Hey there! Are you ready to plan an exciting trip to Death Valley National Park? You’ll feel like you’re on a grand adventure as you explore the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the country! You are sure to find something here that everyone in your group will love.
Death Valley is a place you will never forget — and likely somewhere you will talk about for years to come. In this land of extremes, you’ll come to appreciate the diversity of life and landscape that exists here. This incredible place will leave you speechless!
There is so much to do. You may have already looked at a map and been a little overwhelmed — and eager — to make sure that you don’t miss the best sights.
I’m a former park ranger, and I’ll help you plan your vacation down to the details. I’ve extensively explored Death Valley and am here to help! Whether this is your first time in Death Valley or if you are returning after many years and would like to be reintroduced to the park, this list of 10 things is for you.
What You Need to Know About Death Valley
- Death Valley is open year-round. October – April is peak season in the park. By May, the temperatures are usually too hot for most visitors to the valley! For more information on the park’s operating hours and seasons, click here.
- Lodging, general stores, gas stations, and restaurants within Death Valley are available at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs. The selection is small and expensive. It’s a good idea to get what you need before you enter the park!
- There are 9 NPS campgrounds in Death Valley, with the majority of the campsites being first-come, first-served. You can learn more about camping in the park here.
- Plan ahead! At over 3 MILLION ACRES, Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. It’s also the hottest place in the world, with a record temperature of 134 degrees! And the lowest and driest place in North America! Click here to learn more about what to expect during your visit.
- Many points of interest within the park are accessed via dirt roads. Most of the roads to the popular spots are considered “passable” for sedans, but just be aware that the roads can get a little rough.
I’ll make sure that you don’t miss the sights that make this park so famous, but I also want to provide a few treasures that are off the beaten path as well. Let the adventure begin!
Click NEXT to see this exciting list of 10 things you can’t miss on your first visit to Death Valley National Park!
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Hello! I love your itineraries and podcast! I am wondering if tarantulas are a common sight here at Death Valley. If so, how often do you see them? I have pretty severe arachnophobia.
I’ve been to Death Valley almost yearly for the past 5 years and have never seen one! But yes, many southwest parks do have tarantulas.
I just found your website. We are looking at flying into Las Vegas and planning a road trip to the near by NP. I would like for it to be round trip and not much back tracking.
Is there a good way to accomplish this?
Yes, you’ll find a good sample schedule out of Vegas in my Zion How Many Days article if you want to visit the nearby Utah parks and the Grand Canyon. Death Valley is also a great option from Vegas…we usually hit Death Valley, the Mojave Preserve, and Joshua Tree in the same trip if you want to go that direction instead!
We are planning a trip for late June or July and will be driving through this area. Considering we are traveling in the summer, is this a park you would recommend visiting? We usually try to visit parks like this in the winter, but thought we might stop since we are headed that way!
Your content is so helpful and fabulous!
You can stop, but I wouldn’t plan on spending much time there! It will easily be over 100 degrees by that point, but it’s kind of a fun experience for a few hours!
Hi! I always read your articles before heading to NPs and I greatly appreciate them they have helped my planing a lot. This time I only have one day at the park what would you recommend is a must see at this park?thank you!
I would focus on the Furnace Creek area — Badwater Basin, Dantes View, etc. Have fun!
Hi. We’re going to Death Valley for Thanksgiving Weekend. We are staying at Panamint Resorts in one of their tents. My first stop is at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. I’m pretty central to either taking the freeways 5/14/395/190 or 15/127/190. What can you recommend should be our first
Stop?
It really depends on where you coming from to get there…either route is fine in general. But most of the can’t-miss activities are over by Furnace Creek, so if it makes sense to approach the park from 15/127/190 and you have some time for sightseeing on your way to Panamint, that’s probably what I would do so that you can hit a good portion of the main activities on your way to your lodging. Have fun!
How long would it take to see all these must-see places?
2-3 days!
Used your guides for Arches and Canyonlands and they were very helpful! We’re going to Death Valley and are debating whether to stay at The Ranch or at Stovepipe Wells Inn. Would appreciate your recommendation.
If you have three or four days in the park, I’d split your time between the two. Death Valley is huge, so if you plan on spending any time in the north or west parts of the park, Stovepipe Wells is better for exploring some of those outlying areas. If you just have a day or two and plan on sticking to the main sights, Furnace Creek is more central to those!
This is such an informative article. Thanks so much for pulling this together.
Of course. Enjoy Death Valley!
We are driving to Death Valley early one morning and staying the night at Pahrump. In what order would you suggest seeing your listed things to see? Thank you
You’ll likely want to stay near Furnace Creek and Badwater Basin if you only have a day in the park. I’m currently working on an itinerary for Death Valley that will be released sometime this year :)
Do you feel this is a 1 or 2 day park? Planning on heading to Joshua Tree, Death Valley and sequoia national park in April. Have 8 days + 2 travel days. I am trying to figure out how much time to spend at each park (for reference – easy hikes only)
I’ll be heading to grand Teton, Yellowstone and glacier in late June and will be picking up your itineraries to start my planning. I can’t wait!
I personally visit this park every winter because I LOVE it, so I’d lean more toward two days. If you’re hoping to work your way through this list, I’d give yourself two days. But if there are only a few things on the list you’d like to do, you could definitely get by with just one day. If you have around eight days for those three parks, I’d probably recommend two in Death Valley, one or two in Joshua Tree, and around three in Sequoia {depending on the weather…it may be a little snowy :)}, plus driving time. Have a great trip!
Thanks for all the great tips. We are from Portland, Or. and are planning a trip next April/May to Death Valley, Great Basin and the Eastern Sierra’s. Were planning on least 2 days in DV and want to see the sights. I know 2 days isn’t enough, but we have other places to go. Heard it was 120 today, WHEW.
You’ll be able to see a lot in two days! It will probably be in the 90’s while you’re there…not quite as hot as it is right now :)
Great. Very informative.
Thanks
Thanks Tom!
This is definitely one of the more informative articles on visiting the park, with details on how to get to each spot. We’re going in a week so looking forward to it! Thanks for your great post.
Thanks Karen! Have a great time!
You should do a report on Great Basin National Park. I hear it’s great. I’ve never been there but I am this summer. Bonus: there’s not too many places where you can summit a 13,000 foot mountain (Wheeler Peak) on a relatively easy trail hike. You park at the 10,000 foot level and the trail gains 3,000 feet over 4 miles. Like Rocky, that’s one where you have to watch how your body reacts to the altitude, though.
I’ve been to Great Basin, but I need to go back before I write a post on it…..I still have more to do there!!
Thanks for this round-up! I’m hoping to head out there this fall and explore. It looks like a magical land.
Have fun!