The best spots to hit while visiting this massive California national park!
Death Valley National Park lies between California and the Nevada boarder east of the Sierra Nevada's. It is also the largest National park in the contiguous United States and is the hottest, driest, and lowest National Park in the US. Looking at these facts, I can see why visiting this place can be intimidating for some people who have yet to make it out here, but with the right information and visiting at the right time, it becomes much less intimidating and much more fun!
I've rounded up the top six best places to see while visiting Death Valley, along with the best time of year to visit and the best campground to book. Why 6? Well because five wasn't enough. Let's jump into it!
WHAT TIME OF YEAR SHOULD I VISIT DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK?
Before I start listing the best places to hit I wanted to address the best time to visit this national park. The weather in the summer here is unforgiving, it can get up to 130+ degrees and it is strongly suggested to avoid this national park in the summer and early fall months.
The best time to visit Death Valley is January - April. April sometimes is hit and miss depending on the weather so if you're planning to go this month be aware of the monthly forecast, it can be very hot, or be raining and flooding.
I visited Death Valley in January and we had perfect weather during the day with temperatures getting into the high 50's. The trade off is that the night can get very cold since it is the desert, so pack a bunch of layers and a warm sleeping bag.
WHERE SHOULD I CAMP IN DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK?
Like I said earlier, Death Valley is a huge national park and has 9 campgrounds through out the park, I literally could make a whole other blog post about all the campgrounds but for this post we will be focusing on one. The most popular spot to camp at is Furnace Creek, it is very close to all the top locations to hit in this blog post, and a 3 minute drive to the general store and gas station. Another perk is that this location is very close to the Ranch at Death Valley , an actual hotel and golf course located in the national park that has a restaurant and coffee shop along with two spring fed pools. If you're not into camping, then I would suggest checking this place out.
Ok so now that you know when to visit and where to stay, let's talk about what to do!
Im making this list in the order I suggest you hit this starting from sunrise to sunset. Most of these places are on the same route and if you're not hitting them in the most efficient way then the day can start getting away from you quickly.
MESQUITE FLATS SAND DUNES
Now this may be a bit controversial since Zabriskie point is known to be one of the best places to watch the sunrise, but i'm going to say Mesquite Flat's Sand Dunes is. The reason I suggest you start here is because it is the farthest away from Furnace Creek, about a 35 minute drive, and this hike gets HOT, even when its 50 degrees out. There is obviously no shade, and I think starting this hike the earlier the better is the best plan of action for seeing this spot.
Now this hike is 2.8 miles according to the All Trails map, which you can see here. But I suggest just picking a dune that you want to get to and start heading out to it. There is no official marked trail and it's very much a "make your own adventure" type hike. We chose to pick the highest dune we could see and set out.
Do not underestimate this hike, it is all sand and hiking in the sand gets tiring QUICKLY. Start before the sunrises and bring a headlamp, lots of water, and breakfast. Make your way into the sand dunes and find a spot to watch the sunrise and eat breakfast, even if its not at the exact dune you pick to end at, being in this area when the sun rises is magical, and you can get some amazing shots of the sun rising over the dunes. Expect to spend 2-3 hours here.
GOLDEN CANYON Any Star Wars fans here? A fun fact about Death Valley is that Star Wars, a New Hope was filmed at a couple different locations here, for a more in depth guide about all the Star Wars locations you can find in Death Valley I recommend this one by Visit the USA. One of the most famous places in Death Valley is the Golden Canyon trail, and if you have watched the first Star Wars film the entrance to this hike is Jawa Canyon, most famously known for the scene were R2D2 was swiped by the Jawas.
This hike is about ten minutes from Furnace Creek campground and is 0.8 miles out and back. A very easily accessible hike and packed with sprawling views of the canyons that make up Death Valley. It truly feels like you're on another planet here. View the All Trails map here.
What I love about this hike, aside from the fact that it's easy, is that theres a couple different ways you can do this. One option allows you to hike this all the way to Zabriskie point, or to Red Cathedral, which is what we chose to do since we were going to Zabriskie point later on in the day. There are a couple scrambling points so be aware, but nothing too taxing or stressful and doable for mostly everyone.
