We’ve visited over a third of the U.S. National Parks and Death Valley National Park in Southern California consistently remains in our TOP 5 Favorite Parks! This otherworldly landscape is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the United States and the largest in the lower 48. We only had two days earmarked for Death Valley on our epic 10-day road trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, so we woke up early and went to bed late, and crammed in as much of this amazing park as possible in just 48 hours! This jam-packed 2-day Death Valley itinerary may not be for everyone, but we’re showing you that it’s doable! Here’s how you can make it work:
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Day 1
Wake up at the crack of dawn (in our case to the sound of wild burros braying outside of our Airbnb) because we’ve got a busy day ahead of us! It takes about 45 minutes to get from the closest town in Beatty, NV to our first stop in Death Valley National Park. At least we can appreciate the views on the way in!
1. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
Our first stop is the incredible Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. These picturesque 140′ high sand dunes are right off the main road in a central part of the park known as Stovepipe Wells.
It’s best to hit Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes early in the day for a few reasons: the sand is cooler, there are fewer people, and therefore fewer footprints messing up your perfect shot! There is no trail on the dunes, so you are free to hike on foot wherever your heart desires! We definitely recommend high top shoes or boots… walking uphill through loose sand is no easy task, and its much harder if your shoes are full of sand!
Mesquite Flats and is significantly more accessible compared to Death Valley’s other well-known sand dunes: the Eureka Sand Dunes. Getting to the massive 600′ Eureka Sand Dunes requires 20-40 miles of driving on graded dirt roads to the northern, more remote section of the park. This didn’t fit into our 2-day itinerary, but if you’ve got some extra time and a high clearance 4WD vehicle, go for it!
2. Mosaic Canyon
Our next stop, Mosaic Canyon is just 10 minutes away. Its name comes from the intricate mosaic-like patterns etched into the rock surfaces of the canyon, resulting from centuries of erosion and weathering. The ~4mi out-and-back, 1200′ elevation gain hike begins with a steady incline that gradually leads you deeper into the canyon’s towering walls, which are composed of beautiful polished marble and limestone. The trail has a ton of interesting geological features, including narrow passageways, smooth channels, and sculpted alcoves. Some technical scrambling is required toward the end of the trail – this was our favorite part!
3. Zabriskie Point
Now let’s backtrack a bit and head ~40min southeast towards Furnace Creek area of the park. Zabriskie Point is a quick, easy, and rewarding roadside stop in Death Valley. It has a short (0.4mi out and back) but steep paved path that leads to an overlook with stunning views of Death Valley’s badlands.
It’s a pretty popular spot (we witnessed three photoshoots in progress during our quick stop), but there’s plenty of space to spread out!
If you’re up for a longer trek, consider hiking the 6.4-mile Golden Canyon and Gower Gulch Loop, which begins right from Zabriskie Point. A shorter alternative to this is our next stop.
4. Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral
Just about 10 minutes away is our next hike, The Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral Trail. This 3.5mi out-and-back trail feels right out of Star Wars! The initial portion of the hike is relatively flat, leading you through the impressive Golden Canyon while the final portion involves some scrambling, and leads up ~750’ of elevation gain to panoramic views of the majestic spires of the Red Cathedral.
5. Artist’s Palette
The last stop of the day is Artist’s Palette! The colors of this vibrant, otherworldly landscape come from the natural iron and chlorite-rich volcanic deposits that paint the hills! The colors usually appear more vibrant on cloudy days or later in the evening though we felt they even really popped in the late afternoon!
To get to Artist’s Palette, take Artist’s Drive, a scenic, nine-mile, one-way road with lots of pull-offs to enjoy the views along the way! Because of the narrow road, sharp turns and steep dips, there is a 25’ trailer/RV restriction.
Artist’s Palette itself is in very close proximity to the parking lot, so you can even view portions of this stunner right from your car! There are various short paths that you can hike, so explore for as long as you’d like. Then head back to your accommodations to get some rest for more adventures tomorrow!
Day 2
6. Dante’s View
Today’s itinerary will remind you that Death Valley is huge! Assuming you slept well and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, you can drive (1h and 22min from Beatty, NV) to the most epic sunrise spot in Death Valley National Park. We did not, and therefore arrived an hour or so after the sun had risen… but it was still beautiful!
Situated 5000+ feet above Badwater Basin, Dante’s View offers a birds-eye view of Death Valley National Park! And the best part is that you don’t need to hike to appreciate the incredible view… simply drive up and soak it all in! There is a good-sized parking lot at the top, although on busier days, it may fill up. Don’t forget your layers if visiting, especially in winter — with the elevation comes colder temperatures and stronger winds!
