I did a quick browse and read a recent thread about Bryce, Zion, and Death Valley, but I was curious if anyone had any experience visiting Death Valley since hurricane Hilary blew through. I checked out the NPS website for DV and it shows quite a few road closures due to washouts. I'd still like to take the drive out since it looks like there's still PLENTY to see, especially in the winter when daylight is short. Was hoping to get some advice on the best things to see that are available now, the Artists Drive looks like a must do, and we'll definitely stop in at the visitor's center where I'm hopeful to get to buy a nice souvenir hoodie or something similar. There's some kind of alien themed diner on one of the ways out there as well that looked like a fun place to stop for a meal. My biggest concern doing any kind of hiking is usually lack of oxygen being up the in the mountains, this Florida girl needs air! But being near/below sea level I'm kind of excited to not worry much about that. Still, any short, easy hike recommendations would be preferable. Thanks for any insight, ya'll!
Just pre-hike prep advice: swing by a Walmart or whatever and bring lots of water - even during the cooler weather we have now. Extra waters can be given away at the end of your trip
Absolutely. My thought was to get a case of water for the road trip just in case, anything leftover my friend can keep. She often gets to reap the rewards of things I buy staying in town, once I left a really nice air mattress with her after I had to stay an extra night and camped in her living room. Conversely, she left some amazing beach chairs with me when she came to Florida
IMO, Artist Drive is not a must see. If I was doing a winter day trip (wait, I am, next month lol), I would stop at Zabriske Point (east to traverse and great view), Badwater Basin (fingers crossed the temporary lake is still there), Devil's Golf Course, and if you still have time drive up to the Mesquite Sand Dunes. The roads to all those spots are open right now. Artists Drive (and other open sites in the park) are interesting, but not as interesting as those four I listed
We will have to agree to disagree on that! Anyway ... I have not been to Death Valley since 2015 or so, but I have been countless times over more decades than I care to admit, coming from both LV and Californica at times. If coming from Las Vegas, the route you take will depend on how much time you have. You can see quite a bit in a partial day or a full daylight day if you don't mind driving back in the dark. I always recommend that a first timer start out at the south end of the valley, see Badwater, Artists' Palette, Devil's Golf Course, and maybe take a brief low-impact hike on one of the well-maintained trails at the turn-ioffs. Then, when you get up to the vicinity of Furnace Creek, make the decision to either head back to LV (optionally visiting two overlooks, Zabriskie Point and/or Dante's View) or head farther north to visit other sights, such as Ubehebe Crater (well worth the extra driving, IMAO), Scotty's Castle, Borax Works, and possibly the preserved-but-not-restored ghost town of Rhyolite on the way back. I'm attaching a photo of Artists' Palette, but it's not one of my better ones. I have some more recent very nice Kodachromes of it but I can't find them right now and don't have them on line. The blues are far more brilliant on the Kodachromes. This shot is ca. 25 years old and is shot on plain old vanilla drug store Fuji, IIRC. If you want to photograph Artists' Palette (ditto to an extent on Devil's Golf Course) I suggest you time things to hit those two in the mid afternoon for more of an angled sunlight. The two overlooks I mentioned are best right after sunrise. I would recommend a special trip for each of those. I also have photos of the views from those but again, I would have to hunt for them. Even with all of the above, you have only scratched the surface. If you have a rugged vehicle you can take the old back road around the Badwater area and catch some seldom-seen sights. The west part of the Valley has other sights such as Telescope Peak (finding your way up there shall be left as an exercise for the student), the Charcoal Kilns, and others that I will remember right after I hit POST.
A lot of the additional sites you recommended are not accessible right now. I think the OP is aware of that, but for anyone else reading the thread and considering a visit to DV, make sure and check the current road closures. Right now, more is closed in the park than open. I'm not against the Artists drive, just prefer the devil's golf course and the sand dunes. And if anyone wants to see mountainsides with incredible splashes of color, the devil's paint pots area at Lake Meade is much closer to Vegas than DV
Here are a few more shots of Death Valley which I was able to quickly find. First is a very unusual Death Valley shot, showing the lush foliage after a several-week rainy spell in the spring. Next, on the same trip, Badwater Basin with a rainwater pool. It is often times bone dry. Ubehebe Crater, north of Furnace Creek. The angle of the sun brings out the colors of the crater. And one of my Artists' Palette Kodachromes, but not the best one. Could not easily locate that one.
Those shots are gorgeous! Would love to see the crater but that was one of the areas that's currently inaccessible. For some reason I always just pictured Death Valley as "big, open desert". I'm getting really excited to go check it out!
So, road closures are indeed massive. It eliminates the coolest (figuratively, and in my opinion) sites in the Park. But if you’re doing it as a quick look-see, doing some short hikes, you can do Badwater (that is, up to the point where it starts to be a lake!), Mesquite Flats and other sites. NPS has put up an amazing map showing what’s closed. For any given site, you should be able to assess accessibility using this map, which I assume is updated regularly: https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/conditions.htm It’s my favorite National Park, and to do it justice requires a multi-day visit, and a vehicle that will handle rough roads even under normal circumstances. But you can see a lot of cool stuff off the main paved highway through the park.
