How to plan the perfect drive through Death Valley with all the best stops!
Death Valley National Park does not sound like a truly inviting location, but the name shouldn’t deter you from adding it to your list of places to visit. There is such beautiful contrast throughout the park, starting from the lowest point in North America to mountain peaks 5,000 feet above sea level. The park is huge at almost 3.5 million acres, but it if you drive through Death Valley you can see the top sights easily in one day!
Driving Itinerary From Las Vegas
There are two entrances to Death Valley, Panamint Springs in the west and Death Valley Junction in the east. We traveled through Death Valley on Highway 190 east to west on our 8 day road trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco, spending the most part of one day in the park. If you take NV-160 you will drive right through Red Rock Canyon which was a nice drive!
We got an early start on the less than 2 hour drive from Vegas, arriving around 9AM. Since we visited mid-June, getting there early was crucial to enjoying our time in the park!
Dantes View
Our first stop once we arrived in Death Valley was Dantes View, a breathtaking viewpoint over 5,000 feet above sea level with sweeping views of the white salt flats. There is an ADA accessible viewing platform at the top, or you can continue on down a gravel path for panoramic lookouts over the landscape.
The drive up to the viewpoint is about 12 miles of pretty steep turns, so vehicles and trailers longer than 25 feet are not allowed on the road to the top. In total this part of the drive takes about an hour. It was quite a bit cooler at the viewpoint, at least 12° less than in the valley!
Zabriskie Point
After Dantes View the road takes you back to CA-190 where you will quickly reach Zabriskie Point. A quarter mile paved walk from the parking area leads you to views looking out onto golden colored badlands. One of the most photographed spots in the park, the mountains really show off their true colors during sunrise and sunset!
One thing we could not have lived without on this trip is this awesome portable GPS navigation we brought along. Not only was it a life saver when we found ourselves in the middle of Death Valley with ZERO cell phone or car GPS services, but you can type in basically anything you want to see and it will direct you there. No more trying to look up coordinates or trailheads, or Googling addresses to landmarks on my phone.
For this trip, all we had to do was type in anything we wanted to see like “Zabriskie Point” and this GPS would show us directions, and even Trip Advisor reviews. We highly, highly recommend it if you are travelers like us! And, it is affordable and easy to pack!
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Devil's Golf Course
From 190 you will turn south on Badwater Road towards Badwater Basin. The Devil’s Golf Course will be a quick detour on your right, and it is worth a stop! It is an aptly named area that seems to go on for miles, with sharp mineral deposits and spiky salt crystal formations. If you explore this area, be careful not to fall and risk getting cut! You can easily stay in the parking area to check out the “golf course”.
Tip: If you go at the right time, and you are really quiet, you can hear the popping of literally billions of tiny crystals bursting apart as they expand and contract in the heat. It sounds like putting your ear up to a bowl of rice krispies!
Badwater Basin
Continuing south on Badwater Road will lead you right to Badwater Basin, famous for being the lowest point in North America. At 282 feet below sea level, these salt flats create a completely surreal and unnatural looking landscape. You can venture out onto the flats for some quite amazing photographs, just realize this is one of the most popular spots in the park. The parking area was almost full when we arrived, even in the middle of June in the afternoon hours.
Artists Drive and Artists Palette
Heading back north on Badwater Road, you will see signs for Artists Drive on the right. This is a 9 mile scenic loop with a small parking area in the middle at Artists Palette, a brightly hued rock formation with swirls of turquoise and pink and lavender mixed throughout. I have heard it is breathtaking at sunset!
Furnace Creek Visitor Center
We suggest stopping at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center once you turn back onto CA-190. Here you will find water refilling stations (you’ll need it!), actual flushing toilets (the rest of the park has vault toilets), and an air conditioned spot to explore exhibits describing areas of the park. There are also picnic areas here, probably more useful in the non-summer months! This is where you will find the Furnace Creek Weather Station displaying the current temperature.
Hot stuff: When we visited the high was 110°F, and you could definitely feel it. Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest officially verified temperature ever, when it reached 134° in 1913. Two days after we visited, the temperatures nearly reached this record when a heat wave moved through. No wonder Death Valley is known as the hottest place on Earth!
