I am truly astounded that visiting Death Valley is not as popular as it should be. I can honestly say I enjoyed it more than the Grand Canyon! Death Valley National Park is known for being one the hottest places in the United States. And with the word “Death” in its name, not many people really care to visit the park. Frankly, not many even know where it is located! But wow, it is seriously under-rated!
Plus, if you’re a super fan of Star Wars, then you will know that many iconic scenes from many of the films and series were filmed in Death Valley. For an in-depth view and comparison of film sites and the movies, check out this website.
Death Valley is located in Southern California, bordering Nevada. It’s actually a detour if you’re heading to Las Vegas from Los Angeles. Instead of heading straight to Las Vegas on the 15 Hwy, make a slight detour to the Northwest at the town of Baker on Hwy 127 for an additional 2-hours. And you’ll start to encounter a drastic change in the landscape.
If you are flying in from a further away location, then the nearest Airport is the Las Vegas McCarren International Airport. You can gather supplies in Las Vegas, and the drive to Death Valley is only about 2-hours.
Visiting Death Valley is like stepping onto a different planet. Don’t let the heat or the name put you off. You can visit the park and its highlights in just 1-2 days.
When to Visit Death Valley
VISITING DEATH VALLEY IN THE WINTER
Death Valley got its name for being HOT! It also has its greatest number of tourists during its peak season in the Summer. I don’t understand why anyone would want to visit during the hot sweltering Summer months. I highly suggest visiting in the Winter. From January to March, the weather is a nice cool 65-75F during the day. And around 40-50F during the night. I would avoid December because of rain and storms. We visited in late January and the weather was perfect and we hardly encountered any crowds of people. And only saw a handful of tour buses.
VISITING DEATH VALLEY IN THE SUMMER
Don’t do it! That’s my advice. Don’t visit Death Valley in the Summer unless you intend on being burned to a crisp. Temperatures in Death Valley can reach over 120F! And that does not sound appetizing to me, not one bit. Summer months is also peak season and it brings the crowds of tourists. I mean, if you like the heat and think you can survive the high baking temperatures, then more power to you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Spring and Fall months are relatively warm as well. I believe it stays around 90F or higher. Spring is also when the wild flowers bloom. Adding a nice touch to the desolate landscape.
Must-See Spots When Visiting Death Valley
The Salt Flats of Badwater Basin
The infamous salt flats has one of the lowest elevations in North America, with a depth of 282 ft below sea level. It is pretty incredible with the most unique landscape and texture I have ever seen. Located about 20-minutes away from the centralized town of Furnace Creek, a quick drive will get you to the destination easily.
I recommend visiting right before sunset. (We drove for about 4-hours and stopped here right away before checking into our hotel.) Trek the 1-mile hike from the parking lot to the area where the salt flats become “other-worldly“. Wait and watch as the sun sets behind the mountains and the colors begin to create magic on the landscape. Have your cameras ready, this is a photographer’s wonderland.
The Badwater Basin is my number 1 must-see site when you visit Death Valley. Find out why on my more in-depth post on Badwater. If you only have one stop to make, then this is the one.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
I have never visited Sand Dunes before, besides the ones you can off-road on. The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes was right off the highway 190 and you simply cannot miss it. It’s located about 30-minutes North of Furnace Creek. Off-road vehicles are not allowed on the dunes, only people and their millions of foot prints.
I recommend visiting at Sunset or if you’re an early riser, then at Sunrise. It’s difficult to find the dunes in a smooth and pristine state due to all the tourist footprints, but if you’re lucky, and visit after a wind storm, then you might just catch the dunes in a magical form. Expect a long trek across the sand to get to your perfect spot. My legs are sore just thinking about it.
Don’t skip the Mesquite Sand Dunes if you plan on visiting Death Valley. For more photos and a guide for things to do at the sand dunes, visit my exclusive post on just the Sand Dunes.
Death Valley’s Artist Palette
I have dubbed this area as the Neapolitan Ice Cream Shop, where all the ice cream melted together to form this area. That’s what it looks like to me, melted ice cream.
The Artist’s Palette is a super unique area with multi-color hill sides that you would never find just anywhere. Shades of mint green, pale lavender or pink, robins egg blue, burgundy and reds flow over the hills like paint.
I suggest visiting at Sunrise or at Sunset. And position yourself high up to the right side of the main site for the best photo perspective.
This site is also ideal for a beautiful and easy hike through the winding paths that snake in and out among the painted hills. For an in-depth post about the location, visit my Artist Palette post.
Zabriskie Point
If you’re a Star Wars fan, then you’ll recognize this spot. It’s used in many scenes from the original New Hope film and the Mandalorian series.
