I’m sharing our favorite tips and must-see and do experiences when visiting the largest National Park in the lower 48. Death Valley National Park is a fascinating, otherworldly place with gorgeous, sweeping vistas and skies, great hikes, and plenty to do whether you only have one day or a long weekend to spend in the park.
Our family loves visiting National Parks and we have a goal to visit all of them someday. Death Valley National Park was one of the last national parks in California that we haven’t had a chance to visit yet, so we took advantage of a 4-day weekend to spend a few days there exploring. With its breathtaking scenery and phenomenal accommodations, Death Valley has turned out to be one of our favorite National Parks yet!
When is the best time to visit Death Valley?
The best time to visit Death Valley is during late fall to early spring. October through April are the best months for the most comfortable temperature in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, which is perfect for hiking and checking out the sites. During the summer the temperatures are much more extreme and frequently up to 120°F.
Interesting Facts about Death Valley
- It’s the largest National Park in the lower 48 states.
- It’s the lowest point in the USA at 282 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin.
- It’s also the hottest spot in the U.S. with temperatures in the summer regularly reaching over 120°F and a blistering record of 137°F in 2024!
As a bonus, if you love Star Wars, you will likely recognize many of the locations in the park as film settings for the movie. Search for the lair of Jabba the Hut in 20-Mule Canyon, be on the lookout for Jawas in Golden Canyon, and explore giant sand dunes like C3PO and R2D2.
Where to Stay in Death Valley
I highly recommend staying inside the park at any of the park accommodations listed on the National Park Service (NPS) website. Because the park is so vast (roughly the size of the state of Connecticut), the nearest lodgings outside of the park are a good 2-hour drive in to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center which is central to most of what you will want to do while in the park.
We stayed at The Oasis at Death Valley resort, mostly because we were able to score a last minute cancellation that worked for our family on a holiday weekend. It was absolutely fantastic and I cannot recommend it enough, although it’s definitely a splurge and the most expensive option in the park.
The Oasis (formerly known as the Furnace Creek Inn & Resort) was built in 1927 and is on the national register or historic hotels. It is easily one of the most charming places we have ever stayed with Spanish-style stucco, red clay tiles, and dark wooden beams adorning the ceiling.
It’s pretty incredible driving through barren desert, then basically turning a corner and seeing a literal oasis on a hill.
The pool with its palm-frond tiled motif at the Oasis was a highlight for all of us. It is spring fed and a perfectly 85 to 87 degrees F year round so the mineral water was absolutely lovely and refreshing, especially after a long hike. And because the daytime temps in February are in the mid-70’s, it was a great spot to relax and read a book while the kids swam.
We had never been to a true oasis before and it was very exotic feeling to be surrounded by such lushness with trees, flowers, and a stream when the rest of the surrounding landscape is so harsh and barren (but beautiful in its own right).
The Ranch at Death Valley is the sister property to the Oasis and is just 1 mile down the road. This makes it another convenient option as you can eat at any of the restaurants on either property. Plus, the Ranch has cute casitas that look perfect for families and would be our top pick for a future visit. The Ranch has an adorable ice cream parlor (we went three days in a row for ice cream, their famous date shakes, and curly fries), a general store, and a post office for mailing post cards home.
Camping in Death Valley is also an option, although personally I wouldn’t recommend it during the summer months when the overall average daytime temperature is about 100°F. Furnace Creek Campground is the only NPS campground that accepts reservations from mid-October through mid-April. Stovepipe Wells Campground and Texas Springs Campground both offer first-come, first-serve sites for tents and RVs.
Where to Eat in Death Valley
The Inn Dining Room – Easily our favorite food option for breakfast and dinner, despite the price tag. You need to make reservations ahead for dinner and be aware that there is a dress code, but absolutely everything was fantastic. For breakfast we enjoyed Southwest bowls, omelettes, their famous date nut bread, and french toast.
For dinner we enjoyed the braised beef short ribs (fantastic), Furnace Creek filet mignon with bacon onion jam (excellent), and achiote marinated pollo asado with masa pancake (so, so good). I would rank it as one of the top 10 meals I’ve ever had. Also the pozole poblano with maiz-poblano puree, crispy pork belly, avocado, radish, scallion, and finely crushed tortilla chips was a fabulous starter, if it happens to be on the menu.
