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6. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
Rolling hills of perfect sand surrounded by beautiful mountains? Yes, please! A walk through these sand dunes is fun for all ages and a spectacular way to experience another diverse landscape in Death Valley.
What You Need to Know
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are not the largest in the park (the tallest dune here stands around 100 feet), but they are the most accessible. You may feel like the parking area is busy, but as you get out on the sand, it’s easy to find some solitude.
For an extra dose of fun, be sure to run down one of the larger dunes. Your inner child will thank you!
Pets are not permitted on the dunes.
Getting Here
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are located 2 miles east of the Stovepipe Wells Village along Highway 190.
7. Golden Canyon
Travel up this beautiful wash full of unique and interesting features. A few places in Golden Canyon were even used as filming locations for Star Wars!
What You Need to Know
Several trail options are available here for hikers of all ages and abilities. To hike up and back only in Golden Canyon, it’s a 2-mile hike. This is the most crowded and popular way to see the area.
I recommend going further along some of the additional trails that shoot off from the end of Golden Canyon. A few options are:
- Adding on the spur trail to the Red Cathedral. This makes your hike 3 miles roundtrip and takes you to the base of the Red Cathedral. In my opinion, you get a better view of the cathedral while hiking in Golden Canyon then when you are on the spur trail.
- Going right at the fork (instead of left toward the Red Cathedral) to hike the Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch Loop. This loop is 4.3 miles roundtrip but takes you through some of the most stunning scenery in this badlands area of the park.
Pets are not permitted on this trail.
Getting Here
From Furnace Creek, drive about one mile southeast on Highway 190 until you see the signs pointing to Badwater. Turn right here — this is the Badwater Road. Drive south for 2 miles until you see the turn-off for Golden Canyon on your left. Park here.
8. Dante’s View
Drive high above the valley floor for the most epic view of the Badwater Basin. You’ll love feeling like you’re on top of the world as you gaze down at the salt flats and Telescope Peak in the distance!
What You Need to Know
A trip to this overlook is the highlight of any trip to Death Valley. The road is curvy and narrow in some spots — for that reason, no vehicles longer than 25 feet are permitted.
The temperatures up here are generally much cooler (25 degrees or so) than the temperatures in the valley, so be prepared with jackets if you’re visiting during the winter or spring.
Getting Here
From Furnace Creek, drive 12 miles southeast on Highway 190 (as if you’re leaving the park and heading toward the Death Valley Junction). Look for the signs pointing to the Dante’s View road and turn left. Follow this road for approximately 14 miles to reach the parking area and overlook.
9. Devils Golf Course
These salt formations are so sharp and craggy that “only the devil could play golf” on this surface. A closer look proves that the beauty is in the details — there are some incredible salt crystals here!
What You Need to Know
No hiking is required here, but a little walking around may be necessary to discover some unique formations. The salt is sharp, so take care as you explore this area. Pets are not permitted beyond the parking area.
The Devils Golf Course is located down a dirt road. This road is one of the better dirt roads in the park and should be fine for a sedan.
Getting Here
From Furnace Creek, drive about one mile southeast on Highway 190 until you see the signs pointing to Badwater. Turn right here — this is the Badwater Road. Drive south for 11 miles until you see the turn-off for the Devils Golf Course on your right. Turn here and follow the dirt road for about a mile until you reach the parking area.
10. Mosaic Canyon
The Mosaic Canyon Trail takes you through polished slot canyons full of fun adventures and unique geology! If you’re looking for an exciting hike for your whole group, this is the perfect choice.
What You Need to Know
This trail is 3.6 miles roundtrip and gains about 1,000 feet of elevation. However, you definitely don’t need to hike this whole trail if you don’t want to.
After hiking just 0.5 miles from the parking area, you’ll experience the slot canyons, light scrambling, and rock mosaics that make this trail so popular. We often only hike this first part of the trail because my kids love climbing on the rocks, sliding down the natural slides, and admiring the beautiful rocks.
If you want to continue further, the next 0.5 miles travel through an open area before heading back into the narrow canyons for the remaining 0.8 miles or so. These narrows require a lot more scrambling than the beginning of the trail. When you reach a large and impassable dry fall, you’ve made it to the trail’s end, and you can just turn around and hike back the way you came.
A bumpy ride on a 2.3-mile dirt road is necessary to reach the trailhead. We see many different types of vehicles make the drive out here, but smaller, low-to-the-ground vehicles may struggle in a few spots.
Pets are not permitted on this trail.
Getting Here
From Stovepipe Wells, drive west along Highway 190 for 0.2 miles until you see the turn-off for Mosaic Canyon on your left. Turn here and follow the dirt road up the hill for 2.3 miles until you reach the parking area at the end of the road. This is the Mosaic Canyon Trailhead. Buses and RVs are not recommended in this parking lot.
Honorable Mention: Scotty’s Castle
Scotty’s Castle was once a very popular place to visit in the park but is now closed because of damage from flash flooding. When it reopens, it is definitely worth a visit!
Enjoy your time in Death Valley National Park. Happy trails!
I am surprised you left off the racetrack and grandstand. Any thoughts on how best to see? Guide or not? Jeep rental or not?
Most everyday visitors to Death Valley shouldn’t plan on trying to get out to the racetrack, which is why I don’t include it in this list. But, we do talk about it in this podcast episode!
Your podcast is fantastic! My wife and I travel full time and are wanting to hit as many NP’s as possible and you have the best tips on what to see. I have heard mixed things about boondocking Death Valley, do you know if it is true that you can boondock in a bus within the Park? Thanks!
Thanks Dan! There is ton of boondocking just outside of the park, but not within. I used Campendium a lot when we were full-time RVers in the parks — it’s really helpful for seeing all of the different options.
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!