The landscape around Zabriskie Point is quite unique. With ripples of multi colored hillsides that look like it was poured onto the surface of the desert, this area is often used to represent an alien landscape in film and television.
The entire region is open for hiking. Just make sure to stay on marked trails and watch your footing. There are also many steep edges with no guardrail fencing. Use good judgement when hiking throughout Death Valley.
Racetrack Playa
Racetrack Playa is an extreme location when you visit Death Valley. This spot is difficult to get to and requires high clearance vehicles to traverse through a long stretch of very rough roads.
We didn’t get to make it on our trip this time around since it’s located further north and would have taken a couple more hours to get to. We just didn’t have the time.
It’s a great location for photographer enthusiasts though. “The Racetrack Playa is a scenic dry lake feature with “sailing stones” that inscribe linear “racetrack” imprints. It is located above the northwestern side of Death Valley.”
According to Wikipedia: “The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. Slabs of dolomite and syenite ranging from a few hundred grams to hundreds of kilograms inscribe visible tracks as they slide across the playa surface, without human or animal intervention. Instead, rocks move when ice sheets just a few millimeters thick [5] start to melt during periods of light wind. These thin floating ice panels create an ice shove that moves the rocks at up to five meters per minute.”
Visiting Other Death Valley Sites
A Quick Stop at the Jawa Rock
We made up the name for this place. So don’t quote us on the name. It’s literally just a random rock on the side of the road. It had a weird shape, looked like a throne. So hey, why not?
Right before you get to the Artist’s Palette, this rock is just standing off on the side if you’re heading South on Badwater Road.
The hubby said let’s pull over and check it out. I said sure. I happen to have my red dress in the car with us so I quickly changed into it so we could take some oh-so-dramatic tripod photos. We thought we were being so weird and people would watch us right from the road. Even a bus load of tourists pulled over to watch us! So embarrassing! But a few minutes later, a small car pulled up, a dude strolled out with his girl. He wiggled into a Star Wars Jawa costume and proceeded to have his girlfriend take photos of him with the rock. Phew, we felt much better after that. We weren’t the only weird folks.
And that is why we named the rock the Jawa Rock.
A Bird’s Eye Perspective at Dante’s View
Dante’s View is a 30-min drive off the main 190 Hwy. This view point high above the Badwater landscape is incredible. Dress warm for this trek because it gets super windy and cold. This location may also be closed due to bad weather so always check before visiting. It’s a quick visit if you want to just take in the view. But you can stay a bit longer by hiking down to different vantage points that are not fenced off. Be cautious of the edge!
Devil’s Golf Course
This particular stop is quick and easy. Located just off the Badwater Rd, you’ll take a small turn off onto a rough unpaved track and drive for about 3-minutes. The Devil’s Golfcourse is essentially part of the Badwater Basin and comprised of Salt. But the terrain is much more rough, forming large misshapen crags and boulders. Be careful where you step here, a fall on the rough surface won’t be pretty.
Quick Stop at Rhyolite Ghost Town
There is not much to see at this particular Rhyolite ghost town besides a few modern-day art installations and some rundown buildings that are fenced off. But if you have the time and want to make the extra drive over for a stop, then it’s an interesting site for a quick visit. The history of the town is interesting, it sprang up fast due to Quartz and Gold, but it was also deserted fast. Find out more at the official website.
Golden Canyon
This spot is another famous Star Wars filming site. It’s located right off the Badwater Rd, less than 10-minutes away from Furnace Creek. It’s a great hiking spot with lots of off-shoot trails and crags to explore. Including rocks to climb, crevices to squeeze through and a rock cathedral formation at the end.
We were short on time so we didn’t hike in as far. We did find a small off-shoot climbing trail to the left of the canyon quite close to the beginning. In fact, this crevice was where George Lucas filmed his Star Wars shot of R2-D2 searching in the desert for Obiwan Kanobi.
Natural Bridge
Here is another great hiking location in Death Valley. It’s easy to get to right off the Badwater Road and less than 10-minutes away from Furnace Creek. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to visit this spot. It’s known for its natural bridge formation directly in the rocks. It’s a popular spot for hiking enthusiasts.
Stargazing in Death Valley
You cannot visit Death Valley and not expect to enjoy the stars at night. Death Valley is one of the largest Dark Sky locations in the entire country and is part of the International Dark Sky Association. It is also host to the annual Dark Sky Festival every year. Astro Photographers from all over the world attend this festival. They also visit often throughout the year for the best night photography known to man.
We are amateurs when it comes to photographing the stars. We are still having a hard time getting things in focus, stacking images and adjusting colors to get the ideal photograph. But we’re still learning. These images were our best attempts.