Last Kind Words Saloon – Think Wild West with movie posters, “Wanted!” fliers touting the misdeeds of outlaws, antique firearms, and taxidermied game animals. This was a really fun place to eat with great options like steaks, ribs, salmon, pasta, and burgers. The food was good, but be warned that they fill up fast and the waiting list gets long. Fortunately there are other nearby options if you can’t get in.
Ranch 1849 Restaurant – This cute cafeteria looking spot has a buffet-style setting with a changing menu. Everything looked decent, but we didn’t end up eating here because of other options.
Wild Rose Tavern – This spot has casual fare like hamburgers, pulled pork sliders, and appetizers.
Ice Cream Parlor – A huge hit with our family. It has a full kitchen where you can get burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, and fries, but we really went here for the ice cream cones, milkshakes, and sundaes.
The General Store has grab-and-go items like premade sandwiches, salads, yogurt parfaits, date muffins, and wraps, in case you want to pick up stuff for lunch to eat on a hike or while doing one of the scenic drives in the park.
There is also a counter that doubles as a coffee shop and pizza place where you can get items to go, but it was only open for pizza one night that we were there.
What to Do in Death Valley
These were some of our favorite things that we experienced over the course of 2 days in the park. Most of them were within a 30 minute drive from the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center.
Badwater Basin Salt Flats
We got up early our first morning to experience sunrise at Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in the western hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. There are rare but significant rainstorms that will fill this basin and dissolve the salt, which then dries and reforms these crystalline structures. It was absolutely magical being there for the changing colors of the early morning light before the crowds showed up and I highly recommend it.
As the sun gets higher in the sky, the Panamint Mountains across the valley light up and it’s just a beautiful experience. Be sure to turn around and look up at the mountain behind the parking lot to see the sea level marker to understand how deep you really are.
I also recommend stopping at the Devil’s Golf Course on your way back to the visitor’s center because the different salt crystal structures there were fascinating too!
Golden Canyon Trail
This was easily my favorite hike in the park, but that might be the Star Wars fan in me. It’s a winding trail through a canyon with varied rock formations and colors from white to green to red. And when the early morning sun is hitting it, it’s easy to see how Golden Canyon got its name.
I would describe it as an easy to moderate hike that is 2 ½ to 3 miles round trip to the Red Cathedral. You can go further, if you want to get to Gower Gulch, but we didn’t make it that far on this trip.
The narrow passages and colorful badlands showcase Death Valley’s rugged beauty and it’s especially good for a sunrise or sunset hike when the colors will be the most intense.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
This is a really fun and unique spot where you can climb giant sand dunes and slide down the other side. Lots of people bring sleds or cardboard for sliding, but it’s great just for hiking and photography.
My biggest tip is to hit this spot on the edges of the day – either sunrise or sunset – when the shadows cast by the dunes are dramatic and at their best. The biggest pro of going at sunrise is you will have the fewest people around for a serene, beautiful vibe with absolutely stunning colors coming up over the desert.
But if you aren’t a morning person, then sunset is also phenomenal (and when all of these photos were taken). You’ll have a lot more people to contend with to find your shot if you are doing photography and more footprints in the sand, but it’s still great.
Here’s the NPS site for the dunes, in case you want more info. The hike to the tallest dune is about 2 miles roundtrip and it is a definite workout! Paul and the girls stopped a few downs back and I finished the whole things myself just as the sun was going down, then caught up with them on the way back to the parking lot. The whole thing takes around 1-2 hours so give yourself plenty of time.
Dante’s View
This one is a bit of a drive, but you don’t have to do any hiking to get an incredible view down to Badwater Basin a mile below and the Panamint Mountains 20 miles across the valley. It gives a great sense of scale for the vastness of this national park.
Artist’s Drive
This 9-mile drive is well worth it for twists and turns that will have your mouth gaping at the colors and rock formations. I recommend getting out to stretch your legs at the Artist’s Palette parking lot where you will see greens, oranges, reds, browns, and whites on the mountains. The sign there says that the colors are always changing with the weather and time of day so it looks a little different every time you visit.
20-Mule Canyon Drive
If you have 4-wheel drive, this is another great drive that I highly recommend. It doesn’t take long but it’s like riding a very slow roller coaster with constant twists, turns, and dips, and gorgeous rock formations that will have you craning your neck this way and that.