If you're feeling adventurous, keep an eye out for side pocket trails you can take to the left of the valley wall close to the entrance that take you up into small crevices in the canyon walls. Do not attempt these if there is even the slightest chance of rainfall through since these areas are likely to flood. Expect to spend 1-2 hours here.
ARTISTS PALETTE
A personal fav, and one that most people seek out when visiting this national park. Artists Palette is located on a one way road, along the main highway.
When you're headed to the entrance you will be passing the exit first if you're coming from Furnace Creek Campground and Golden Canyon, so do not be alarmed or think you missed it, you have not. You will find the entrance on the left hand side, a little bit further down the road and you'll begin you're ascend upwards towards Artists Palette.
In the beginning of entrance you'll see a pull out on the right hand side, this is NOT artists pallet, keep going about 5-10 minutes further and you'll see Artists Pallet on the right hand side. There is a parking lot close to the trail entrance.
Now this place is known for the bright colors most people see online, but a lot of people over saturate the colors in photos and when you arrive to the actual location the colors look much more muted in person. So my tip is to go in here without expectations, its a beautiful place and the colors look magical without any over saturation needed.
This hike is only 0.3 miles, but much like every other hike in Death Valley, it's a choose your own adventure. There is a main trail head but there are multiple trails within this portion of the park that can take you to various view points, I recommend just exploring the whole area and don't just stick to one trail. If you want general trail info i've linked the All Trails map for this hike here. Depending on how long you want to walk around, expect to spend 1-1.5 hours here.
NATURAL BRIDGE
Another short hike at 1.4 miles, Natural Bridge is a sleeper for one of the best photography spots in the park. From Furnace Creek, drive 13 miles south on Badwater Road and turn left on to a dirt road toward Natural Bridge Canyon. It is 1.5 miles from Badwater Road to the trailhead on an unpaved road, so keep that in mind. We had a BMW x1 with no 4 wheel drive and made it fine, but it is not the smoothest of rides.
Once you arrive you'll being the hike on sand and dirt, it is not a paved trail so this hike can get tiring, bring a lot of water. About half way into the hike you'll see the 50 ft tall bridge!
Once you walk under the bridge, you can go a bit further past it and you'll come to a dead end, but the canyon views on each side present one of my favorite places to shoot.
BADWATER BASIN
The next spot is probably one of the most popular areas in Death Valley, and for good reason, it's the salt flats at Badwater Basin. Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America (282 ft below sea level), and the salt flats span nearly 200 square miles.
One of the hottest places in the park, I only suggest you do this in the winter and early springs months after 12 pm. On the Death Valley national park website it explicitly says "HIKING NOT ADVISED AFTER 10AM IN THE SUMMER". After taking Badwater Road a bit further down from Natural Bridge, 30 minutes from Furnace Creek, you'll see the parking lot for Badwater Basin on the right hand side. Once you find parking you'll approach a small platform and then take the 1 mile walk out to the Salt Flats. Once you get to the middle feel free to explore and walk around and admire the salt flats. On a cloudy day after some rain you can see the reflection of the sky on the ground and it looks truly magical. Expect to spend 1-2 hours here.
ZABRISKIE POINT
And last but certainly not least, Zabriskie point! One of the most iconic spots in Death Valley is no doubt Zabriskie Point. It's a perfect spot for sunrise OR sunset, and offers the most spectacular views of Death Valley. About 22 minutes from Badwater Basin you'll make your way back up towards Furnace Creek campground and onto Zabriskie Point. I love ending the day here because not only is it close to Furnace Creek campground, but it only requires a short walk from the parking lot to the scenic point, making it a perfect way to rest your feet and take in the changing colors of valley. The main point of interest is Zabriskie Point, the mountain jutting high into the sky that sits 823 ft tall.
If you wanted to start here at sunrise instead, its only a 15 minute drive from Furnace Creek campground, and you can use Zabriskie point as a jump off point for hiking the Badlands Loop Trail. This trail takes you into the valley you see below Zabriskie Point and is a great way to experience this amazing landscape.
That wraps up my top places to see while visiting Death Valley National Park!
I hope this helped narrow down what to do while visiting this National Park, let me know in the comments down below if I missed anything and if this helped plan your next trip out here!
Stay safe and happy adventuring!
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