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
If you’ve ever wanted to visit Tatooine from Star Wars, make sure you visit the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes! Back decades ago when movies could be filmed inside national parks, several scenes from A New Hope and Return of the Jedi were set here. It really does feel like you are in another world standing on the miles of rolling dunes!
We got out and walked around the sand dunes for a bit. It. was. so. hot. (Remember this trip was in June!) There was a breeze, but it was hot air, like a hair dryer, blowing in your face. Just the few minutes of walking raised our heart rate and after about 10 minutes, we were ready to get back to the air conditioned car. It was mid-afternoon and after being in the sun and heat all day, we were exhausted. We did have such an amazing day!
Ubehebe Crater
With more than a day to spend in Death Valley, we highly recommend driving to the north part of the park to see the Ubehebe Crater. Roughly 2,000 years ago this crater was formed, and it is pretty impressive at 600 feet deep and half a mile across. It takes about an hour to get to this volcanic crater from Furnace Creek.
Racetrack Playa
If you are feeling adventurous and have a sturdy 4×4 vehicle, you can brave the 27-mile unpaved road to see the famous “sailing stones”. Stones move seemingly by magic across the dry lakebed, leaving trails behind. It is now known that wind and ice are slowly moving the stones, but it is still an amazing sight to see! The playa is about 2 and a half hours from 190.
Driving Through Death Valley
After the sand dunes, we headed west out of the park. To get to Panamint Springs and the park exit you have to go over a mountain pass at a 7-9% grade. One thing to note, you will pass several signs that state “Avoid Overheating Turn Off A/C Next 20 Miles”. Well, we were in a rental car with no desire to see if it was in tip top shape at this point, and risk overheating and being stranded in the desert with no phone service. Plus we hadn’t seen another car in miles.
So, we shut off the air conditioning, rolled down the windows, dipped some napkins in icy water from the cooler to put on our necks, and drove over the pass. The car made it with only a slight bit of huffing and puffing, and then it was downhill (literally) from there. Just mentioning this so if you travel to Death Valley in the summer you can be prepared!
Where to Eat in Death Valley
Even though Death Valley is the largest National Park in the continental U.S., dining options are scarce and clustered around the Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs areas. General stores with groceries, sandwiches, and ice are located in Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs. The Furnace Creek Visitor Center also has sandwiches and drinks.
Tips for Visiting Death Valley in the Summer
- Pack a cooler before you head into the park. Stock it with ice, waters, and cold drinks for the day because amenities are few and far between. This was a game changer since Death Valley is smack in the middle of the Mohave Desert and it is hot!
- Wear sunscreen, and remember to reapply. The sun is super strong, and you will sweat more than you think.
- Wear UPF clothing, and a good hat.
- I brought a UPF car blanket like this one that really helped keep the sun off my legs during the day.
- Bring a good GPS, there is no cell phone service in the park. We loved having this one on this trip!
- Pack some sandwiches in your cooler and snacks for the car. Then you can eat whenever and wherever you want.
- Fill up your gas tank before you enter the park. Because of the lack of cell phone service and extreme heat, you don’t want to risk running out of gas. If you need to refill there are gas stations at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells Village, and on your way out of the park at Panamint Springs.
- I can’t say this enough: hydrate hydrate hydrate! Drink water all day and then drink more. Here is our absolute favorite travel mug. It stays cold all day, holds 40 ounces of liquids, comes in over 10 colors, AND fits in our cup holders!
- Bring an extra gallon of water to keep in the car “just in case” – if your car overheats, if you run out of water, if you just need to cool off.
Death Valley was the first national park stop after leaving Las Vegas on an epic California road trip, which was a great way to kick off quite an adventure! We highly recommend adding a trip to Death Valley to your list.
More national parks with fantastic drives:
- Plan an epic drive through Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado
- Guide to kid-friendly hikes in Grand Teton National Park for families
- Driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park
- Drive the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway in South Dakota
Happy travels!
This looks amazing. Road trips are my favorite way to travel. I pinned this to save for trip planning later.
We definitely want to visit Death Valley – despite the name! Good to know that we could drive through and see most of the sights in one day. I love all the viewpoints you got on your stops. We would definitely not want to miss Artists Drive with all those colours! Definitely need to get this on the planning board.
I haven’t been to Death Valley yet, but it’s good to know it’s only a couple of hours away from Las Vegas. Zabriskie Point and the Artist Palette are pretty. I hope to visit soon and steal your itinerary.