Death Valley National Park (Dec 2024)

Hottest, Driest and Lowest National Park...

The mention in the NPS web-site about Death Valley National Park pretty much sums it all: In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives in Death Valley.

Death Valley National Park boasts as the largest of all the National Parks in what is called the contiguous US (meaning, excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Another interesting fact is that it is designated as the ‘dark sky park’ – the night sky apparently provides incredible views with minimal light pollution in the vicinity.

As the Las Vegas buildings disappeared behind us, we were heading into the desert pretty soon on a fine December morning. Soon we were on the roads with much milder traffic. The dramatic landscape and the solace in the wilderness soon captivated us. We passed signs for Red Rock Canyon area and were heading towards Pahrump. As we approached the city from a higher altitude, it showed a glimpse of how big a city Pahrump is. The Bell Vista Road is a shorter distance to get to the state line than either of the bigger roads going north or south. 

Within a few miles of passing the Death Valley National Park entrance, we took a left on the way to Dante’s View point. With the cell signal weak to nothing, following just the road signs to Dante’s view is probably the best way to get there. 

There’s hardly any wrong turns one can take anyway. On the way, we could see the remnants of mining industry. Borax had been widely mined in the Death Valley area in the past, but not anymore. Once we reached the parking lot for Dante’s View Point, it became quite clear that a 360° view from there is a great attraction. What appeared as a big lake in the valley ahead is the Bad Water Basin that we were planning to visit later. 

A short stroll from the parking lot provided a great view of the entire surroundings with the valley right below surrounded by a range of peaks on the other side. Even in that harsh and dry environment, it was refreshing to see different kinds of bushes with blossoming flowers. Apparently, spring in Death Valley is supposed to be a spectacular sight. 

We were going to head down to Zabriskie’ point and Bad Water Basin, but suddenly saw a sign for 20 Mule Team Canyon Road. It was a 1-way road that seemed like a dirt road. When we were hesitating to enter, we saw some cars entering that way. So, with an SUV that we had, we decided to venture into it. Little did we know then that some of the scenes from one of the Star Wars movies was shot there (Episode VI). We were glad to not miss it as the drive in there seemed like driving in the canyon that we would see from Zabriskie point. It was nicer to see those peaks and valleys up close with many different patterns and colors draping the hills around. It was a short 2.5-mile loop that put us back on the CA-190.

After this, we continued towards the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. On the way, our next stop was at Zabriskie Point. The name is in honor of Christian Zabriskie who oversaw the transition of the mining landmark in its final days and its transition to a protected National Park.  The vista point is a short walk from the parking lot, but there were many trails (a bit unmarked) that people were venturing into, tracing along the ledges of the many peaks around. The colors, hues and the shapes of the peaks were very dramatic for a Sci-Fi movie or web series. Most landscape was devoid of any vegetation except for occasional bushes. 

Then we headed to the visitor center, paid the Park Entrance Fee, drove a short distance back on CA-190 and took a right towards the Bad Water Basin. Along the way are a few different vista points and we took a detour to the Devil’s Golf Course. It was again a short dirt road to this location. The vast field of salt mounds is very interesting. One has to be careful stepping on to these areas as the salt mounds had many sharp, rough and hard surfaces. Any fall can be very painful! As with all other names in Death Valley, this is also a scary name and it was anything but a ‘golf course’ that apparently only a devil can consider it a 'golf' course!

We headed to Bad Water Basin from here and this was quite in contrast to the golf course in the sense it appeared very flat without any salt mounds. What appeared like a body of water from Dante’s view point is this big area of flat salt. This is a region that is ~280 ft below the sea level as indicated by a marker on the mountain behind the basin. As many people were taking a stroll, the ‘salt polygons’ were not very evident until one ventures a little farther into the basin. As the sunset was nearing, we wanted to visit the ‘Artist’s Palette’ as it was a spot highly recommended for both sunset and sunrise.

This Artist’s Palette is through the canyons and seemed like the other side of Zabriskie’s point. The way is a 1-way paved road that would bring you back to the road to the bad water basin. All along the way to the vista point, the road through the canyons was beautiful and the full moon rising from behind the hills provided for a serene beauty especially in the utter silence of the atmosphere there. By the time we reached the Artist’s Palette parking lot, the timing seemed perfect with sun shining on the colorful palette on the hills as the moon was rising behind the hills. Most people were talking only in whispers as though the noise would disturb the moon or the colored hills. We spent time until almost darkness started settling in. That’s when we felt the cold temperature. We called it a day and headed to the Ranch at Death Valley to settle down for the night. The ‘steak house’ at the Oasis had vegetarian options that filled us sumptuously. 

We didn’t really plan to venture out for Sunrise the next day, but as soon as we woke up, we decided to head out to the Bad Water Basin and the Artist’s Palette for the Sunrise. The way to Bad water Basin provided for a very secluded atmosphere as we were the only people on the road. The sunrise behind the partially cloud covered hills appeared like a volcano simmering to erupt with its bright red and orange hues. 

By the time we reached the basin, the sun was still fighting to erupt from behind the clouds. We took a longer walk into the basin than the previous evening and the salt polygons were a bit more prominent now, lesser disturbed by human traffic. 

Then we headed to the Artist’s palette again. The Sun was still behind those hills when we got down to the hiking trail that took us closer to the colored sides of the canyon. There were many trails around that area. We did a loop and got back to the Ranch to check out.

After some relaxation, we received our friends who drove from Southern California to meet us at the Ranch. We ate the buffet served at the restaurant and headed to the Mesquite Sand Dunes which was about ~25min drive. Along the way, we stopped at the outdoor museum of remnants of the Harmony Borax Works to check it out.

When we reached the parking lot of the Sand Dunes, it was interesting to see the dunes settled in what looked like a valley surrounded by hills on all the sides. Like most other visitors there, we scaled several dune hills there. As it was December, the temperature of the sand was just perfect to walk barefoot. But some areas had red ants. Some areas had mini thorny bushes that had shredded their thorns many of which were scattered around. So, walking barefoot provided some interesting challenges. On a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and perfect temperature, the dunes were very easy to loiter around for quite some time.

We headed back to the Ranch to take a quick bite and were on our way back to Vegas. On the way, we stopped again at the Zabriskie’s point for the sunset. We were a bit late to see the sunset, but were in perfect time to see the moon-rise again! Today was actually the full moon day. The sky colors with the colored and barren hills in the foreground could not be actually captured well with our photographing skills. 

None of the pictures we took could actually capture the experience of what we saw. We were awe-struck with the landscape and the environment that Death Valley provided in different lights of the day!