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Furnace Creek |
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Death Valley - South |
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Around Stovepipe Wells |
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Death Valley - North |
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Death Valley - West |
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Stargazing – Go outside at night and look at the stars. Check at the visitor center for ranger programs and pick up a copy of the night sky map, or get a night sky app. There's no big city lights, and the desert night sky, filled with stars, is timeless and endless. |
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Tips for enjoying Death
Valley |
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DO NOT GO IN SUMMER –
Temperatures in summer average over 110 degrees. You can drive around the
valley in your air conditioned car, but to really enjoy Death Valley, you
need to get out and walk around. December - April is a good time to go –
the weather is clear and the days are warm but not too hot (it does get cold at night in winter). |
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Water – Death Valley is one of the driest places on the planet
and it's very easy to get dehydrated in this dry, dry climate. Bring lots
of water bottles and keep drinking water throughout the day. Even on a
short hike, don't leave without plenty of water! |
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Sunscreen, lip balm and hand lotion –
Even in winter, clear days make it easy to get sunburned – slather
on the sunscreen. To prevent chapped lips and hands, bring lip balm and hand
lotion. |
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What to wear – Bring good shoes for
hiking in the gravely areas, or certainly on the Devil's Golf Course (hiking
in sandals can lead to stubbed toes and annoying cuts). In winter, it can
be windy and chill, so bring windbreakers, gloves and hats. |
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Wildlife – As you look out over the
desert, it might seem that nothing can live in the heat and dryness of Death
Valley, but there are plenty of animals. Along with the cute road runners
or chuckwallas (lizards), there's also well-adapted rattlesnakes and scorpions,
which you want to avoid. If you're climbing on rocks, tell your kids to
watch where you put your hands (you don't want to accidentally "pet"
a rattlesnake). At Scotty's Castle, a couple of enterprising coyotes come
out to beg for food as cars drive by. Don't feed the coyotes. |
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Flash floods – Death Valley gets precious little rain, but
when it does rain, it can rain hard. If it looks like rain, don't hike
in riverbeds or narrow canyons – these can become a torrent in no
time at all. Also, don't attempt to drive through flooded road conditions. |
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A family visits the California desert, hiking down the trail into the canyon, bighorn sheep leaps from rock to rock, hawks fly overheard, jackrabbits hide, walking on the sand, the people leave tracks, so does a horned lizard, colorful wildflowers bloom, camping in the desert, coyotes yip and owls take to the sky full of stars. Plus fun facts about about desert animals you'll see in Death Valley. (Picture book)
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Discover animals and plants that survive and thive in Death Valley –
great horned owls, roadrunners, desert tortoises, kangaroo rats,
wild burros, kit foxes, free-tailed bats, barrel cactus, Mojave
yucca. (Easy reader, illustrations)
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Guide
to 18 different hikes in Death Valley, ideal for families (most are less than
4 miles round trip). Map, detailed hike descriptions, trail difficulty,
and what you'll see along the way. (Guidebook)
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