I saw a documentary about Death Valley. It looks pretty cool (as in neat or keen :))
Has anyone here ever been?
What is it like? Are there hotels or guesthouses? Hospitals or first aid stations nearby? I know there is a national park so it must have rangers.
Is it commercialized enough for anyone with an air conditioned car to go?
Any other info or personal experiences I’d like to hear
I passed through there in 2007, didn’t see all that much but I did find a bar, a post office and…
…a golf course.
I went to Death Valley on a day trip while I was in Vegas a year or so ago, it was fascinating! At times it was quite eerie too, I was with a small group (minibus driver and four passengers) and we stopped at various places to get out and look around, and there was absolutely no sound at all. No cars, no people, no birds…just silence.
Not sure that there’s a lot of accommodation in the area, we weren’t looking for an overnight stay but I think there are some places to stay in Furnace Creek.
As with any extreme climate, prepare as though there was nothing there. Take plenty of water, both for you and your car, a hat to keep the sun off your head, sun block, and make sure your spare tire is not flat. A former boss’s wife died of exposure out there, and she was just taking a little side trip to see what was what. Car crapped out and nobody found her for about a week.
It’s been about a thousand years since I was there as a kid, but it is truly stunning. You will see some stuff that is completely unique to Death Valley and is absolutely fantastic. I believe there is a hotel at Furnace Creek. I’d recommend going in the late fall or early spring as I hear it gets pretty hot during the summer :). Make sure you’ve got a reliable vehicle.
I visited Death Valley in the winter and the weather was actually a little chilly, but perfect for hiking. There are a couple hotels (and a campground or two, maybe?) but we stayed outside of the park and drove in, as the hotels were fully booked.
It’s a barren and beautiful place, and full of fascinating history. It’s incredible to me that so many people eked out a living under those extremely harsh conditions.
My uber-geeky husband and son loved the fact that parts of Star Wars were shot there, so we spent some time searching for the locations.
I’d love to go back and explore the rest of the park (it’s huge), but I’m definitely going in the winter again. It’s a perfect time to visit.
Scotty’s Castle is pretty cool to visit.
We went there during the spring of 2005 when Southern California, including the deserts, had experienced record rainfall for months on end. The entire valley was covered in yellow, purple and white flowers, and there were at least 14,000 people there from all over the world to see it. So needless to say, accommodations were limited to camping on authorized open lots, which is how we did it. It was breathtakingly incredible, though.
If you really don’t want to camp, and need a hotel to stay at, The Furnace Creek Inn is probably your best bet.
It does bloom somewhat in the Spring each year, but to the extent that it did the year we visited only happens about every 100 years (or so we were told). But even when it’s not in bloom, there are some amazing guided hikes you can take, and some spectacular things to see, like the Natural Bridge Canyon (images) or the Golden Canyon to the Red Cathedral (hike info, images)
I spent a week there several years ago. We tent camped and hiked and such. There is at least one motel and at least one general store as well. A friend of ours was with us and his father-in-law was a ranger there for a long time, so we had a good guide. Some of the best trails were closed by the park service, but we still did a fair amount of hiking.
There are several camp grounds there, and that’s where we stayed at night. We went in mid to late May, I think. It was well over 100 degrees at the lower elevations, but very pleasant at the upper ones. I don’t suggest Furnace Creek as a campground. It’s at least as hot as the name suggests. I remember it feeling like that first blast of heat out of an oven. All the time. On the other hand, we stayed at another campground that was about a 7 mile hike from the top of Telescope Peak, and it was really nice. If you’re up for a long (but not super difficult) hike, Telescope Peak is really something to see. I don’t remember the trail being too steep, but the elevation is pretty high so it was a little breathless there at the end. Oddly, there was cellular service at the peak. We called home from there.
Definitely take lots of water (and probably some food) with you. There are rangers and some people live out there and there are the motels and such, but they’re few and far between. The park is huge, and lots of it is super desolate. GPS might be nice too, but that wasn’t very common when I was there before.
I’d forgotten all about that! That house still makes me want to have a waterfall in the living room!
I stopped there once, it was 108 at 11 AM, did not stay long.
I want to take a trip out there either this fall or next spring, so I’ve been doing some research. There are oodles of ghost towns to check out, if you’re into that!
Don’t you have to drive through it to get from L.A. to Las Vegas? Because I’ve driven that way a few times (I know that it’s geographically close to the route, but I’m not sure exactly where the boundaries are that officially mark “Death Valley” and whether that’s off the route or not)
The highway to Barstow runs through part of it. That’s where the woman I mentioned before bought the farm.
I went in October-perfect weather! Dry, warm days , about 76 f, and cool nights.
Visit Scotty’s castle and the Devil’s Golf Course. There is also a date ranch there. Stove Pipe Wells, ahs a decent motel, with a pool.
I’ve stayed at the Furnace Creek Ranch in the winter. It’s very nice, and the weather is pleasant that time of year. The scenery is beautiful.
I’ve been to Death Valley many times. What a fantastic place! The first time I went, there was a huge sandstorm. What a nightmare that was, waking up at 2AM with gusts of 50 mph battering my tent, and sand swirling all around. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go back, EVER! Ah, but the second time I went, I fell in love with the place. I’ve hiked to the top of Telescope Peak, had lunch in the Charcoal Kilns, driven out to the Race Track, played Frisbee at the bottom of Ubehebe Crater during a full moon, watched the sunset while floating in the pool at Furnace Creek…
But I think the strongest memory I have of Death Valley is the silence. One day we were driving back from Dante’s View, and we decided to pull off and hike up an un-named canyon. Once we had navigated a few twists and turns, we stopped for a drink, and it was utterly silent. Not a breath of wind, no birdsong, no crunch of boots on rock and sand…just silence. Amazing.
The silence is the part that impressed me the most too. I stopped at Crankshaft Junction in 2009 while on a visit to Death Valley and heard absolutely nothing. It was actually quite calming.
I liked Death Valley a lot. I saw it when I was a teen with my folks, and I still remember vividly Dante’s View, Ubehebe crater, Scotty’s castle, Artist’s Drive, and our lodgings in Furnace Creek Ranch.
I was especially impressed by seeing pupfish in the various oases out in the desert.
Yes! And a pipe organ in your basement! 