the wind; found in deserts or near lakes and oceans. But Death Valley National park is a valley suggested by its name. Then how did sand dunes form in the center of this Y shaped valley? Isn’t it surprising. Three things are needed for sand to gather into dunes: A supply of sand, strong winds and something to slow the wind. Sand erodes from the mountains around death valley. Winds from the north carry sand down the valley until they hit the bulk of Tucki mountains towering behind the Mesquite flat sand dunes, causing the sand to collect at its foot.
I was amazed to know that these sand dunes talk when the wind conditions are right. The wind causes the sand at the top of the dunes to collapse down the leeward side of the dunes making “Om” sound. Isn’t it amazing?
Best time to visit Mesquite sand dunes is during sunrise or during sunset because of the show of colour in the sky during this hours.
2. Bad Water Basin
Bad water basin is the lowest point in North America with a depth of 282 ft(86 m) below sea level. With the black mountains in the back ground, one can walk miles in shimmering expanse of white salt in Bad water basin. The salt formations are exceptional. I wanted to taste the salt and was about to when a ranger advised me not to eat as it is high in arsenic content. So don’t taste salt even if you are tempted to and also wash your hand thoroughly if you touch the salt.
3. Devil’s Golf Course
Every name in Death Valley misleads. Devil’s golf course is not a golf course but it is a large salt pan on the floor of the Death Valley. Here, gnarled crystalline salt spires dot the landscape and look like a coral reef. This place got its name from “National park Service” guide book to Death Valley which stated that “Only the devil could play golf” on this surface due to rough texture. It is told that on a hot summer day, one can hear a metallic cracking sound as the salt pinnacles expand and contract. The lumpy salt pinnacles are the residue of the Death valley’s last significant lake which evaporated 2000 years ago. There is no hiking trail, visitors can walk through this rugged terrain. However, be carful not to hurt yourself on the jagged structures.
4. Artist’s Drive and Artist’s Palette
Artist’s Drive is a visual feast and a geological tour of one of Death Valley’s explosive volcanic periods. One can view apron of pink, green, purple, brown, and black rock at Artist’s Drive. Artist’s Drive is a dipping, diving, curving one way road that weaves through striking gorges/ravines and colourful rocks. This is a nine mile loop and the climax of this loop is at the Artist’s Palette.
At Artist’s palette, Sea green, lemon yellow, blue, salmon pink mineral deposits are splashed across the barren background like brilliant dabs of paint from a giant’s brush. The effect is most intense during the evening as the colour changes rapidly with the setting sun. The rocks at this point are very very soft. This point clearly tells us how lively Death valley is.
5. Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is the easiest hike in the entire Death Valley. A short uphill hike from the parking area is all that’s required to enjoy the panoramic view of golden- brown mudstone hills. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago- long before Death Valley came into existence.
6. Rhyolite Ghost town
No trip to death valley is complete without visiting one of the many ghost towns. Rhyolite is the largest ghost town near Death Valley and is just 4 miles form Beatty, Nevada. It now has some ruins of the ester era.
7. Titus Canyon
Titus Canyon has everything that makes Death Valley- Rugged Mountains, colorful rock formations, ghost town, wildlife, spectacular canyon narrows a grand finale. If you are interested only in the canyon and short of time then follow the below route if you are travelling from Beatty, Nevada. You will miss driving in rugged mountains and Lead field ghost town but will reach the point in 45-50 mins.
If you are adventurous and want to explore death valley to its fullest then follow the below route. Also be prepared for dirty car at the end of the drive. 4 wheel drive vehicle is highly recommended for this route. This route takes minimum 2 hours to reach the Titus canyon
The highest point on this road is divided between Titanothere and Titus Canyons. Stop to enjoy the grand view in both directions. Somewhere in the middle of the entire drive, we came across Lead field ghost town. All that we saw was a few shacks at this point. Just after the Lead field, the road enters the main fork of Titus Canyon. We came across bighorn Sheep at this place. The last 1.5 miles of the canyon is very narrow and the best part of the entire drive. From here we entered an area of shadow and echoes were heard while we hiked.
8. Ubehebe Crater
I Just loved the name of the Crater ” Ubehebe”! This is a large volcanic crater 600 feet deep ad half a mile across. Steam and gas explosion when hot magma rising up from the depths reached ground water caused this crater. The intense heat flashed the water into steam which expanded until the pressure was released as a tremendous explosion. One can walk down till the bottommost part of the crater and also make sure to hike along the edges of the crater to get the maximum view of Death valley.
9. Darwin Falls
The first point as we enter the Death valley from San Francisco side is the Darwin Falls. This is a small water fall with water falling from a height of 20 ft. Even though the hike is just 2 miles, it becomes moderately difficult at the end.
Travel Tips
- Fill Gas as and when you encounter gas stations. There are very few gas stations in Death valley and available ones are very pricey.
- I highly recommended travelling using a car which has 4WD.
- Carry urinal bottle for your little one as there is scarcity of rest rooms and the available ones are not clean.
- Carry food, energy bars with you as there are no restaurants in Death valley.
- Do not taste or touch salt at Bad water basin.
- Carry water bottle: at-least one gallon per person
- Apply sunscreen lotions and also carry hat as it might get extremely hot during mid day.
- Carry binoculars.
- Wear hiking shoes/sturdy footwear
- Be prepared to lose connections to the external world as there are a very few/no cellular networks and internet coverage.
- Check Death Valley official website before planning your visit to know road closures etc. Dante’s view was closed when we visited death valley due to snow.
