One day in Death Valley National Park – is it worth it, especially after 2022 flood? A day trip to Death Valley or any other national park for that matter is not typically our family’s modus operandi. I strongly recommend spending more than a day in a park to really explore and enjoy it rather than just running around snapping photos for Instagram.
There are small national parks in the U.S. that can certainly be done in one day and for some of them I do have one day itineraries on my blog: Pinnacles, Mammoth Cave.
But Death Valley is the largest national park in the continental USA – is one day in Death Valley even doable? Yes, you can see some of the park’s highlights during one day in Death Valley if you bear the following things in mind:
- Stay within the park or if you stay in the nearest town such as Ridgecrest or Lone Pine you will need to get up really early and stay until the sunset because the drive into the park to the first attraction on the map takes about 2 hours. The distance may not seem that long on the map but you need to consider the fact that you will be crossing several mountain passes and you will drive slower than normal.
- Drive safe! If you stay in the park till sunset (which I recommend and I will explain later WHY) you will be driving back in pitch black darkness so you will need to be very careful.
- If you are visiting in winter, which is one of the best times for a trip to Death Valley, your daylight time for exploration will be very short so the amount of things you will be able to see and do is not that big.
We spent one day in Death Valley just recently, during the winter break, and below is my honest overview of what you will and will not be able to do on a day trip.
Please, note that any earlier articles from other blogs about a day trip to Death Valley National Park are probably irrelevant now because after late 2022 flooding the driving conditions in the park have changed drastically, some roads are closed, things that were easy to do previously are pretty hard now. So trust THIS guide as the most up to date and realistic overview of things to do in Death Valley in a day.
One Day in Death Valley #1: Rainbow Canyon and Father Crowley Vista Point
Father Crowley Vista Point presents a scenic view of Rainbow Canyon. It can be a short stop or it can suck up a some of your time. It works as a short stop to just to see the Canyon with colored soil. However, you will be glued to it for a while if U.S. Air Force is doing training exercises in it.
Who would not be awed by modern jets practicing maneuvers in a narrow canyon? This IS one of a kind spectacle on your one day trip to Death Valley. We did not see it with our own eyes because we visited the park on Christmas Day. There is no publicly available schedule for these training flights but people in the know say that holidays, weekends and Mondays are probably not the best days to see the jets.
If you are lucky enough to see this unusual “air show” let me know in comments how it went – I am very curious!
Also note that Rainbow Canyon is otherwise known as Star Wars Canyon because some of the Star Wars movie scenes were filmed in Death Valley National Park. HERE is detailed information on all of these locations.
It makes sense to stop at Rainbow Canyon only if you are driving to/from Lone Pine because it sits right on HW 190 close to park entrance but it will be an unnecessary detour on a day trip if you are driving, say, from Ridgecrest.
One Day in Death Valley #2: Mosaic Canyon
If you were forced to choose just 1 thing on your day trip to Death Valley it should be a hike in Mosaic Canyon, especially if you are travelling with kids. Mosaic Canyon is an amazing geological formation and a beautiful hike, one of the very few hikes in Death Valley with some shade.
Mosaic Canyon has lots of things to climb on for kids and even one sliding area of sorts. The hike is 4 miles long out and back and it is classified as moderate to difficult on the NPS website but I would not entirely agree with this classification. The beginning of it is definitely easy and the best features of the trail are located along the first half a mile. So if the trail starts getting difficult you don’t have to complete it all because you have seen the best part.
It is hard to say how long you will spend here because your kids will definitely want to do all the climbing. Also, the drive to Mosaic Canyon was affected by the flood. It was not a smooth ride to begin with because it is an unpaved road but it looks like flooding brought a lot more stones on to it and it also became narrower because NPS tried to clean the road and pushed some rocks to the sides. So even though it is a 2.3 miles drive from the main road it took us about 15 min to get to the parking lot – you will be driving very slowly and carefully, especially if you encounter cars passing you when they are driving in the opposite direction. RVs and low clearance cars are not recommended on this road.
One Day in Death Valley #3: Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Even if you have just one day in Death Valley definitely stop by Furnace Creek Visitor Center. It gives you insights into what Death Valley is, how it was created, its inhabitants and much more. I absolutely love the educational videos at this Visitor Center and the hands on exhibits.
Furnace Creek Visitor Center area is also a good place to have picnic lunch because it has a bunch of picnic tables. I honestly did not see any picnic tables anywhere else we stopped by on this one day Death Valley itinerary.
One Day in Death Valley #4: Badwater Basin
Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America with a depth of 282 ft below sea level. It is a big, flat, open area with salt deposits. You can walk on the salt field – it is not an official hiking area but people do walk from the road into the Basin.
It is a unique and very interesting geological area not to be missed, you can even see water here even though Death Valley is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth. But may be we were just lucky because we visited in winter.
One Day in Death Valley #5: Artists Palette
Artists Palette is probably one of the most famous and most photographed locations in Death Valley. But it can also be one of the most “controversial” so to speak because what you see on the typical photos of the Artists Palette is not what you will see in reality.
Artists Palette is heavily Photoshoped, lots of filters are being added to it and as a result you get this almost magical image (see below) that has nothing to do with reality. Yes, you will be able to see the hues of pink and green and while but not to this extent.
Don’t get me wrong, it is still an attraction that should definitely be on your list of stops for one day trip to Death Valley because of its unique geology but I just want to manage your expectations.
One Day in Death Valley #6: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
Leave Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes as you very last stop on your day trip to Death Valley because this is THE place to see the sunset. Just before the sunset you will be able to see the sand dunes in the best light – with orange and golden hues and right after the sunset, when the last ray of the sun touch the distant mountains you will be able to see these amazing pink and purple colors below.
My photo below does not have any filters – it is exactly how beautiful the sunset looks at the sand dunes.
Also people say that the sand dunes are great for sledding. We did have a sled with us, the standard circle plastic “saucer”, but it did not work for us. When we returned hope I conducted a survey of family travel bloggers to find the answer to: how DO you sled on sand dunes? Should have done it before the trip, silly me! I got 2 great pieces of advice:
1.Wax your plastic sled OR
2. Use a boogie board instead of a sled
I hope you get to have lots of fun at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and then let me know if any of these tips worked for you!
Conclusion
These six stops were all we could fit into one day in Death Valley. There are a couple other stops that are generally recommended, such as Zabriskie Point, Devil’s Golf Course and Dante’s View. But if you want to squeeze them in, “something gotta give”.
The unpaved road to the Devil’s Golf Course looked even worse than the one leading to the Mosaic Canyon after the flood. Just getting there and back would have cost us half an hour or so, which we did not have.
Dante’s View is the most remote point of interest if you are driving from Lone Pone or Ridgecrest, it will take you over half an hour to drive there from Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
Zabriskie Point is probably easiest attraction to add to the itinerary above.
So you see, one day in Death Valley is doable but you won’t see it all. My personal recommendation is plan at least 2 days at the park.
The best time to visit Death Valley is in winter and early spring especially in a year when it rained more than usual. In this case you will be able to see the cacophony of wildflowers which is called “superbloom”.
Take lots of water with you when you go to Death Valley and snacks or picnic lunch so that you are not wasting your precious time in lines waiting for food on your one day trip.
Enjoy your visit and if you found this itinerary useful, please, share it with other as it may help them in their travel plans too.
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