Disconnecting in Death Valley

Before my first trip to Death Valley National Park two weeks ago, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had seen photos and videos of its colorful mountains, and I already knew that the desert is a great space to disconnect, but I didn’t know much more than that about the park. Now that I’ve visited though, I’m excited to share my experience with you! Here are my favorite spots from the weekend:

Artists Palette

Popular photos and videos of Artists Palette were actually what inspired me to explore Death Valley! Even just the drive over was beautiful—AJ compared it to the ride at Cars Land with the windy road surrounded by mountains and some fun dips in the road, and I couldn’t agree more. I also loved walking around the area and being fully surrounded by colorful mountains that look like they’ve been splattered with pastels. There’s a reason it’s called Artists Palette!

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge reminded me of some of the terrain that I’ve explored in Utah. It’s a really short out-and-back walk from the parking lot, and most people just took photos at the bridge and walked back. Natural Bridge is along the same highway as Artists Palette and Badwater Basin, so it’s easy to make a quick stop here to explore!

Mesquite Flat Dunes

In my opinion, Mesquite Flat Dunes was one of the most unique aspects of the park. Before this trip, I had only visited one other location with sand dunes, so this was a pretty novel experience for me. I loved feeling the warm sand below my feet, spinning around in the light wind, and looking out at the mountains in the distance. For the Star Wars junkies out there (@my younger brother): when I was exploring the dunes, I felt like they looked like they were straight out of Star Wars, and it turns out that they are! Whether you’re a fan of these movies or not, I have a feeling that you’ll love walking around in this peaceful spot. There are also other sand dunes in the area that you can go to, but this one is the most well-known and the easiest to get to without a four-wheel drive.

Golden Canyon

Golden Canyon at golden hour—magic. I was only able to spend 20 minutes here before heading off to Zabriskie Point for sunset, but it was such a beautiful canyon. I spent every minute looking around in awe at the towering golden rocks. There are lots of different hikes that you can go on from the trailhead, including the “Complete Circuit’ that takes you to Red Cathedral (which looks beautiful) and Zabriskie Point. I truly wish that I had more time at this spot, but guess I’ll just have to make the trek over to Death Valley again!

Badwater Basin

This is probably the most touristy thing on my list, but it’s something that I felt like I just had to do, and I also wanted to see it! Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America and is completely covered in salt flats. I hadn’t visited salt flats before this trip, so this was another unique aspect of Death Valley for me. Badwater Basin was one of the more crowded spots, but the salt flats are really vast, so you don’t have to worry about being too close to anyone.

Zabriskie Point

I loved this spot so much that I went here two days in a row. This is the spot for sunset in Death Valley and it opened my eyes to just how diverse the park is! The rolling colorful hills reminded me of Bryce Canyon National Park, but with its own Death Valley color palette and flair, of course. This sunset lookout is very close to the visitor center and is just a ten-minute drive from Sunset Campground, where we camped. The parking lot started to fill up as it got closer to sunset, so I would recommend coming a bit earlier to guarantee a parking spot.

Let me know if you have any questions about these spots or just Death Valley in general! As always, I would check NPS before you go. Since Death Valley doesn’t have the best WiFi, I would also recommend downloading locations on Google Maps before you leave for your trip. Death Valley may not be as “grand” as other national parks like Zion or Yosemite, but it definitely has its own unique beauty. I hope that you get to experience all of its sand dunes, colorful mountains, and more!