Death Valley National Park

About Death Valley National Park

This place is nuts… Death Valley is easily one of the coolest places in the United States, a fact not an opinion. Death Valley has so much to offer from majestic dunes to waterfall oases to mars-like environments. This place is huge, so make sure you have a couple of days to explore. I only had 3 and it was not enough, but it leaves plenty of opportunity for when I return.

Rhyolite Ghost Town

I took this trip with a couple of my close friends and we arrived later at night. On the drive-in right before the park entrance on the east side, we passed rhyolite ghost town. My friends urged me to turn in and I knew I could potentially be possessed but I didn’t want to seem lame. We drove to the end of the road and got out to check out one of the buildings that were still quite intact. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I pointed my camera at the front side of the building and it lit up in green. The strange thing was that there was no sort of green light around at all. The place was haunted. We stayed for a bit, got some sick pictures, found a dead rabbit with its head cut off, and had a new experience.

Camping in Death Valley

Next, we were on to the park. I had done quite a bit of planning and found out that there was backcountry camping available for free, this was the move. The first night we just found a little spot on the side of the road and pulled over for the night. I would suggest finding camping spots early as it is prohibited to camp in certain areas of the park and the areas in which you can camp can be pretty rocky.

What to do in Death Valley

We started the next morning off with some amazing sunrise views and coffee, my kind of morning. We hit the road again and drove to the crater on the north side of the park. The crater was cool and deep, but if you don’t have the time I wouldn’t go out of the way to see it. It is near the Racetrack Playa, so if you are heading out there then I would stop by and check it out.

Next, we did quite a bit of driving across the expansive desert to go see a waterfall near Panamint Springs. Darwin Falls is only about a mile hike up and back and it is tucked into a beautiful canyon. It was amazing to see something such as a waterfall in Death Valley.

Our next stop was the Mesquite Sand Dunes. These are the most popular dunes but there are a few others around the park that I want to check out next time. Dunes are always so cool and fun, it was getting dark out so we didn’t have enough time to explore all the dunes but I can only imagine how many different angles and stunning photographs there are to be had here.

We left the dunes and drove down the road a bit to find a spot to pull off and camp. Undercooked burgers and chips were for dinner, they were good after a long day… About an hour after we had set up camp, a park ranger pulled up and told us we had to move and couldn’t camp where we were. There were no signs as to where to or not to camp. This was a bit frustrating as it was cold out and all I could think about was a bottle of warm water between my crotch in my sleeping bag. Pro-tip, this will help keep you warm all night in cold weather. Anyways, we eventually got all our stuff packed up and found a new spot for the night. We camped near Zabriskie Point about a mile or so down a dirt road. We tried to camp on mule team road and were kicked off that one so don't set up there.

More things to do in Death Valley

The next day we were up bright and early to catch the sunrise at Zabriskie Point. The colors and textures in the rocks were amazing, especially with the warm sunlight bouncing off of the landscape. I would highly suggest checking out this spot at sunrise or sunset, sunrise lets the light come off the scenery a bit more and sunset has the sun dropping behind the mountains in the background.

Our next stop of the day was at Dante’s Point, the highest part in the park that looks down into the valley. It was super windy but the views couldn’t be beaten from above. Everything looked so small.

Our final stop of the trip was at Badwater Basin. This is the spot to go to. Upon arrival at Badwater, there wasn’t much to see other than some mud and tourists. The real magic happens about a mile or two out. My friends and I made it our mission to go out further than anybody and oh boy does the landscape change the further out you walk. Eventually, we were walking on blue, ice-like patches of salt. It felt as if I was on Mars and was easily one of the coolest and more breathtaking places I have ever been. We stayed and watched the sunset and got some amazing pictures.

We headed back to our campsite and cooked up some legendary Badwater dogs for diner, which were hotdogs with mac and cheese in the bun. They were pretty phenomenal. We got a good night's rest and headed back the next day.

Overall, Death Valley was amazing. There is so much to explore and I can’t wait to get back again to visit some of the other dunes and the racetrack playa. I also am excited to try some astrophotography in the area and capture the milky way as there is almost no light pollution in the area. Stay tuned for more!