Why you need to visit Death Valley at least once in your life

The landscape of Death Valley is out of this world. The name totally does it justice: it doesn’t look like anyone could live there. Most of it is plain desert of rocks and sand, and once in a while you see some plants trying to grow.

If you’re in the area, a trip to Death Valley is definitely worth the detour. Even if it’s just for a couple of hours. The entry costs 25$ per vehicle, and you’re mostly driving around. There are much less hiking trails than in other national parks, which is a good thing, because it’s insanely hot. Like really hot. It’s not even funny. We visited the National Park on a chilly, rainy day and it was still around 100°F/37°C there. I’ve heard people talk about the heat and how you have to bring tons of water, and I can only agree. We didn’t even walk that much and I still felt like I would never make it back to the car.

Since you use your car a lot, it’s definitely easier to have a smaller vehicle. You could do it with an RV, but you wouldn’t be able to do everything. Unless your RV is less than 25 foot long, then you’re good.

There are basically no actual rest areas (with gas stations and food) in and around Death Valley. You can drive for 2 hours without finding a rest area, but that depends on the direction. You can still stop and get fuel once in a while, but it’s super expensive! There’s also gas stations in Death Valley, for example at Furnance Creek, but again, it’s very expensive. So be sure to have a full tank before approaching Death Valley! There’s restrooms everywhere though inside the National Park.

If you don’t have much time to spend in Death Valley, here’s the things I would recommend the most:

Zabriskie Point

It’s basically just a view point where you can see rock formations that look like sand but aren’t. I don’t know if it’s always the case, but it was extremely windy when I went there, so be sure not to wear a dress or hat that might fly away and to bring a hair elastic if you have long hair! It’s a pretty quick stop, too, so I would definitely go see it.

Artist’s Drive

This one might be difficult with an RV and prohibited for cars bigger than 25 feet. It’s a rollercoaster road in the middle of rocks. It is super narrow, has only one lane and many (many!) ups and downs that give you that rollercoaster feeling in your stomach. The drive is super fun and I didn’t even get car sick at all!

Artist’s Palette

On the Artist’s Drive, you can stop at one point to admire the Artist’s Palette. The rocks at this point show red and blue colours that look like someone painted them (you don’t really see it in the pictures, it’s much more intense in real life). It’s hard to imagine that they are actually natural! The colours are due to various minerals present in the area.

Badwater Basin

The Badwater Basin is located below the sea level and was once covered in water, which left behind salt residue. So what looks like snow in the pictures is really salt! I found it funny that the name “Badwater” comes from the fact that the water there was salty and animals wouldn’t drink it.

To me, this is probably the most impressive point of Death Valley. I’m not sure how to describe it, so I’ll just leave it to the pictures. But be careful: it’s really tempting to walk far into the basin (we did), and then at one point you’re realising that the air is way too hot and the sun is burning and you’re so far away from your car!