If sunrise is not an option for you, sunset is probably pretty magical too. Dante’s View is also a prime location for stargazing, as Death Valley is recognized as an International Dark Sky Park.
If you have more time than we did, and are up for a long hike, an 8-mile round trip trail takes you 1200 feet up to Mt. Perry from the Dante’s View parking lot.
7. Sidewinder Canyon
Our next stop requires another long drive (1 hr 15min) but it’s worth it because it takes you to our favorite hike in the park! Honestly, if you only have time for one hike in Death Valley National Park and you’re up for an ADVENTURE, we highly recommend Sidewinder Canyon! This ~4mi out-and-back, 1050’ elevation change hike leads to some of the most fun and incredible slot canyons we’ve ever seen!
We loved this hike, but we definitely recommend planning ahead! The trail is not marked on the typical park maps, and there is no signage or obvious trail markers, making paper maps/instructions difficult to follow. We did not download the offline map ahead of time and first hiked an entire canyon PARALLEL to the one we actually wanted to hike (that’s a story for another day).
Learn from our mistakes: Research this trail ahead of time, screenshot some photos of the main trailhead and the slot canyon entrances, maybe watch a youtube video, and download offline maps! We do a lot of hiking, so we feel that the AllTrails+ annual subscription is SO worth it. It has saved us from getting hopelessly lost countless times. (Thanks AllTrails!)
8. Natural Bridge
Our second-to-last stop on this Death Valley adventure is the Natural Bridge, ~30 minutes from the Sidewinder trailhead. The road to the Natural Bridge trailhead is a 1.5-mile unpaved road that can be a bit bumpy. While a higher clearance vehicle is ideal, most vehicles should be able to make it. At only 1.4 miles out-and-back, with a manageable 450′ elevation gain, the Natural Bridge trail is a short and relatively easy add-on to the day. The highlight? You guessed it: a large, impressive natural bridge!
9. Badwater Basin
No trip to Death Valley is complete without a trip to Badwater Basin: a vast salt flat that is the lowest point in North America, sitting 282′ below sea level! Water from rain and the surrounding mountains flows into the basin and then evaporates, leaving behind a rich concentration of salt and other minerals that crystallize into amazing geometric patterns!
A 1.9-mile, flat trail takes you out to the flats. Although the trail is labeled “ADA accessible,” be aware that some sections are quite bumpy. To make the most of your visit, we recommend exploring Badwater Basin early in the morning or late in the day when it’s less crowded. If you happen to arrive during peak hours, simply venture a little farther out onto the flats, and you’ll have a space all to yourself! We managed to make it here with the last bit of sunlight from the day and there were very few people there (I did sadly lose my cute black beanie from my sister-in-law frolicking about here, so if you found it, lmk).
HOT tips
Death Valley holds the record for the hottest place on earth (134°F in 1913!), so if you can avoid visiting in summer, we’d recommend it. We visited in March, and though we admittedly had several days of temperatures starting out ~30°F, the daytime temps of ~50-70°F were perfect for all the hiking we did. Regardless of the temperature, always bring more water than you think you’ll need! It is the desert, after all.
Fill up your gas outside of the park. Gas within the park when we were there was $6.37/gal, almost $3 more expensive than in Beatty, NV.
To save money and maximize our time for adventuring in National Parks, we tend to go grocery shopping outside of the park ahead of time, and pack meals/snacks for on-the-go. If you’d rather, there are a few restaurants and general stores open to the public at the resorts listed below as well as at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
Where to Stay
We started this road trip in Las Vegas, so we were arriving via the eastern side of the park, and chose to stay in Beatty, Nevada. If you do this, remember that Death Valley is HUGE, and it takes almost an hour to get to the main sections of the park from Beatty.
If you want to minimize your driving, and you plan far enough ahead, you can stay at limited accommodations available within the park boundaries! Choose from affordable comfortable accommodations at Stovepipe Wells or Panamint Springs, or splurge to stay at the luxurious Oasis at Death Valley (either the historic swanky, Four Diamond Inn at Death Valley or the family-friendly, adventure-focused Ranch at Death Valley). All lodging locations within the park also have camp/RV sites available.
In conclusion
Death Valley blew us away and even after visiting nearly a third of the US national parks, it still ranks in our top 5 U.S. National Parks. It has such incredible unique landscapes that are SO different than what we’re used to on the east coast and we definitely felt that we were on another planet.
If you’re crazy like us and don’t mind adventuring from dawn to dusk, you can definitely fit these 9 Must-Dos into just 2 days. If that’s not your style, stretch it out! We hope this has convinced you to visit Death Valley if you haven’t already (or to revisit if you’ve already been!) You won’t regret it!
