Hi I'm Ranger Clint Augustson I'm one of the Park Rangers
here at Death Valley National Park. I've worked in a number of National Parks
over the years and to me this place is one of the most special.
An Incredible diverse landscape with remarkable experiences everywhere you turn.
Now one of the most common questions we get here in Death Valley is: I have a limited
amount of time what should I do here? And if you only have a day this can be a
tricky question to answer, you see Death Valley is absolutely
enormous at 3.4 million acres it is the largest National Park in the lower 48 states.
It is about the size of the state of Connecticut, there's about a thousand
miles of road here, hundreds of trails and routes possible, eleven mountain
ranges each with its own unique character. It's a very diverse landscape
there are layers of diversity in plants in animal in human history in the
stories possible here so answering that question can be a challenge but if you
only have a day we want to provide you a list of options that will give you a
great opportunity to sample some of the best that Death Valley has to offer.
It's important to come prepared. There are certain pieces of safety information
that you want to keep in mind before you even get here. Especially if you are
arriving here in the summer you want to be prepared for extreme heat.
Summer temperatures often run above 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 49 degrees Celsius.
Make sure you have enough water with you for each person. The average person in Death
Valley in the summer will drink about a gallon of water a day. If your vehicle is
running into any trouble stay by your vehicle do not attempt to walk across
the desert as long as you're in the more popular sections of the park help will arrive soon.
The first thing you really want to do when you get to Death Valley is you want
to head over to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. This is a place where you
can interact with Park Rangers who are very experienced in the field who are
excited to share information with you and will be able to get you a map will
be able to get you a park guide and will be able to help you customize your trip
to your own interests. After stopping at the Visitor Center here are some of the
highlights we recommend for making the most out of your trip here in one day in Death Valley.
One of the most iconic locations in the park is what I
recommend for a start. Traveling about a half hour south from
Furnace Creek Visitor Center you'll arrive at Badwater Basin. Not only is it
the lowest place in North America is one of the hottest and driest places in the world.
If you walk out just a half-hour you'll be out on the salt flat itself.
This is something you've probably seen in photographs you might see salt
polygons stretching out in every direction
dazzling white light at sunrise and at sunset it is one of the most evocative
places you can go in the park and it is one of the most unique landscapes that
people think of when they consider Death Valley. As you walk back from the salt
flats look up at the Black Mountains to the east and you'll see a sea-level sign
now that sign is indicating that sea level is about 282 feet above you.
After visiting Badwater Basin you'll continue north on Badwater Road.
One of the next fascinating spot would be Artists Drive. As you head up to the
north of Badwater Basin you'll see a turn off to your right. As you head on
this nine mile one-way drive you will be going through colorful sculpted badlands
as you look off to the side you will see rock walls plastered with a diverse
array of colors almost as though a child splashed paint on the hillsides- you will
see greens and purples you'll see yellows and reds this is evidence of
past volcanic activity providing a huge array of minerals providing a dazzling palette.
After Artists Palette just a short 15 to 20 minute drive away is one
of the absolute best views in the park. Off of highway 190 to the right you'll
see Zabriskie Point. Follow the short trail to the top for one of the absolute
best views of the badlands of Death Valley National Park. This sculpted
twisted colorful landscape represents the remnants of an ancient lake bed
uplifted along with the Black Mountains eroded away by water and time forming a
diverse landscape of colorful sculpted hillsides. This place is especially
beautiful at sunrise and at sunset when this landscape is drenched in soft filtered light.
Now if you only have a couple of hours those are the three I would focus on.
But if you have more time then you can start to travel further afield to some other
remarkable landscapes in Death Valley.
From Zabriskie Point about a 35 minute drive to the west on 190 you'll arrive
at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. The sand dunes are a remarkable environment you
might remember as a child playing around in a sandbox this is an absolutely
enormous natural sandbox. You can almost feel like a kid again as you run down
the dunes even try rolling down one of the dunes as you play in the sand with
your hands as you lift it up and recognize that you're holding what feels
almost like sugar the sand here is incredibly fine in fact you could fit a
billion grains of sand in a single cubic foot. Now this soft sand actually plays
host to an enormous variety of life that here on the dunes kangaroo rats, zebra
lizards, coyote, a diverse array of life plays host to a drama playing out each
and every day and each and every night. And as you look up around at the dunes
around you recognize that you are looking at pulverized mountains the
mountains around us broken down over time carried by wind to one particular
spot where it funnels around to form undulating patterns almost like satin
spread across the landscape.
Depending on your interests you may want to go to Salt Creek Interpretive Trail
where in the springtime you can see one of the rarest fish on the planet the
Salt Creek Pupfish, endemic only to this stream about one inch to three inches
long, they're called pupfish because they are highly active and energetic.
You will see clouds of them swimming about.
For those interested in some of the human history in Death Valley
I recommend checking out Harmony Borax Works. Just about a mile north of the
Furnace Creek Visitor Center this fascinating site tells the story of
borax within Death Valley. Believe it or not borax had a very
important role to play in Death Valley becoming in National Park in the first place.
Though people sought out precious metals, gold and silver some of the most
profitable material in the park was this humble salt, this precipitant, borax.
Of my other favorite spots in the park is about a 45 minute drive to the east
and a little to the south of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. If you want to get
what is possibly the best view you can drive to in the park I highly recommend
going out to Dante's View. This is located over a vertical mile above the
valley floor overlooking a panorama out to the west toward the Panamint Mountains.
Recognize that when you are standing up there you are looking down
over a vertical mile almost as if you are seeing into the Grand Canyon.
To prepare for your trip go to Death Valley National Parks website or the
website of our official nonprofit Park the Death Valley Natural History Association.
There you can learn more about things to do
hiking options, camping options, other lodging and learn more about the science
and history of Death Valley National Park.
Hopefully after one day you'll recognize that there is so much more here
Hopefully you'll come back time and time again to explore the vast ecosystems
the enormous array of activities, the endless possibilities for adventure, for reflection
for wonder here in Death Valley National Park.
We hope you enjoy your National Park.