Palm Springs & Desert Attractions
Death Valley National Park
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- Must-see
About 300 miles northeast of Los Angeles, vast Death Valley National Park is a place of extremes: hottest, driest, lowest. Amid its timeless quietude, visitors may hear the wind traveling across the desert floor or the echo of a raven's caw off a distant mountain. Families might enjoy visiting a few of the ghost towns throughout the park, seeing the unparalleled springtime wildflowers, exploring the otherworldly sand dunes or spotting desert coyotes.
Timing is everything
During summer, the temperature can easily hit 120, but the park offers solitude and pleasant daytime temperatures to winter guests. High season is from mid-February to mid-April, peaking in a gorgeous display of spring wildflowers, if the weather cooperates.
Don't miss
Start at Furnace Creek Interpretive Center to get information about what to see, or listen in as rangers give educational lectures. The museum here recalls the valley's borax-mining days and explains how Death Valley won the temporary title of the hottest place on Earth. Other don't-misses include Badwater Basin, which is, at 282 feet below sea level, the Western Hemisphere's lowest point, and sunrise over Zabriskie Point.
Inside track
The visitor center at Furnace Creek is 310 miles from L.A. if you enter by the eastern or western entrance to the national park (both State Route 190); from the south on State Route 178 and Emigrant Pass Road, it's 285 miles from L.A. The park's main roads are fine for two-wheel-drive passenger cars, but backcountry roads often require a four-wheel-drive vehicle with high clearance.
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