Death Valley National Park

Travel south from Furnace Creek. Natural Bridge is just east of the main road via a dirt road. This natural bridge in a narrow canyon was created when erosion managed to undercut a section of the stream bed and eventually create a bridge well above the bottom of the canyon.

Travel north from Furnace Creek. Salt Creek is about two miles (3.2 km) west of the main road via an easy dirt road. This place is great. Long ago Death Valley was a lake with fish in it; as the lake dried up and salinity increased the fish evolved to cope. Now they are restricted to a short, salty creek which springs up out of the desert, flows for a few hundred yards, and then disappears back into the sand.

Famous viewpoint loved by photographers just east of Furnace Creek. View overlooks interesting weathered canyons. View is a 2-minute walk from the parking lot.

A 15-foot waterfall that is particularly interesting in Spring. Traveling west of Panamint Springs on CA 190, turn left onto a dirt road that goes up a wash just before CA 190 starts climbing uphill. After about half a mile (0.8 km) of dirt, gravel and rocks, there is a small parking lot. From the parking lot, hike about half a mile to a mile (0.8 to 1.6 km) further into the canyon. Since this is the drinking water supply for Panamint Springs, please do not jump in, no matter how tempting it is.

A popular hiking destination. While accessible only by a long, sandy road followed by a technical rock crawl through a wash, this hike is worth the headache (or fun) of getting to the base of the trail. Before you go, consult rangers about the location of various petroglyphs along the canyon walls. Though a fair few have been vandalized, many are in pristine condition.

This popular hike in the center of the park winds through a narrow, marbled canyon. Some climbing and scaling of slick marbled rock is required.

Near Stovepipe Wells. Most people think sand dunes are common in the desert. They aren't. There are two interesting areas of sand dunes in Death Valley. The largest is Eureka Dunes, accessible only to adventurous backcountry folks. This smaller set of dunes near Stovepipe Wells is still quite impressive.

This historic marker was placed at a reliable spring in order to mark its location in harsh conditions.

A strange story about the creation of elaborate mansion in the valley involving sickness, fraud, and tall tales.

An unimproved road into Death Valley that begins just west of Beatty (the road to Titus canyon heads north from the normal paved route from Beatty into Death Valley). Titus canyon is narrow, deep and spectacular. Due to narrowness, parts of this road are one-way, so you really need to start from the east end of the road. You don't need an off-road vehicle for this, normal cars should do fine, but don't bring the RV.

In the northern part of the park near Scotty's Castle, this giant crater was formed by volcanic activity. Walking trails lead into and around the crater, but be warned - going down into the crater is a difficult undertaking, and it may be best to enjoy the view from the top.

Charles Manson and his followers were captured here in 1969. The backcountry road up - which includes several rock falls - will make you wonder how Charles Manson got a school bus through. Many visitors who make the difficult trek stay overnight in the cabin here.

Remnants of Death Valley's mining past, these kilns are remarkably well-preserved.

Because it is not marked from the road, and not well marked on the map, a hike through this canyon offers solitude even beyond that of what is a very quiet park to begin with. The canyon isn't much to look at for the first 1/2 mile (0.8 km) of the hike from the parking area, but beyond that, there is much to explore.

Tucked away in the north part of the park, accessible only by tens of miles of dirt road, these are the second tallest dunes in the United States. Don't let their out-of-the-way location deter you from visiting, however. The solitude only adds to the otherworldliness of the wind-swept sands, the highly rare Eureka Grass blades grasping for life in the dry mounds, and the panoramic view of the colorful Last Chance and Saline Ranges which flank the dunes on either side. Best route is around the park, CA 190 to US 395 north through Lone Pine.

Well off the beaten path in the southern end of the park, these are some of the most remote sand dunes in the American West. Mountains flank the dunes to the west and east, making both sunrise and sunset an event. The backcountry road here is rutted with arroyos, and like so many other places in the park, requires a four-wheel drive.

The South Park Canyon portion near the Panamint Valley should be attempted only by experienced drivers with high clearance vehicles.

As with many points of interest within the park, this one is not easily accessible. The main route consists of 27 mi of dirt road, beginning at the Ubehebe Crater in the northern part of the park. However, the effort is well-rewarded with a site of twilight-zone proportions. The Plestiocene-era lake bed, nearly 3 mi long and 1 mi wide, is so flat that it once used as a landing strip for drug smugglers. But the Racetrack is most famous for its "moving rocks": boulders whose erratic tracks remain visible for years. Though their movement has been tracked with GPS, no adequate explanation for it has been found. In the spring months, brine shrimp - which hibernate when the water dries up, only to emerge months or even years later - are sometimes visible in the muddy puddles here.

In the backcountry near the Racetrack Playa, this signpost is decorated with numerous tea kettles and makes for a rather odd sight in the vast desert.

Highest point in the park at 11,049 feet. The trailhead to the summit starts at the Mahagony Flats campground and is 12.5 mi round-trip with 3200 ft of elevation gain.

Following the flood and fire, access now only part of a ticketed tour.

Only for the most experienced and committed, the 135 mi course from Badwater (elevation -282 ft) to the Mt. Whitney trailhead (elevation 8360 ft) is billed as the world's toughest race. Adding to the difficulty, the race is held annually during July, the hottest month of the year. The field is invitation-only and limited in size, but annually about 100 start, and 1-2 days later, after crossing two mountain ranges, 60-80% percent of those who start arrive battered, burned, and exhausted at the finish line.