Zabriskie Point
Another favorite sunrise or sunset spot in the park! It’s super close to the Oasis resort and Ranch Village so it can get crowded because of the low effort/high reward factor, but it’s still well worth it. There are loads of trails around here for hiking, or you can just enjoy looking at the waves of stone from the lookoutspot which is a short, easy, and paved climb from the parking lot that most anybody can do.
Harmony Borax Works
This short stop is just around the corner from the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center. The borax mining operation didn’t last long in Death Valley, but you can still see some of the equipment that was left behind. The old hauling wagon that was pulled by a 20-mule team is really interesting to see.
Ubeheebee Crater
I’m including this spot because it really is breathtaking and we did the drive out there, but it’s not close to the rest of the spots mentioned in the park. It’s a huge crater leftover from a volcano and you can actually hike all the way down into it. But it’s also just as good looking down into the crater from the parking lot. We maybe spent 10 minutes here and then got back into the car for the drive back, so maybe not worth the miles unless you are tired of hiking and need some restful time in the car to enjoy the views and listen to an audiobook.
More Sites in Death Valley
We didn’t make it to these but they are worth considering depending on your interest and time in the park.
Darwin Falls – This hike looks really cool for a longer 7 mile hike to water (a rarity in Death Valley!) but it’s also farther away from Furnace Creek and more of the spots that you are more likely to visit in the park. It’s worth considering if you are here for a few days though!
Mosaic Canyon – If you have never done a slot canyon, I highly recommend checking this one out. We wanted to do this hike but just ran out of time and deprioritized it because we have done quite a few other slot canyons in Utah and Arizona.
Racetrack Playa – We tried to get here so we could take photos of the iconic moving rocks on the cracked mud flats but you really need a high clearance 4WD vehicle and even at that the unpaved road has lots of very sharp rocks that can slash tires. In fact, we went a couple miles up the road before meeting another car coming back down that said a Jeep had torn up its tires farther up and was being towed back down. We opted not to run this risk this time but maybe on a future visit we will take the truck and give it a go. It’s also a good 2 ½ hours from Furnace Creek where we were staying, so plan for at least a half day adventure roundtrip if you decide to check this spot out.
More Things to Do in Death Valley
Besides hiking and scenic drives that I have already talked about, here are some of our favorite suggestions for other things to do while visiting Death Valley.
Photography
Whether you are shooting with your phone or have a dslr camera, Death Valley is paradise for aspiring photographers. It’s almost impossible to take a bad shot here and there is a lot of variety from rocks to salt flats to mountains to the gardens at the Oasis or Ranch.
Stargazing
Death Valley is a designated International Dark Sky Park, offering some of the best night sky views in the whole world. With minimal light pollution and vast, open landscapes, you can see the Milky Way, countless constellations, planets, and even meteor showers with the naked eye. Popular stargazing spots include Badwater Basin, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, and Dante’s View. You can even look into a ranger-led stargazing event that is held a few times a month during the new moon when stargazing is at its peak.
For photographers, Death Valley’s dark skies are great for astrophotography. We played around with long-exposure shots in an attempt to capture the brilliance of the stars, but we need some extra practice and to do some research ahead of time.
PRO TIP: There is very little service in Death Valley, which was challenging when we wanted to quickly look up info on how to take better nighttime photos of stars. If we had planned ahead and done a little research first, that would have been a big help.
Horseback Riding
We didn’t go horseback riding here but Death Valley has stables and you can go on guided horseback riding tours. We would love to do this on another future trip with the kids!
Golfing
This is another unique activity that you can do if golfing is your thing. Death Valley has one of the lowest elevation golf courses in the world.
Canyoneering
My friend who had been to Death Valley and gave me some advice before we left said that she went canyoneering there. With its deep, twisting slot canyons, towering rock walls, and dry waterfalls, the park has lots of opportunities for technical descents and off-trail adventure at popular spots like Fall Canyon, Mosaic Canyon, and Titus Canyon. Some of the more advanced routes require rappelling and scrambling. Cooler months are the best time for this activity, as the summer heat can be dangerous.
Offroading
Another popular activity in Death Valley is exploring the backgrounds and rugged landscapes with high-clearance 4WD vehicles. Just keep in mind that many of the roads here are rough and cell service is practically non-existent in most of the park.
Should You Visit?
If you love beautiful scenery, interesting experiences, national parks, and good food, then I highly recommend visiting Death Valley! It was such a great trip!
