Death Valley National Park hiking, driving the race track, and other information

Death Valley National Park California

Death Valley National Park California Badwater Basin is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. The Black Mountains are across the road from the salt flats which makes for a surreal landscape from every angle. In the past, Badwater Basin was a 30-foot lake but it evaporated and left a layer of salt behind that is up to a five foot deep. Walking into this evaporated lake can feel weird because it is so flat and so large. The briny pond just to the right of the boardwalk is four times saltier than the ocean remains in the basin during the winter but shrinks to a puddle in the summer. Hiking through Death Valley in the summer is not recommended because the temperatures can easily get into the hundreds. Another Death Valley classic is the Artist's Drive which is a scenic drive on a 9-mile one-way road. Vehicles less than 25 feet can take the dips and curves through ravines and rock formations. The highlight of this drive is to stop at the Artist's Palette where the colors range from pink, green, purple, brown and black rock. These many colors were formed during explosive volcanic times and the best time to see these brilliant colors is during the evening when the sun is setting.

Death Valley is the largest park in the contiguous U.S. with more than 3.3 million acres of wilderness for backcountry camping and hiking. The peak season to visit is through the winter and early spring months. Death Valley has more than 785 miles of paved roads including hundreds of miles of unpaved road suitable for mountain biking. Highlights of the park are Eureka Dunes, Scotty's Castle, Ubehebe Crater, The Racetrack, and Titus Canyon. In the central part of Death Valley near Stovepipe Wells are the Sand Dunes, Mosaic Canyon, and Salt Creek. Near the Furnace Creek Visitor Center are Golden Canyon, Zabriskie Point, Artist's Drive, Devil's Golf Course, Natural Bridge, Badwater Basin, and Dante's View. Panamint Springs highlights include Lee Flat Joshua Trees, Father Crowley Point, and the Charcoal Kilns all in the western part of Death Valley.

Coyotes are one of the many animals you might see while at Death Valley National Park, along with road runners, bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, kangaroo rat, chuckwalla and scorpions. The hike up Mosaic Canyon hike is through a narrow, marble-walled canyon and there is some scrambling early in the hike. The mosaic walls seen throughout the hike are fragments of rocks that have been naturally cemented together. The distance of the Mosaic Canyon hike is less than three miles total. If you are planning on visiting the Sand Dunes then you really should take the time to walk through Mosaic Canyon. Scotty's Castle is a 55 mile drive north from Furnace Creek but it is a quiet drive through the national park. And you never know what kind of wildlife you might come across. A quick car tour around Twenty Mule Team Canyon just south of Furnace Creek Visitor Center is another way to see some of the park. It is a maintained unpaved road that loops back to the main road. You can stop your car wherever you want and explore the hills.

We hiked the Golden Canyon Trail to Red Cathedral and Manly Beacon on through to Gower Gulch Loop. At the trailhead make sure you grab a trail guide on the Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch hike because there are other trails that connect such as the 2.5 mile addition to Zabriskie Point. This trail winds through narrows, colorful rock formations, climbing to views of the badlands, down through a dry wash with old borax mines, ending with optional rock scrambling around a 25-foot drop-off, and a walk along the road back to the parking along the base of the hills.

Jason's thoughts - Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch Loop trail provided us with some nIce simple easy hiking with almost complete privacy. Remember folks the earlier you go and the further you go the less people you will see. The colors were nearly as impressive as the canyon walls of Zion, but without the crowds they were especially fun to walk through.
Kelly's thoughts - I totally loved hiking the Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch Loop trail. We started at 6 a.m. so the temperature was perfect for the climb to Manly Beacon as well as seeing the sun rise over the valley. I did not know that Mosaic Canyon was full of marble. I couldn't believe how beautiful, soft, and cool it was, oh yea, extremely slippery too.

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