An overview of our trip to Death Valley, CA

 

When we were planning our trip and I told people we were going to Death Valley, every single person replied: "Why?".  Death Valley is the largest national park in the lower 48 states at over 3 million acres.  It is fascinating and has its own stark beauty.  You can visit the lowest point in North America (Badwater Basin 282 feet below sea level) and are a few hours drive from the highest point in the lower 48 states at Mt. Whitney.  It is an extreme place in every sense.  The highest recorded temperature ever was recorded at Badwater Basin.  It is remote, yet a few hours drive from one of the most populated cities in the U.S.

Despite its seeming isolation, Death Valley has several hotels in the National Park.  In addition to the two hotels we visited, there is a resort at Panamint Springs and a modest hotel in Stovepipe Wells.  There are many campgrounds and some gas stations and stores.

This is an overview of our recent (April 2025 trip) with links to my blog pages about each point of interest.

We started our trip at the Mission Inn in Riverside.  The drive along I-15 was surprisingly busy.  It is a popular route to Las Vegas and there were a lot of large trucks on the road.  After a 90-minute drive, we took a break by stopping at the Calico Ghost Town.  In Baker (home of the tallest thermometer), we got gas and turned onto Rte. 127.  This is a quiet road and I was comforted by the Call Boxes every mile.  When we turned on to Rte. 190, entering the National Park, it was a little concerning.  We saw another car about every 15 minutes and there weren't any Call Boxes.  We had a full water bottles for each person and an additional three gallons of water.  There is absolutely nothing on this road!  There is no shade.  We downloaded our maps, just in case.  We didn't lose service, however.  The total drive-time was four hours from Riverside..  

One place we wished we had stopped was the Amaragosa Opera House.  It looks abandoned, but is an operating hotel with a theater.  There is also a resort with hot springs in Tecopa, just outside the National Park.  This also looked promising.

We stayed at the Ranch at Death Valley in the Furnace Creek section of Death Valley.  We stayed two nights.  We had planned to stay an additional day, but the temperature was over 100 degrees, so we spent a morning exploring the many sights in Furnace Creek.   We really enjoyed our meals at Inn at Death Valley.  It is a mile from the Ranch and the food was gourmet.  It is a fancy hotel!

We headed home along Rte. 190 to the Mesquite Flat Dunes.  We continued along CA 190-West toward Lone Pine.  This part of the Park is much busier with campgrounds at Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs.  Both of these places had a hotel, gas station, a restaurant and a small store.  After about 90-minutes, we came to Lone Pine with stops to see Manzanar, and the Mobius Arch.  Lone Pine had several restaurants and coffee shops and is firmly in civilization.  The view of Mt. Whitney, from the town center, is stunning. 

The drive back along Rte. 395 was quick with much less traffic.  We added Red Rocks State Park to our list of places to see next time.  Our next trip will be to Bishop and then exploring the Mono Lake and Mammoth Region.