Death Valley National Park3.4 million acres, 282 feet below sea level, the hottest place ever recorded on Earth — 134°F at Furnace Creek
The largest national park in the contiguous United States — 3,372,402 acres of salt flats, sand dunes, badlands, and the Panamint Range. Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level (the lowest point in North America), Telescope Peak rises to 11,049 feet 18 miles to the west, and Furnace Creek holds the world record air temperature of 134°F set on July 10, 1913. Designated a national monument in 1933 by President Hoover, redesignated a national park on October 31, 1994 with a 1.3-million-acre expansion.
- 3,372,402Park acreage
- −282 ftLowest point
- 134°FHottest record
- ~1.7MAnnual visitors
Welcome to Death Valleythe hottest, driest, lowest place in North America.
Death Valley got its English name from a group of "49ers" who lost a single member of their party trying to cross the salt flats during the California Gold Rush — "Goodbye, Death Valley," one of them is said to have called as they finally climbed out the western wall. The Timbisha Shoshone, who have inhabited the valley for at least the last thousand years, call it Tümpisa, meaning "rock paint" for the red ochre they collected here. President Hoover designated the area a national monument on February 11, 1933; the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 expanded it by 1.3 million acres and elevated it to a national park, making it the largest in the lower 48.
The park spans an extraordinary range of geology and elevation. Badwater Basin — a 200-square-mile salt pan at 282 feet below sea level — is the lowest point in North America. Telescope Peak rises 11,049 feet only 18 miles west, the steepest desert relief in the country. Furnace Creek's official 134°F reading on July 10, 1913 has been recognized by the World Meteorological Organization as the highest reliably measured air temperature in human history. The valley receives about two inches of rain a year; some years it receives none.
Plan a minimum of two days for the South District (Furnace Creek, Badwater, Artists Drive, Zabriskie Point, Dante's View) and add a day for the North District (Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, the Racetrack Playa). Visit between November and March — even October and April push 100°F. Cell service is sporadic to nonexistent across most of the park; download offline maps before entering. Gas is sold at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs at significant markup. Bring more water than you think you need: one gallon per person per day in cooler months, double that in summer.
What you'll seehighlights of Death Valley National Park.
A short loop through the exhibits, encounters, and shows that make this stop worth a half-day on its own.
Badwater Basin
The 200-square-mile salt flat at the lowest point in North America — 282 feet below sea level. A boardwalk and a quarter-mile out-and-back path cross hexagonal salt polygons formed by groundwater evaporation. The "sea level" sign is bolted to the cliff face 282 feet up the canyon wall behind the parking lot. Sunrise and late afternoon avoid the worst heat.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
The most accessible dune field in the park — 14 square miles of golden sand near Stovepipe Wells with the largest dune (Star Dune) cresting at 130 feet. Used as Tatooine in multiple Star Wars films. The two-mile round-trip walk to the highest dune is best at sunrise or sunset when the ridge lines cast long shadows; the parking lot is right off Highway 190.
Zabriskie Point
The signature badlands viewpoint — a five-minute walk from the Highway 190 parking lot up to Manly Beacon and the eroded yellow-orange folds of the Furnace Creek Formation. Sunrise here ranks among the most-photographed in any U.S. national park; the 2.5-mile Badlands Loop drops down through Gower Gulch back to the lot.
Artist's Drive & Artist's Palette
A nine-mile one-way scenic loop off Badwater Road through volcanic and sedimentary hills tinted green, pink, purple, and yellow by oxidized iron, manganese, and mica. The Artist's Palette pull-out at mile six is the most concentrated patch of color. Open to vehicles under 25 feet only — RVs prohibited.
Dante's View
A 5,476-foot overlook on the Black Mountains — Badwater Basin sits a vertical mile straight below, with Telescope Peak rising 11,049 feet across the valley. The cool-air refuge for summer visitors (typically 25°F cooler than the valley floor) and the location's most cinematic vantage; used as Mos Eisley's overlook in the original Star Wars.
The Racetrack Playa
A remote 3-square-mile dry lakebed where heavy stones leave long trails as they slide across the cracked mud, propelled by thin ice sheets in winter — a phenomenon photographed for decades and finally proven by GPS-tracking research in 2014. Reachable only by 27 miles of unpaved Racetrack Road; high-clearance 4WD strongly recommended, several hours each way.
Ubehebe Crater
A 600-foot-deep, half-mile-wide volcanic crater formed about 2,100 years ago in a single steam explosion when groundwater hit rising magma — among the youngest volcanic features in the lower 48. A 1.5-mile rim trail circles the crater and the smaller adjacent Little Hebe craters. Located in the park's North District, 56 miles from Furnace Creek.
Dark sky stargazing
Death Valley is a designated International Dark Sky Park (Gold Tier, the highest rating) — among the darkest skies in the lower 48 with no light pollution within a 100-mile radius. The Milky Way is visible to the naked eye nearly every clear night October through April; the NPS hosts ranger-led astronomy programs at Harmony Borax Works during winter weekends.
Hours & tickets
Open hours
Park is open 24/7 year-round. Furnace Creek Visitor Center is open daily 8:00 AM–5:00 PM (closed Christmas Day). Peak season runs October through April; July and August summit temperatures regularly exceed 120°F at Furnace Creek and the NPS strongly discourages hiking below 2,000 feet midday in summer. Scotty's Castle has been closed for flood-damage repairs since 2015 — check nps.gov/deva for the current reopening status.
- MondayOpen 24 hrs
- TuesdayTodayOpen 24 hrs
- WednesdayOpen 24 hrs
- ThursdayOpen 24 hrs
- FridayOpen 24 hrs
- SaturdayOpen 24 hrs
- SundayOpen 24 hrs
Note · There are no entrance gates — the park is accessed via Highway 190, Highway 178, and several unpaved roads, all open year-round. Some backcountry routes (Racetrack Road, Titus Canyon, Lippincott Pass) require high-clearance 4WD; flash-flood closures are common July–September.
Ticket pricing
Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.
- Private vehicle (1–7 days)$30One vehicle and all passengers, 7 consecutive days
- Per person (foot, bike, horse)$15Individuals 16+, 7 consecutive days
- Motorcycle$25Up to two passengers, 7 consecutive days
- Annual Death Valley pass$55Unlimited entry for 12 months
- America the Beautiful — Annual$80All U.S. national parks and federal recreation lands
Children 15 and under enter free. Pay at any of the self-service fee tubes located at park entrances and visitor centers — there are no staffed entrance booths. Free entrance days are observed several times a year. Backcountry overnight stays in approved camping zones don't require a permit but are required to register; the Wilderness Backcountry Office at Furnace Creek issues permits for technical canyon descents.
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