I haven’t been to DV lately, but have spent many days there over the years. We debated going for a partial day to see the lake a Badwater when we were in LV a couple of weeks ago. Our first trip was a day trip from LV. By leaving early we entered by Beatty near Rhyolite ghost town. Spent a little time at Rhyolite before entering DV on Daylight Pass Rd. (CA-374) From there we headed towards Furnace Creek and the Visitor Center. On Daylight Pass Rd. as you get towards where is intersects with (CA-160) you will get a far off view of Mesquite Sand Dunes. Right at the intersection takes you to Mesquite Sand Dunes and left takes you to the Visitor Center and Furnace Creek. After the VC, we headed to Badwater Basin for a stroll out on the salt flat. Then hiked to the Natural Bridge which is along the way to Badwater Basin. In hindsight I wish we would have skipped that and then drove the scenic drive through Artist Palette. It was getting HOT by then (it was early April) so we headed back to LV via Pahrump. Going that way gives you a chance to stop at Zabriskie Point and Dante’s View. Dante’s View gives a great overview of a lot of the park.Coming back to LV from Pahrump on NV- 160 gives you a great view of LV as you come through the mountain pass. It was a great introduction to the park. Later that year we went back for a few days and have been back several times since. Death Valley is very diverse and way more interesting than I ever thought it would be.
Yeah, it’s all about elevation in DV. Telescope Peak is 15 miles laterally from Badwater, and two miles up. There aren’t many places on the planet where you can experience an elevation difference like that.
Drive directly to the Inn at Death Valley, check in for one night and spend the entire day and night at the pool. It’s a natural fed spring pool. Magical place. then you can contemplate if you really want to do the hike or not lol. The restaurant isn’t bad either. I use this place as my retreat if I get beat up too much up at the casinos to get some perspective back.
Some way to relieve yourself that is portable, as appropriate for your personal equipment. Better to do it in the privacy of your vehicle than use the "restrooms" in DV (and national parks in general), which are disgusting. On a visit to DV, I needed to pee and used one. Couldn't get the smell out of my nostrils the rest of the day. God forbid you drop your phone in the hole in one of those things. Luckily I didn't. But I still have nightmares about my experience using one of these "restrooms". EDIT: you can also hold it in until you find a rest stop that has real restrooms, such as Furnace Creek.
I wish I had time this trip to spend the night there, I'm starting to realize that's would be the way to go at some point. Looks like they're hoping to have almost all of the park accessible before the end of 2025 so I think this would be a perfect addition to the trip the next time my nature loving friends want to do a Vegas getaway. Those hole in the ground restrooms are horrifying. I'm not much of an outdoorsy person at home but on vacation the novelty of the scenery makes me want to get out there. Last time my friend and I took a ride up Mt Charleston we stopped at one of those types of restrooms and yeah, it was scary. Pretty sure I took everything out of my pockets before I squatted because losing my phone or car keys was NOT an option! I will definitely keep it in mind to take a bathroom break if I'm near one that looks acceptable, thanks for the tip! My friend and her baby bladder on the other hand... well, she can be the guinea pig and let me know if the current restroom is a good one, otherwise I'll wait for the next!
Ooo. I might do this if I stay in town. I forgot I was interested in going lol. Will have to do some research.
I'm trying to think. I don't remember any particularly nasty ones. IIRC, Badwater had those fiberglass porta-potty type things. I know that in Furnace Creek and Scotty's Castle you can find real indoor plumbing restrooms.
I have to agree with @Travel Fanatic and the current open spots. I’m not sure if the road is open over by Old Stovepipe Wells (near the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes), but it’s a good spot to see sunsets and has very few people around. If I can recommend a restroom near DV, I will have to put the Area 51 Alien Center in Armagosa Valley high on the list. It’s quite interesting to say the least and even has some “dining options.”
lol, I stopped there once because the green signage looked so amusing from the road. Then i quickly learned its primary purpose and what they were selling, lol. But seriously, it did have a decent bathroom and convenience store next to the main attraction. Also, it is the best nearby rest area if you are going to visit the Ash Meadows, a small part of which is technically part of Death Valley NP (and a great place to see the endangered and awesome pupfish)
I think a stop at the Alien Center needs to happen but with all this talk of unpleasant restrooms it might be a good idea to skip the "dining" there Pupfish sound awfully cute
Definitely post about your trip as my wife and I are always looking for new excursions. Zion is on the list and looking to do Angel's Landing but thought it may be best to arrive at night and do the hike in the morning then drive back as it is about a 2.5+ hour drive. We did the Mt. Charleston hike (Cathedral Rock Trail) and found it very enjoyable. Being from Florida, the elevation really didn't have that affect on us, but we went early morning when it was nice and cool. On our way down when it was a bit warmer, we noticed a few people second guessing their decision to hike. It may be more about how active one is rather than from where they are coming.
