From Salt to Sand: A Day at Death Valley National Park (California)

Unintentionally matching the park sign

Where we stayed: Best Western Pahrump Oasis
Where we ate: El Jefe, Mom’s Diner
Audio Tour: GuideAlong Death Valley
Other Resources: AllTrails National Park Guides

We flew in to Las Vegas late on a Sunday night via an Allegiant direct flight and made the 1 hour drive to the city of Pahrump. The route takes you through the Spring Mountains along the way. With no streetlights, it was pitch black and the mountains were just shadows rising up along the side of the road. When we arrived at the hotel it was a little after 1am. After an issue getting in to our room we were tired and fell into bed.

We are not exactly early birds and it had been a late night, so we took our time in the morning packing daybags and grabbing a quick breakfast and supplies in town, then started to make our way in to the Eastern entrance to the park.

We LOVED using the GuideAlong app when we were at Yellowstone and Grand Teton, so we were thrilled to hear our old friend again. Driving to the park I was in such a good mood with my coffee in hand, a beautiful day outside, and another national park adventure with my love ahead. But I got more and more anxious as we drove because the audio warned us numerous times about the dangers and the lack of resources available in the park. Apparently Death Valley is larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined, but with just one spot for gas and water refills and no cell service. Things got especially eerie when we reached the Death Valley junction. Amargosa Opera House Hotel had come up on some lists of places to stay if you were going to the park, but I was sketched by the warning not to leave clothes on the floor due to scorpions and spiders, so I had looked elsewhere. Seeing it in person I was absolutely HORRIFIED that it was on any list of places to stay. This place, with its peeling paint, looked completely abandoned except for one car parked outside the front door. I know it’s ‘historic’, but it had true murder motel status. I questioned if its truly operational, but after checking the website again, it really does appear so.

And so we continued on, away from resources. Into a dangerous landscape. But we were well stocked with water and gas. I also had my Garmin with (which would allow me to call for help even without regular cell service). And it was only 75 degrees out! Frankly, I thought they were being over the top with these warnings until we met some ladies at the park entrance sign that had absolutely zero clue about the park and had just shown up on a whim.

Twenty Mule Team Canyon

After a photo session at the park sign, we were headed for Zabriskie Point, but we got excited by what we were hearing/seeing about Twenty Mule Team Canyon and decided to whip back around and go for it. The 20 minute drive through ‘Tatooine’ was well worth the detour.

Hopping out for a minute partway through the drive.

Zabriskie Point

We exited back on to the main drag and made our way to Zabriskie Point, which was spectacular. It was our first real chance to see the variety of terrain, including the Pantamint Mountains, Artist’s Palette, the salt flats, and spire that rises above DV called Manly Beacon.

This is a jumping off point for the hike Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral (2.9mi r/t) and the longer Golden Canyon and Gower Gulch Loop via Zabriskie Point (6.4mi r/t). I would love to go back and hike these! It’s really starting to dawn on me how great it is that we have a direct flight to Vegas from the QC.

Devil’s Golf Course

I had a rough itinerary for the day, but the GuideAlong app fills in the rest with great recommendations. The next stop recommended was Devil’s Golf Course, which is a very bizarre landscape of rock salt eroded into sharp spires for as far as you can see.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin was a must-see on my list. Once a lake, it is lowest point in North America. It occasionally accumulates water from heavy rain storms now, but typically the water only lasts for a small period of time in the basin. I was a bit surprised to see the polygons so…shallow? I felt like in photos I had seen these thick salt crusts, but in person they were spidery veins. Since returning home I learned that the area filled with water in 2023 in the aftermath of a hurricane and was refilled in 2024 due to an atmospheric river. This flooded the basin and surrounding roads leading to closures for much of the last two years. So the polygons have only recently returned at all!

Similar to our Yellowstone / Grand Teton trip, our m.o. in the park was basically to drive a route that allows us to see as much as possible without feeling too rushed and to hop out and do short hikes as time and energy allow. The 2 mile Badwater Basin Salt Flats Trail ended up being our longest walk of the day. Not exactly a ‘trail’, you pretty much just head straight out on to the flats and walk until you feel like turning around.

The salt polygons are a result of groundwater rising through salt deposits and evaporating.

Artist’s Palette

Like Zabriskie Point, I didn’t start the AllTrails app for this one, since it was probably only .3 miles roundtrip. But wow there was a lot to take in! The colorful hills are created by oxidized minerals. This is also where we saw our first fauna of the day - some very large common ravens (corvus corax) in the parking area.

Furnace Creek Visitor Center

We made a brief stop at the Visitor’s Center, which had a great interpretive area. One of the neatest things about Death Valley is that it is a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park, the highest rating given by the International Dark-Sky Association. (I fell in love with dark sky zones when we were in Flagstaff!) It's known for some of the best stargazing in the United States. We weren’t going to be staying overnight to witness it ourselves, but we did enjoy learning more about that aspect of the park.

Outside there is a large thermometer you can take a selfie with. I don’t think it’s meant for the 74 degree days, though.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

We ended our day at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, arriving right during the golden hour. I love when timing works out without necessarily planning it! Ironically, this is the one time I forgot to grab my camera, so I had to make due with my iPhone 14.

Walking the dunes was harder than I expected and we dumped loads of sand out of our shoes after. I was quite aware of the snake trails in the sand and steered far clear of the Mesquite trees I thought they might be hiding in, while Matt predictably walked as close to them as possible.

Wind patterns in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Hells Gate

To exit the park, we could either return the way we came in, or add about 15mins by driving out through Hell’s Gate and past the ghost town of Rhyolite. We opted for the latter, making a quick stop off to get one last look at the park.

As dusk approached we spotted some wild burros (equua asinus). We later found out that they are invasive and though they may be helpful in some ways, they are destructive in others and the park wants to remove them.

Invasive wild burros

Rhyolite Ghost Town

The sun was setting fast now and we did not spend a single extra second in Rhyolite. Combined with the the Goldwell Open Air Museum we drove through on the way in, it really gave us the creeps!

Bottle House

A Joshua tree at Rhyolite Ghost Town

Lands of the Timbisha Shoshone

Throughout the day, we learned about the complicated history of the park. The Timbisha Shoshone are a Native American tribe who have lived in Death Valley (unbelievably!) for centuries and hunted and gathered food seasonally. The area was invaded by miners and capitalists. Eventually local conservationists called for its protection and it became a national monument, but the Shoshone were forced to live in a small village and couldn’t practice their traditional ways. We’re learning now that conservation efforts are not always as successful as the land management tribes provided. But the protection of the parks is essential and fortunately the tribe is an active partner with the park now.

Pahrump

Back in Pahrump we had beer and tacos to end our day. Breakfast the next morning was at Mom’s Diner and then we made the drive back to Las Vegas where I had a work function to attend. It was cool to see the Spring Mountains in the daylight. With a little extra time on our hands, we even decided to take the more scenic route through Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Although it was a short trip, it feels like we saw so much. Death Valley National Park definitely exceeded my expectations and I’d be happy to go back and see some of the things we had to skip and do some of the hikes!