Tips for Visiting Death Valley
Deal Alert! If you only have time for a day-trip in Death Valley, check out the below tours from out of Las Vegas or out of Los Angeles. It’s a great way to see the area with a guide if you have limited time. ~ Patti
Death Valley Hotels & Campgrounds
For a list of Death Valley Accommodations that’s local to all the main sites to see, visit my post for the Best Hotels & Campgrounds in Death Valley.
From private luxury villas to single-tent camping sites, Death Valley can accommodate everyone’s preferences.
Eating and Staying Hydrated
Eating in Death Valley is complicated. There are only a handful of locations for dining and shopping in the Furnace Creek area. And prices are inflated so much because they know you cannot obtain anything else to consume for miles around.
It’s also not an ideal location for dining if you are Vegetarian or Vegan. You will have to really pick apart the menu at the restaurants and spend a lot of money on mediocre food. I highly recommend you bring your own food if possible. There is a general store with a microwave that you can use to heat up food you bring. If you are camping, then make sure you buy all the groceries you need prior to arriving into Death Valley.
I also recommend to keep snacks on your person or in your vehicle. Good, healthy, energy packed snacks for powering through your hikes or exploration. If you get hungry and you’re in the middle of exploring a location, it will take a while to get somewhere with food. These little granola bars are super tasty and this bundle comes in a variety of flavors. It ties me over until we get to “real” food!
WATER & HYDRATION
Always make sure you keep a large bottle of water on you or in the car when you’re exploring Death Valley. Even when it’s not the Summer months, the air can get dry. And hiking around and exploring the sites can be draining.
I love these bottles. They keep my water cool and fresh without the plastic flavor. And they come in so many cute colors. I got mine in an aqua ombre color.
Being Active & Public Restrooms
WALKING, HIKING, EXPLORING
Even if you are an avid hiker, I would recommend using hiking poles to assist you in traversing the terrain. It is extremely helpful and will help make exploring a lot less strenuous. The only place that a hiking poles won’t be helpful is the Sand Dunes. I personally love these collapsible and compact poles when I travel. They fit into my suitcase easily.
PUBLIC RESTROOMS
Bring your own toilet paper! Each site has their own public restrooms in their designated parking area. And they were kept reasonably clean when we went. But we also went during off-season so it was not crowded. The only thing I found annoying was the toilet paper roll was extremely hard to pull out, it kept breaking off on me. HAHA
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Have you ever visited before or intend on visiting Death Valley one day? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts on this beautiful national park.
What a detailed post about one of my bucket list destinations!! Thank you so much. DEFINITELY planning a January trip. Haha Pinning for later.
Let me know if you need help with planning or if you have any questions!
Oooh I missed the ghost town when I was there. Such an incredibly beautiful place!
The landscape in Death Valley was one of the most unique and unexpected surprises from all our recent travels. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been before.
This trip looks like it’s worth it just for the Dark Sky experience! I was thinking of visiting Big Sur this year for this kind of experience, but maybe I need to change my plans to Death Valley instead.
Oh is Big Sur part of the Dark Sky association too? Both locations are amazing!
I love how striking and diverse these landscapes are! Thanks for the brilliant guide, I’m definitely adding Death Valley to my bucket list!
Hannah | https://getlost.blog/
I hope you get to visit it one day!
Ahh, I meant to stop by Death Valley on my cross-country road trip last summer but didn’t have a chance to! :[ Your photos are absolutely stunning! *-*
Thank you! I would avoid visiting it during the Summer. It’s not as pleasant.
It’s different. But it’s very inviting. Thank you for sharing.. love it! All of it.
It’s definitely unique!
Oh wow, this looks so wonderful and peaceful. Great photography by the way. I think you are right, this should really be on my bucket list. Guilty as charged, so far only Grand Canyon was on the list. But thanks for opening my eyes.
I liked this place better than the Grand Canyon!
What a beautiful place to visit. With winter temperatures that high, seems like a great time to visit. Your photos are lovely!
Thank you so much!
Oh gosh it looks so pretty! Not sure how I would deal with the heat haha, but this is a place I need to visit. Great post!
Visit during Jan, Feb or March and there won’t be much heat at all.
Super informative post, thank you for sharing! Death Valley, and all of California is on the bucket list for an eventual road trip. Pinning this post so I can refer to it when the time comes. Love the pics!
Wow all the different landscape are so so pretty! I don’t think I could ever handle that heat in the summer so I would definitely go in the winter!
Visiting the death valley is high up on my list for a long time already!
Your pictures are incredible and making me want to see it for myself like right now!
This post made me even more excited for our trip this winter!! Such beautiful photos and comprehensive info! Thanks for sharing love ❤️