Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park, United States

The golden banded clay hills of Zabriskie Point at sunrise in Death Valley.

Go for heat, salt flats and rock on a scale that is hard to believe: the biggest national park in the contiguous United States.

The place

Death Valley National Park lies across the California–Nevada border, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. It sits where the Great Basin and Mojave deserts meet, and it protects the north-western corner of the Mojave with its salt flats, sand dunes, badlands, canyons and mountain ranges. The park was established in 1994, though the valley had been drawing attention long before that. Its appeal lies in its extremes. It is the biggest national park in the contiguous United States and also the hottest, driest and lowest of them all. Badwater Basin, on the valley floor, lies 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America. More than 93% of the park is designated wilderness, so most of it has no roads or facilities, and much of your time will be spent driving between a handful of developed areas. Life here has adapted to heat and scarcity: creosote bush, Joshua trees, bighorn sheep, coyotes and the endangered Death Valley pupfish, a small fish left over from a wetter era. Expect extremes in both directions, with fierce heat in summer and freezing nights in winter. The landscape rewards patience and good planning far more than it rewards a checklist of photo stops.

Its story

The story of Death Valley National Park starts with people who learned to live with one of the harshest landscapes in North America. Indigenous peoples lived in the area for a very long time. The Timbisha, the most recent of these groups, followed the seasons, wintering in the lowland valleys and spending summers in the highlands. The valley's name comes from a small band of European-Americans who became lost there in 1849 while searching for a shortcut to California's gold fields. They survived the ordeal, though only one of their number died, and the grim name stuck long after they had left. Mining came later. In the decades either side of the turn of the century, short-lived boom towns rose around gold and silver, and most of them faded quickly. The only mineral that proved consistently profitable was borax, carried out of the valley by teams of mules, a sight that stayed in people's memories. Visitors started coming in the 1920s, and lodgings were developed at both Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. The valley then reached a wider audience through books, radio programmes, television series and films, which helped fix its dramatic reputation in the public imagination. Its designation as a national park in 1994 completed a long shift, from a place people crossed on the way somewhere else to a place protected for visitors who come to experience its extremes.

What to see

Culture

Death Valley is a wilderness with a long human history, and the Timbisha people remain part of the region's story today, so treat their homeland as more than a backdrop. Most visitors come for the scenery and the heat, but the park is shaped by a few firm rules. Stay on roads and marked routes, since the desert scars easily and tyre tracks can last for years. Leave rocks, plants and historic objects where you find them, including old mining equipment at abandoned sites, which is protected. Fuel, food and water are scarce between developed areas, so plan ahead and treat a breakdown as a serious matter rather than a quick fix. Quiet is valued too; keep music and generators away from campsites and overlooks, where the silence is part of what draws people here. Carry out everything you bring in, including food scraps, because bins are few and wildlife learns quickly from human leftovers. Above all, never walk onto the fragile salt crust at Devil's Golf Course, since one careless step can ruin crystals that take years to re-form, so keep to the marked paths and leave the surface untouched.

What to wear

Death Valley's traditional dress belongs to the Timbisha people and their Shoshone neighbours, and it was made from what the land provided. Historically, people wove fibres from plants such as yucca and shredded bark into skirts and aprons, and made warm robes from strips of rabbit skin, tied together and worn over the shoulders in cold months. Basketry, often coiled or twined, carried water and food, and it is the textile tradition most visible in museum collections today. Most people who live in the area now dress much like anyone else in the American Southwest, in jeans, work shirts and sun hats. For a visitor, the priority is the climate and the terrain rather than appearance. Daytime heat can exceed what most people expect, so choose light, loose, long-sleeved cotton or linen that covers the arms, and a wide-brimmed hat with a neck flap. Closed shoes with good grip suit the salt flats, sharp rock and gravel tracks. Layers help too, because nights in the cooler months can drop below freezing.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. Late autumn through spring is the comfortable window, roughly November to April, when days are warm rather than dangerous and nights can dip below freezing. Summer is extreme: July is the hottest month, and daily temperatures of 120 °F or more are common from June into September.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) is the nearest commercial airport, about a two-hour drive from Furnace Creek. Since there is no public transport into the park, you will need to hire a car for the last leg. The nearest Amtrak station is at Barstow, on the Southwest Chief route, and a hire car is needed from there too.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources