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Death Valley is a huge, desolate national park in southern California that isn’t really all that close to much.

You may be wondering if it’s worth visiting Death Valley and I’m here to tell you all the reasons it definitely is!

I visited in late October 2021 and am (hopefully) planning a trip back this winter sometime, so I’m very excited for this post.

National Park Goodies

• If you’re planning to visit three or more national parks within a year from your trip, definitely get the America the Beautiful pass. It will save you money in the long run if you’re going to more than three parks in a year. Buy the pass here.
• If you’re planning on doing a lot of hiking on your trip, or even at home, check out AllTrails! This is my favorite app to find, keep track of, and track my hiking activity. And it’s FREE! Sign up here.
• This Ultimate National Park Planning Bundle is a must-have. You get two ebooks and a planner, saving 50% by getting them as a bundle! If you want all the details, this is the bundle for you. Buy the Ultimate bundle here.
• Doing a road trip? Want an adventure? Consider an Escape Campervan Rental! It’s a great way to see the parks and is perfect for couples and small (but close) friend groups. Book a campervan here!
• This National Park Planner (one of the ebooks from the bundle above) is perfect if you just want some guidance in your planning. Buy the planner here.
• Get yourself a National Park journal for all of the NPS sites (400+!) to keep track of your travels!
• Consider reading some of these books set in national parks before your big trip, on your adventure, or once you get home to take you back to the parks until next time.

A note on safety in Death Valley

Before we get started though, I want to make a little note on safety in Death Valley since there have been a number of deaths due to bad behavior in the extreme heat.

First off, I would avoid visiting in the summer if you plan to do anything other than drive through the park.

If you do visit in the summer, make sure you have a lot of extra water in the car, and food, just in case.

I would stick to the main roads for the same reason, just in case something happens to your car.

I wouldn’t hike in the summer other than first thing in the morning, and even then I would probably not want to since it’s still so hot at night.

Temperatures are regularly over 100 degrees, up to 130, and if you’re outside of the main sights, traffic will be slim.

Stay on the main roads and avoid the remote areas unless you’re overprepared and experienced in driving in extremely remote areas. (I would do this even outside of summer. I know that sounds overly cautious but Death Valley is huge and desolate and there is basically no phone service if there’s an emergency).

Stay out of closed areas and off closed roads and if the road your GPS is sending you down looks questionable, maybe don’t go that way. A paper map might be helpful to have.

Basically, don’t do stupid things in Death Valley in the summer.

That said, some roads can be impassable or very difficult to travel in the winter, or generally after any bad weather so ask at the visitor center before heading out.

Is Death Valley worth visiting?

If you’ve been wondering if Death Valley National Park is worth visiting, I’m here to tell you it definitely is! Whether you like hiking or not, there is plenty to see here that makes it worth the trip.

Throughout this I’ll be assuming you’re visiting in fall, winter, or spring unless stated otherwise.

It’s SO remote

First up, I think one of the coolest reasons to visit Death Valley is because of how remote and desolate it is.

I know I’ve said that more than once already but it really is amazing how huge and empty it is.

We were there in late October 2021 (so it could have still been close enough to 2020, but it also could have been seasonal timing) and on the section of Badwater Road below Badwater Basin we only saw like, four cars.

There are small towns along the edge of the park but there isn’t all that much near the park so aside from being desolate in the park, it’s general location is remote.

Even knowing this going in, it’s still wild actually seeing it once you’re actually there.

Which makes it great for stargazing!

Thanks to it’s remoteness, it’s a prime stargazing park and there are plenty of places to choose from to enjoy the Milky Way.

Death Valley is an International Dark Sky Park which means, thanks to it’s lack of light pollution, you’ll be able to experience some of the best stargazing of your life.

Whether you’re staying in the park or in a town outside of it, be sure to set aside some time one night to enjoy the stars.

It has the lowest point in North America

That’s right! Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level, making it the lowest point not just in the US, but in the whole of North America!

It may not be the lowest place on Earth (that’s the Dead Sea) but it does crack the top ten at spot number eight.

When you walk out onto the salt flats in Badwater Basin, be sure to look back at the rock wall along the road to find the sign showing where sea level is!

It has moving rocks

The Racetrack Playa is in the northwestern part of the park and is home to rocks that seem to move across the desert all on their own.

The only downside is that it takes a whole day of driving in a four-wheel-drive vehicle to see these mysteriously moving rocks.

It’s 50 miles north of Furnace Creek then 27 more miles down a washboardy dirt road. You won’t get to see the rocks moving, they’ve never even been recorded moving, but you can see the trails they leave behind when they do.

If you’re prepared (and have experience driving in places like this), have the right vehicle, and have the time, this is a really cool place to see.

And lots of sand dunes!

The Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes, right by Stovepipe Wells, are the most popular and easiest to access sand dunes in Death Valley but there are four more you can visit if you have the time and proper vehicle.

While the Mesquite Flats are super easy to get to (right on the side of the road) the rest will require some combination of (possibly) questionable dirt road driving and hiking.

The plus side of that extra effort is that there will probably be a lot fewer people around.

