Death Valley National Park
Day 1 Feb. 2, 2026
I timed this park perfectly. There were intense rains in December which led to a rare lake in Badwater Basin. This is the lowest elevation in North America and the lake was still there surrounded by white crunchy salt. I stopped first just outside the park on BLM land to see some sliding stones. They were hard to see but much easier to access than the famous Racetrack in the park. I also saw a few wild donkeys just after entering the park. Badwater Basin was my only short hike before setting up camp at Furnace Creek. The campground has everyone squeezed in closely so, it was rather loud with talking, cars and dogs barking.
Day 2
This park has a lot more variety to offer than I realized and I would gladly revisit in the future. The first hike today was at Mesquite flat sand dunes to see some tall sand dunes. I drove the awesome dipping and swerving Artists Drive then hiked Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral. It was a cool red rock formation. Natural Bridge and a neat dry waterfall were the last trails. I drove south out of the park and was surprised by green on the ground and then thousands of wildflowers blooming. I looked up the likely flowers: Desert Sunflower, Desert Sand-verbena and Star Gilia.
For more info: Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Total cost for all parks this week: $1028.61
