Our first visit to Death Valley National Park was on our first road trip in 2018. Originally planning to spend the day, a wildfire in Yosemite altered our plans and we added an overnight stay. Both getting there and being there remain one of our greatest adventures to date.

Death Valley was first established as a national monument by Herbert Hoover on February 11, 1933. The passage of the California Desert Protection Act on October 31, 1994 made it our 53rd national park. Death Valley is located in the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada. The nearest city to the west is Lone Pine, California and to the east Beatty, Nevada. California Highway 190 runs east to west through the park. US Route 95 parallels the eastern border of the park running north to south. Death Valley is the largest of the national parks in the continental United States with 3.4 million acres. It is the hottest, driest and lowest point in North America. The lowest point on the continent sits 282 feet below sea level at Badwater Basin. With average highs of 115 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August, and temperatures of 120 degrees not uncommon, and an average of two inches of rainfall per year, it is no surprise that spring is the most popular time to visit. However, the park remains open daily, year round, twenty four hours per day.

In such a large wilderness and harsh climate, you might imagine all sorts of sordid scenarios of how the park got its name. The reality is not quite so dramatic. The park was nicknamed “Death Valley” after a group of pioneers were lost there for several weeks in the late 1800s. They eventually found their way out and it is believed that only one member of the group actually lost their life. As they left the area it is said that one pioneer turned back and said “goodbye, Death Valley” and the name stuck.

Still the park can be a dangerous place and guests should plan carefully. The national park website is a great resource for planning your visit. Be aware of the season and especially the extreme heat in summer when temperatures can exceed 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime and drop below 0 degrees at night in the higher elevations. Likewise, in winter expect freezing nightly temperatures. Cell phone service is limited in the park. And as Sarah and I wrote about in “On A Desert Highway,” traveling to the park may be through remote areas that can be more frightening than the park itself. We like to be prepared with downloaded as well as printed directions, instructions and reservation information. In this park especially you likely will not be able to rely on your cell phone or GPS.

Death Valley offers a wide array of features and therefore activities. The park is home to two valleys: Death Valley and Panamint Valley. While Badwater Basin sits at 282 feet below sea level, Telescope Peak rises to 11,049 feet. Within the park borders you will find sand dunes, badlands, canyons, mountains, craters and some of the largest salt flats in the world. Popular attractions are Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, Dante’s View, Ubehebe Crater, Devil’s Golf Course and the Race Track where boulders up to 700 pounds seemingly move across the desert of their own accord. Guests may enjoy hiking, camping, stargazing, sand surfing or just riding through by motorcycle. A great place to start your experience is the visitor center located at Furnace Creek.

There are nine campgrounds in Death Valley. Overnight back country camping permits are also available. Stovepipe Wells Village offers a resort and limited RV camping with full hookups. Panamint Springs Resort offers resort accommodations and camping. The Oasis at Death Valley in Furnace Creek is the location of the three star Ranch motel and the four diamond resort Inn at Death Valley. See our own experience at the Inn in our blog “A Fool’s Paradise: National Park Lodging Part I.” Some campgrounds close in the summer from May to September due to extreme heat. In addition to the campgrounds below Stovepipe Wells RV Park, the Ranch at Death Valley and Panamint Springs Resort are private campgrounds which take reservations year round. Multiple dump stations are available in Furnace Creek. A list of campgrounds is available in the chart below.

It is no surprise that the best time to hike in Death Valley is November to March, although higher elevations may be inaccessible in winter due to snow. Typically the highest peaks are best visited in the summer while the low areas of the park are best for hiking in the winter or early part of the day before temperatures soar. Always be prepared for extreme conditions and carry lots of water. Hikes in Death Valley are listed in the chart below.

Neil Peart visited Death Valley on numerous occasions writing about it in Ghost Rider, Far and Near and Far and Wide. It was also featured in his work “Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance” where he filmed in several locations in the park with the Hudson Music Crew in January, 2011. From Chapter one of Far and Near, “Talking Drums in Death Valley” he wrote of Death Valley:

“I have been enchanted by that region of desolate splendor since my first visit, in the fall of 1996, when Brutus and I rode in under a full moon on what remains one of the great motorcycle rides of my life. (See “December in Death Valley.”)”

“I returned many times after that, notably on the Ghost Rider journey in 1998 and ‘99, and every year or two since, so I had explored the area pretty thoroughly. The better I came to know it, the more I loved it.”

As noted, our story began hours before we reached the park boundary “On a Desert Highway” traveling due northeast from Bakersfield, California. Like a popular Rush song we came screaming through, or rather into, the valley on a 120 degree August afternoon. We wondered if our brakes were still working after a long descent from Towne Pass at 4,956 feet to Stovepipe Wells which sits at a mere 10 feet. I shouted “stop here” and Sarah brought the car to a screeching halt. After our long afternoon in the middle of nowhere, the first order of business was finding some facilities and I had spotted just that. Relieved in many ways, including having made it to the park and still having brakes, we traveled on past Stovepipe Wells to Furnace Creek where we checked into our luxurious room at the Inn at Death Valley. As a general rule I don’t like to stay in places called “death” or “hell” or “devil” anything, but our accommodations were nothing like any of those places on this night. The next order of business was pool time.

The following morning we woke up early and drank our coffee poolside followed by breakfast in the dining room. The temperature was fast approaching another 120 degree day and our life at the Oasis so enchanting we decided to forego a planned hike and headed back to the pool. Eventually we reluctantly checked out of the hotel and, after confirming our route with the helpful staff, headed out for a little bit of exploring. Coincidentally, following the national park recommendations for hot days like this, we did some of that from our air conditioned car. At Badwater Basin we did get out for a short walk. The heat was stifling and it felt like our Sanuk flip flops were melting into the ground as we walked. Standing at the lowest point in the park, indeed North America, you truly experience the enormity of the landscape, salt flats stretching out for miles in front of you and mountains towering around you. Back in the car we drove to the Furnace Creek visitor center to collect our passport stamps. The temperature at the visitor center registered 117 degrees and the day wasn’t over yet. We left the park traveling east toward Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sarah and her husband Jarad returned to the park in August, 2019. An easy day trip from Las Vegas, they hiked to Zabriskie Point, visited Badwater Basin, and explored the Mesquite Flat sand dunes Stovepipe Wells. They cooled off at the Oasis restaurant over lunch before making their return trip to Las Vegas.

Don’t be deterred by the ominous sounding name. Death Valley National Park is very much alive. The myriad of landscapes and activities and the stark contrast between seasons make it a park worth visiting on multiple occasions. Whichever route you take you are sure to find beauty and a bit of adventure along the way.