It’s not as busy as other parks

While Death Valley isn’t in the least visited national park list, it doesn’t get quite as many visitors as other nearby national parks.

As of 2022, it came in at spot 25 of 63. It saw 1,128,862 visitors compared to Joshua Tree’s 3,058,294 in the same year!

1.1 million still sounds like a lot, but it’s significantly lower than the top ten park visitor numbers.

It’s super easy to get away from crowds

Now that we’ve got the crowd numbers out of the way, I’m here to tell you (if you haven’t guessed by now) that it’s very easy to get away from any crowds that there may be.

The majority of the crowds in Death Valley will be on the roads between Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek, Dante’s View, and Badwater Basin.

Outside of that you’re going to see a lot less people and will need to put in more effort to get to a lot of the cool sites.

Ubehebe Crater, The Racetrack, and Eureka Sand Dunes are some you could visit a little more easily if you have the time.

But to really get off the beaten path in death Valley you’re going to need a lot of time and a high-clearance 4WD vehicle, plus the experience of driving in these conditions and extra supplies.

Getting that far off the beaten path probably isn’t for the average visitor but it’s definitely possible if you know what you’re doing.

It can be enjoyed in one day

If you just have one day in Death Valley, you’ll definitely be able to enjoy the highlights of the park and do a hike or two.

Like I’ve said, Death Valley is huge, so you’ll really need one full day in the park and you’ll want to take advantage of all the daylight you can.

We didn’t have one solid day there, we were driving over from St. George, Utah, and didn’t do any hikes really, but we still got to see most of the highlights.

If you use your whole day, you’ll be able to drive Badwater Road, and see Badwater Basin, Zabriske Point, Devil’s Golf Course, Artists Drive, Dante’s View, Furnace Creek, and Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes.

You could probably get a hike or two in there, too, just remember that the park is huge and things are kind of far apart (like Mesquite Flats).

But there is plenty to see with more time

Even without getting way off the beaten path on remote dirt roads, there is plenty more to see and do in the main parts of the park.

There are tons of great hikes in Death Valley to keep you busy for days, weeks, months! Here are a few of them:

• Mosaic Canyon
• Darwin Falls
• Golden Canyon
• Little Hebe Crater
• Ibex Dunes

Get the best Death Valley hiking guide here!

It’s possible as a day trip from Las Vegas

If you really want to see Death Valley but don’t want to spend the night there, you can easily visit as a day trip from Las Vegas!

It may be a long day but it would be worth it. It’s about two hours from Vegas to Furnace Creek (the main area of Death Valley).

If you decide to do this I would just get a super early start so you can really take advantage of your time there.

It’s the hottest place on Earth

On July 9, 2021, the highest recorded temperature on Earth was recorded at Furnace Creek in Death Valley.

This isn’t the first time Death Valley has taken this record though (it was 129.9 on August 16, 2020, Kuwait has also tied this)!

There is also a questionable, even higher, recorded temperature at Furnace Creek in 1913 at a whopping 134.1 degrees!

There are also higher unverified temperatures that beat the official highest (130 in 2021) but they can’t be authenticated because of equipment available at the time.

So while there may or may not be higher temperatures recorded, Death Valley is the official record holder.

While I wouldn’t recommend (at all) visiting in the peak of summer to try and experience these astonishing temperatures, I also get it just because that would be really wild to experience.

If you do visit Death valley in the summer, just be prepared, don’t do stupid things, drink tons of water, stay as cool as you can, and probably avoid hiking.
People die at Death Valley because of heat every year and you don’t want to be one of those people.

It’s surprisingly good if you like history

Death Valley doesn’t scream history quite like Mesa Verde, but it’s surprisingly good for history buffs!

I won’t get into the history here but you can see a number of old mill and mine sites in the park.

The first three are easy to see but anything after that may require a bit more time and effort. Here are some of them:

• Wildrose Charcoal Kilns
• Ashford Mill Site
• Harmony Borax Works
• Keane Wonder Mine
• Scottys Castle
• Barker Ranch (very cool but not easy to get to)
• Leadfield Ghost Town

There are Joshua Trees here

That’s right! If you don’t have time to visit Joshua Tree National Park this trip, you can see Joshua trees right here at Lee Flat!

You’ll find this little Joshua tree forest near the west entrance to the park and is a great place to enjoy the sunset and escape the heat of the park.

This is at a higher elevation than most of the park which makes it a lot cooler, and I would say this is off the beaten path, too.

You don’t need 4WD to get here, but it’s recommended just to be on the safe side, or all wheel drive at minimum.

And it’s beautiful!

Finally, the main reason it’s worth visiting Death Valley, is because it’s beautiful!

Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s kind of out of the way. Yes, you’ll spend a lot of time driving between places.

But it’s worth it to see this park and all of it’s strange colors and landscapes.

Other posts you might like

Things To Do In Death Valley That Aren’t Hiking

Photos Of Death Valley

7 Great Stops On Bad Water Road (+6 Other Awesome Things To See In Death Valley!)

Death Valley Vs Joshua Tree

Have you been to Death Valley? What did you think of it? Do you think Death Valley is worth visiting?