Death Valley National Park is located in east- central California, right on the Nevada border. Its name conjures up feelings of gloom and doom and, of course, intense desert heat. I visited Death Valley one summer, during the hottest time of the year, and I have lived to talk about it. Let’s take a closer look at this place they call Death Valley:

Attractions/Activities:

More than anything else, most people know about the fact that Death Valley is the lowest point in the United States, and in the Western Hemisphere. The actual location of the lowest point is called Badwater Basin, and it’s marked by a sign, proclaiming its low elevation of 282 feet below sea level.

The terrain of Death Valley, though, is much more than just a low- lying desert valley. Death Valley is actually a park of contrasts. In addition to the low points, it also includes mountain peaks that are more that 10,000 feet above sea level. And, although it’s a very dry climate, there are large displays of wildflowers and more than 900 species of plants.

The Visitor’s Center is a good place to start your tour. You can find the visitor’s center by driving on California State Route 190. This center is located in what is called, appropriately, Furnace Creek. Inside this center, you can watch an introductory video on the park, and view a few exhibits that relate to the geology and climate of Death Valley. If you arrive from the Nevada side, there’s a second information center called the Beatty Center, which contains more exhibits and information on the geological history of the region, and the scenic highlights.

Once you have completed the visitor’s center tour, you can venture out on your own, into the wilderness of Death Valley. Most people choose to drive through the mountainous areas and visit Badwater Basin. Many of the roads are unpaved, however, and you will need a 4- wheel drive vehicle to navigate them. You can also take a hike on one of several trails. Just make sure that you bring along plenty of water, especially during the hot summer season!

Other Attractions:

Death Valley does offer a museum to tour, called the Gas House Museum. It’s located on the north side of the park, about 50 miles away from the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center. Adjacent to the museum is Scotty’s Castle, built by Walter Scott and Albert Johnson as a desert vacation home. It quickly became legendary and a haven for tourists and visitors. It’s owned by the National Park Service today. The museum contains artifacts from the house that cover the history of the castle.

Fees/Hours of Operation:

Furnace Creek and Beatty Information centers are both open year round, from 9am to 6pm. There is a park entrance fee of $10 per vehicle, which is good for 7 days. If you arrive individually on motorcycle or on foot, the cost of admission is $5.00.

Scotty’s Castle and the Gas House Museum are both open from 7am to 6pm year round, with a fee of $8.00 to tour the house.

Final Thoughts:

Death Valley is an interesting place to visit, full of desert and mountain scenery and general solitude. The park is very big- 3.3 million acres in total area. Even when the visitor’s centers and other attractions might seem a bit crowded, you can walk out into the park and within a few minutes, be completely alone.

The temperatures in Death Valley can get very hot! I decided to be daring and I made my visit in late July, during the hottest time of the year. I did this because I wanted to experience the desert conditions at their most extreme. At the Furnace Creek Center that day, the temperature was 114 in the shade, which is normal, by Death Valley standards, for a day in late July. But this area has been much hotter than this. In 1913, Death Valley recorded a temperature of 134 in the shade, the second hottest temperature ever recorded on earth. The heat can fool you, too, particularly if you live in a humid climate, like I do. Because it’s so dry, the heat doesn’t seem as threatening as it really is. You sweat, but it quickly evaporates in the strong, dry wind (I described it to people as the feeling you get when you point an electric hair dryer in your face). This makes it not seem so bad, because you don’t experience the irritability that you feel in a humid climate. But it’s still very hot, and you should take the weather seriously!

You do need to exercise caution, if you go in the summertime. Make sure that you have a cooler in the trunk of your car filled with lots of bottled water, just to be safe. Also, it’s a good idea to fill up your tank with plenty of gas long before you get to Death Valley. Because of the limited supplies of gasoline in the area, the prices are quite high. When I was there, the price was 90 cents per gallon higher inside the park than it was outside the park. By all means, you don’t want to get stuck in the hot desert with an empty tank and no water to drink, so be prepared.

I spent several hours in the park, but I easily could have spent more. There’s much more to see than people think. Yes, there are some great sand dunes, but Death Valley is much more than just a desert. The mountains and the colorful landscape and wildlife add a great deal to the experience.

I enjoyed my trip into the Death Valley. I liked the desert and mountain scenery and I can now claim to have stood on the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. I went in the middle of summer, just to experience the intense heat, but I think I will travel here during a cooler season next time.

I recommend taking a trip here, to experience the open wilderness and the abundant scenery. Don’t be scared away by the name. Death Valley is an enjoyable place to see at least once.



Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other National Parks:

Grand Canyon
Colonial National Historical Park
Mammoth Cave National Park
Boston National Historical Park
Badlands National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Zion National Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Capital Reef National Park
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Everglades National Park


Recommended: Yes

Best time to go: September-November
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview