TRIP IDEA

Half a Day or more in Death Valley in the Summer? Check Out these Spots!

Beehive-shaped stone structures, in a row, set in a scrubby pine forest.
Topic(s) Archeology, Architecture and Building, Commerce, Industry, Mining, Night Sky, Scenic Views, Westward Expansion, The Gold Rush, Aviation, Canyons and Canyonlands, Geology, Military, Photography, Geothermal, Groundwater, Volcanoes
Activities Scenic Driving
Type Outdoors
Parks Death Valley National Park
A jet fighter plane flies through a rainbow colored canyon.
A jet rips through Rainbow Canyon, part of the military low-level flying training.

NPS photo/Kessler

Do you have a half day or more to spend in Death Valley after visiting the must-see-spots in 1-2 hours and an extra few hours? Then check out the locations listed below to add extra adventures to your trip! Interested in mining history? Check out the charcoal kilns in the higher elevations! Do you like military planes and beautiful canyons? Visit Father Crowleys Vista Point for a view of Rainbow Canyon and the Panamint Mountains. The military uses this area for their low-level flying training so you might get lucky and see a fighter jet ripping through the canyon. Interested in geology? Visit the Ubehebe Crater, an amazing maar volcano!
  • Death Valley National Park

    Take a Drive to the Charcoal Kilns
    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Scenic Driving
    • Pets: No
    • Duration: 3 Hours
    Beehive shaped brick kilns in a row.

    A visit to the Charcoal Kilns starts with the drive up Emigrant Canyon Road. Enjoy traveling through multiple ecological life zones with a diversity of plant and animals.The charcoal kilns complex in Wildrose Canyon is among the more remarkable historical-architectural features of Death Valley National Park. These ten beehive shaped masonry structures, about 25 feet high, are believed to be the best known surviving example of such kilns to be found in the western states.

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  • Death Valley National Park

    View Rainbow Canyon
    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Scenic Driving
    • Pets: Yes with Restrictions
    Looking down a colorful canyon with distant desert mountains.

    A landscape of dark lava flows and volcanic cinders abruptly gives way to the chasm of Rainbow Canyon below Father Crowley Vista Point. Walk the dirt track east of the parking lot for a grand overlook of northern Panamint Valley. Keep your eyes to the sky- the military uses this area for their jet fighter low-flight training throughout the week. Pets are not permitted out of the parking area.

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  • Death Valley National Park

    Visit Ubehebe Crater
    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Scenic Driving
    • Pets: No
    • Duration: 90 Minutes
    A 600 foot multi-hued crater in the desert rock.

    Visit Ubehebe Crater, a 600 ft deep maar volcano in northern Death Valley. The crater can be viewed from the parking area or for the adventurous, from the hike around the rim in the cooler months. The drive to the crater is also a part of the adventure! Look to the west while traveling on the North Highway to see some of the largest bajadas (connected alluvial fans) in the world!

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Last updated: May 20, 2018