Death Valley National Park

The very name evokes all that is harsh, hot and hellish – a punishing, barren and lifeless place of Old Testament severity. Yet closer inspection reveals that in Death Valley nature is putting on a truly spectacular show: singing sand dunes, water-sculpted canyons, boulders moving across the desert floor, extinct volcanic craters, palm-shaded oases, stark mountains rising to 11,000ft and plenty of endemic wildlife. This is a land of superlatives, holding the US records for hottest temperature (134°F/57°C), lowest point (Badwater, 282ft below sea level) and largest national park outside Alaska (more than 5000 sq miles).

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Zabriskie Point

Death Valley National Park

Not many national park features can say they were celebrated in a 1969 film of the same name, but Zabriskie Point claims that honor thanks to director…
Dante's View

Death Valley National Park

Dante's View is an overlook that sits perched at 5475ft atop the Black Mountains, affording stunning panoramic views of the entire southern Death Valley…
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Death Valley National Park

The most accessible dunes in Death Valley are an undulating sea of sand rising up to 100ft high next to the highway near Stovepipe Wells Village. They're…
Amargosa Opera House

Death Valley National Park

An opera house in the middle of nowhere? Yes, thanks to the vision of New York dancer Marta Beckett who fell in love with the 1920s colonnaded adobe…
Scotty's Castle

Death Valley National Park

Closed due to flood damage and not likely to reopen until at least 2020, this whimsical castle was the desert home of Walter E Scott, alias ‘Death Valley…
Borax Museum

Death Valley National Park

On the grounds of the Ranch at Death Valley, this outdoor museum illustrates Death Valley's connection to borax mining, and presents pioneer-era mining…
Badwater Basin

Death Valley National Park

The lowest point in North America (282ft below sea level) is an eerily beautiful landscape of crinkly salt flats. Here you can walk out on to a constantly…
Eureka Dunes

Death Valley National Park

The far-northwestern reaches of Death Valley cradle these spectacular dunes that, at up to 680ft high, are the tallest in California. It’s a tough slog to…