Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Northern California → Death Valley

Death Valley is a huge park, and you could spend a lifetime exploring its remote canyons and mesas. Luckily, there are also lots of places in the park that are easy to visit, so if you’ve only got a day or two you can still visit some excellent sites and get a taste of Death Valley’s unique scenery and fascinating mining past.

Warning: This Page Includes Technical Routes. Be Aware of What This Entails and Watch for This Symbol: ⊗.

---

---

---

---

Where to Stay

Accommodations with real beds are pretty limited, and we’ve never used them. It can be very difficult to get a campground reservation during the high season, but most of the campgrounds are first-come, first-serve. This is great if you can show up at a random time of the week, but it can be stressful and difficult to find a site if you’re showing up late on a Friday night or Saturday morning. We don’t even bother with it, because it’s easy to backcountry camp here. You can find information on the backcountry camping regulations here, but essentially you just have to drive your car at least one mile from any paved or “day use only” dirt road. So find yourself a random dirt road near your target destination, drive a mile down it, and find a nice flat spot to pitch a tent.

---

---

Itineraries

We did an investigational trip this past year to see what we could visit in a day. The following was accomplished within a 12 hour period (including drive time) by approaching via Hwy 190 through Furnace Creek and then doubling back to Furnace Creek and exiting on Badwater Road.

1 Day Rough Itinerary

   Zabriskie Point (for sunrise if possible)

   Harmony Borax Works

   Keane Wonder Mill

   Titus Canyon

   Leadfield Ghost Town

   Mesquite Flat Dunes

   Artist’s Palette

   Devil’s Golfcourse

   Badwater Basin

   Ashford Mill Ruins

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Northern California → Death Valley