Death Valley: 7 Days Exploring the Hottest, Driest, and Lowest Place in America

Death Valley National Park and its surrounding areas feature America’s hottest, driest, and lowest locations. Nevertheless, the park and nearby regions are geologically fascinating, scenic, and a photographer’s dream destination during the golden hours. Despite the deep valleys and soaring mountains, there are also some of the world’s flattest landscapes where, under the right conditions, rocks can literally sail in the wind. The park offers miles of overlanding routes that range from easy to hard, making exploration thrilling. Here is what we saw and did during our seven days in and around Death Valley National Park.

It’s been over 40 years since we last visited Death Valley. We only had a car and tent camped with two little toddlers. Needless to say, we didn’t get to explore as much as we would have liked. Therefore, during our three-month maiden trip in our new Phoenix Camper, we included Death Valley on our “must-visit” list. We allocated seven days, which still felt too short.

To break up a long driving day from Joshua Tree to Death Valley National Park, we detoured off California’s SR 178 and traveled the bumpy 5-mile BLM dirt road to the Trona Pinnacles. The Trona Pinnacles sit on an ancient dry lakebed, showcasing numerous towering Tufa Towers. They possess a stark beauty and are easily accessible, making them popular with weekend overlanders and other tourists from the Los Angeles area during winter weekends. We are glad we arrived early on a Friday to secure one of the better boondocking sites next to the main group of Tufa Towers. Both sunset and sunrise were fantastic. In addition to the main Tufa Tower area, a few other groups of Tufa Towers appear less crowded and are just a bit farther along the bumpy access road. There is plenty of boondocking available in the area.

After a sunrise hike among the Tufa Towers, we set off for three days to explore the main tourist areas of Death Valley around Stovepipe Wells, Furnace Creek, and SR 190. Arriving on a warm winter Saturday, this area was crowded. Nevertheless, we secured a campsite at the smaller Texas Springs campground to serve as our base for the next three days. Due to the continuous crowds, we never hiked Golden Canyon. However, we explored many other tourist sites in the central area, including Artist Drive, Zabriskie Point, Devil’s Golf Course, Badwater, Natural Bridge Canyon, the Harmony Borax Mine, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, and the flat salt beds with their six-sided geometric patterns along the 4WD West Side Road. At 282 feet below sea level, Badwater is the lowest point in the United States.

After we finished exploring the central area around Furnace Creek, we planned three days in the northern section for remote exploration and overlanding. On our way, we stopped to hike the lower part of Titus Canyon. We intended to visit the old Rhyolite Ghost Town and mine, then return to the park via the one-way Titus Canyon gravel road. However, the narrow gravel road through the canyon was closed to all bikes and vehicles due to massive flooding in August 2023 that had destroyed the road.

Our original three-day plan for the northern section of the park involved following a long overland route past the 3000-year-old Ubehebe Crater, spending a night at the relatively uncrowded Mesquite Springs campground, and traveling overland via Racetrack Road to “The Racetrack” dry lakebed. The slope of the dry lakebed varies by less than 1.5 inches over its 3-mile length, making it one of the flattest spots in the world. It is also where the rocks sail in the wind when conditions are right. While we were there, we got lucky and met two scientists who led the team to discover how the rocks sail. They were escorting a film crew making a documentary about the rocks.

After visiting the Racetrack, we would camp at the nearby free primitive Homestake Campground before proceeding to the Saline Warm Springs in the far northwest section of the park via the rough roads of Hunter Mountain and Saline Valley.

Even though we filled up with the park’s cheapest gas option at Stovepipe Wells before heading north, the side trips and rough roads significantly impacted our gas mileage. Consequently, we were uncertain whether we could complete the loop before running out of fuel. Therefore, we adjusted our plans at Homestake Campground and retraced our route. We had to forgo the chance for our first hot bath in a long time by skipping the Saline Warm Springs. Thus, we added the remote and seldom-visited Lee Flats in the western section of the park. Lee Flats was our last night of boondocking in Death Valley, surrounded by a large, healthy forest of Joshua trees with no one around.

It is essential to exercise caution when overlanding in Death Valley, which covers an impressive 3.4 million acres. Plan your routes and obtain accurate mileage estimates, as small-scale maps can make distances appear closer than they are. I use the Gaia GPS App because it provides excellent maps and functions offline. Be mindful of your truck camper’s fuel consumption on rough roads; my fuel efficiency drops from a normal 11.5 mpg to 8-9 mpg on bumpy dirt paths. I would not recommend venturing onto dirt roads with highway tires because sharp rocks may shred them.

Additionally, I carry a shovel, tire plugs, MaxTrax, a 6-ton Power Puller with a winch extension line, a tree saver, and pulleys to enhance mechanical advantage. I consult with the rangers about weather and road conditions and obtain the park’s excellent free off-road map, which includes detailed descriptions of the roads’ difficulties and sights. This map is better suited for planning than for detailed navigation. Many of the dirt roads are ideal for single rear-wheel truck campers, while some are not. For instance, Lippencott Road begins at Homestake Campground and offers the shortest route to the Saline Warm Springs. However, it is too narrow and steep for all truck campers. This is why, in our original plan, we intended to take the longer Hunter Mountain Road route.

Even with the cautions listed above, Death Valley is an excellent truck camper heaven. Single rear-wheel trucks will experience fewer tire issues on the rougher dirt roads, but “duallies” should be able to access some of the remote locations too. There is plenty of territory to explore with any truck camper; plan wisely. Due to time constraints, we didn’t make it to the Eureka Sand Dunes or Telescope Peak, so we will be back. With 3.4 million acres to explore at Death Valley National Park, seven days were not enough.