State: California
Link: https://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm
Days: 2.5
Month: December
Hotel: The Ranch at Death Valley
Hikes: 10 = 10.7 miles+ (includes paved paths)
Ice Cream: Ice Cream Parlor (Furnace Creek)
Death Valley NP is the largest national park in the lower 48. It’s also the hottest, driest, and lowest place in the US. The #KohnEffect took hold a few months before we arrived. There was a rare storm that came through the park and saturated it with multiple inches of rain. Many roads and other parts of infrastructure needed to be rebuilt. By the time we arrived, many of the main areas were back open but some were still closed. More information on the storm can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/hurricane-hilary-2023-galleries.htm
Day 1
We drove in from Las Vegas and stopped at the Walmart in Pahrump. We’re glad we stopped here because things like bottles of water and snacks were MUCH cheaper than they were in the park. For lunch we ate at The Last Kind Words Saloon in Furnace Creek. The food was decent but expensive for lunch. You are in the middle of nowhere among a 3.2 million acre park so the cost wasn’t surprising.
Our first destination was Zabriskie Point, a short 100 yard walk each way up a paved path with 60 feet of elevation gain. From here you could see beautiful panoramic views of the park.
Next we took a drive through 20 Mule Team Canyon. We drove a full sized car through the dirt road and it was fine. We found a spot to pull over and hiked around 150 yards with quite a bit of incline.
Our final nature stop for the day was at Dantes View. It had spectacular views from a paved lot. A few raindrops hit the car window on the way up but the rain held off. From the parking lot we hiked an out and back trail about 1/4 mile each way. Along the path we did a little bit of rock scrambling (because Colleen can’t resist).
Our last stop was at the Ice Cream Parlor in Furnace Creek. It was a nice (although expensive) treat for the end of the day.
Day 2
Dark and early we headed out to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes arriving at 6AM, almost an hour before sunrise. At first we were the only ones here but that quickly changed. We went around 1/4 mile out on the dunes and stayed until an hour after sunrise to see the sun across the dunes as it came up. It ended up being a bit cloudy so it didn’t turn out to be as spectacular as we had hoped, but it was still nice.
Since this was at a different side of the park, we stopped at the Toll Road Restaurant in Stovepipe Wells for breakfast. It’s buffet style and much cheaper than food options in Furnace Creek.
Our next stop was Mosaic Canyon Trail all the way to the Dryfall End. This was a 4 mile out and back trail with incline most of the way out. There were some challenging climbs at the end but overall we’d say it was a moderate hike. Along the hike, we weaved through beautiful rock formations.
We were passing through Stovepipe Wells again and stopped to get gas, which saved around $1/gallon compared to Furnace Creek!
On our route back toward the other side of the park, we saw Devils Cornfield from the car but didn’t stop or get out.
Next we went to Harmony Borax Works, a 0.4 mile paved loop. Right before we parked it started raining quite a bit. Here we were able to see historic borax processing ruins and an original 20-mule team wagon.
At that point we went to the Devils Golf Course. This was interesting as it was crystallized salt deposits. It was still raining so that may have changed the look of the salt; it was almost like a dirty looking snow, although it was quite a bit more firm and not fluffy.
Then we went to Badwater Basin. We had to wait for a spot to park when we arrived here. Once we were able to park, there was an easy walk to the basin. We ended up walking about 1/4 mile out and took the same path back. There were still a couple inches of water from the huge storm a few months before but there was still a lot of visible salt. This was a fascinating experience.
Up next was Natural Bridge Trail. The ride to get there was a bit rough. Colleen suggests the ladies wear a sports bra if driving to the trail in a car. This hike was mostly uphill. A 1/3 mile (one way) hike gets you to the bridge. We saw a dried up waterfall on the way. We continued on to the Natural Bridge Canyon; our journey ended at the beautifully colored rocks. They were wet (it was still raining) and slippery. In total we hiked around 1.4 miles in this moderate out and back trail.
Our last place was Artists Drive, a 9 mile paved scenic driving loop. About about 1.3 miles from the start there was a beautiful overlook where you can see colorful mountains. At one point in the drive you can turn right to stop at Artists Palette. Here you’ll see more breathtaking mountains of many colors.
Our last adventure for the day lead us to look for stars, unfortunately it was too cloudy. Instead, we finished the night in Furnace Creek at the The Ranch 1849 Buffet where you pay for the buffet before you eat it. As with the theme, the food was way overpriced for the quality and selection but we were thankful that there were food options close to our hotel.
Day 3
This was our final (half) day at Death Valley NP before moving on to Joshua Tree NP. We woke up early to get to get to Zabriskie Point 40 minutes before sunrise. We took the last “pull in” parking spot but there were still plenty of parallel parking spots left. Like before, it was a short 100 yard walk each way up a paved path with 60 feet of elevation gain. As the sun started coming up, there were amazing views of the sun kissing the mountains!
Our final hike at Death Valley took us on the Golden Canyon Trail to the Red Cathedral. It was a moderate 3 mile out and back trail, mostly incline on the way out. There were several places along the way to explore off the beaten path, which quickly added more mileage to our adventure. The first mile through the Golden Canyon and was relatively easy. For the last half mile, we chose to continue to the Red Cathedral, which was a bit more challenging. That last half mile had lots of rock scrambling. It is definitely recommend to do this one in the early morning; once the sun comes out, it’s full sun the entire time.
Our next destination was Joshua Tree NP. Due to the previously mentioned storm damage, there was traffic stopped on highway 127 at one point. At times there was only enough road for one lane so there was a truck escorting vehicles while the lane the other direction was stopped.
