If you read my post last week , you are excited to plan your trip to Death Valley, but what should you do?  Death Valley is huge (the largest National Park in the lower 48) and you can spend days exploring if you want to see everything.  If you want to see just the top highlights you need at least 2-3 days (assuming you are staying in the park, so have less driving).  Here is an ideal itinerary for Death Valley With (or Without) Kids (all distances are round trip):

Day 1: Badwater Area
Day 2: StovePipe Wells
Day 3: Northern Death Valley

Day 1: Badwater Area

Badwater is probably a large part of the reason you came to Death Valley National Park.  It is the lowest point in North America, 282 feet below sea level.  There is a ton of gorgeous things to do and see around the Badwater basin area.

Zabriskie Point at Sunrise (also good at sunset)

Start your day at Zabriskie Point at Sunrise, as the sun comes up over the mountains, it hits the valley and from here it sparkles like diamonds throughout the valley.  STUNNING!  We loved Zabriskie point so much we came back twice!  It is also stunning at sunset.  The viewpoint is a short hike from teh paring lot, or you can add on a hike through the canyons.

Badwater Salt Flats: Lowest Point in the USA

Badwater salt flats, this is why you came to Death Valley, right?  It is gorgeous.  Badwater is also a great place to watch sunrise from as it comes over the hills and hits the mountains with its soft rosy glow.  It is about a one mile walk out to the salt flats, but you could really walk as far as your interest takes you.

Natural Bridge Hike (1 mile)

This short one mile hike, takes you up a canyon to a natural bridge.  This was a great, easy hike with kids, and an interesting geological feature to see.  There were also great views of the badwater basin from the parking lot, a great spot for a picnic lunch.

Devil’s Golf Course

On your drive from Natural Bridge to Artist’s Drive, take a short detour to the Devil’s Golf Course.  It is an interesting spot where “gnarled crystalline salt spires” cover the landscape.

Artist’s Drive and Artist’s Palette Hike

Artist’s Drive is a drive close up into the hills to get a better look at the beautiful colors created by all the volcanic activity in the park.  There is a parking lot about halfway around the drive, at Artist’s Palette, where you can get out and walk around and explore.  This drive is also a great place to be at sunset.

Sunset at Dante’s View

Dante’s View is one of the most stunning viewpoints in the park.  There are great views from the parking lot and they just get better, the further along the 8-mile hiking trail you travel.  Sadly, there had been a storm a couple of days before we were there, and the road was blocked by mud/snow, but from what I hear and pictures online , it is not to be missed.

Day 2: Stovepipe Wells Area

Spend your second day in the park in the central part of Death Valley, checking out sand dunes, canyons, and more.

Mosaic Canyon Hike

Start out Day 2 with an easy 2.8-4 mile hike through Mosaic Canyon.  This pretty hike has a ton of great rock scrambling for the kids to explore and beautiful topography.  The canyon walls are filled with multi-color rocks, creating the canyon’s mosaic.  After your hike, visit Stovepipe Wells to pick up some food for lunch before heading out to the sand dunes.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

These vast sand dunes are a ton of fun for kids to explore.  There is no set path, so park in the parking lot and start exploring.  They are a great place for kids to run around and have some fun.  This is also a beautiful place to watch sunset.

Badlands Loop or Golden Canyon for Sunset

If you are not staying at the Mesquite sand dunes for sunset, head over to Golden Canyon.  This relatively easy three mile hike is beautiful at sunset.  It is three miles one way, so you need to figure out a shuttle system to be able to do the hike one way.  Start at Zabriskie point and hike downhill to the Golden Canyon parking lot for the easier option.

Day 3: Northern Death Valley

Spend Your third day in Death Valley exploring the northern part of the park.  It is a bit of a drive over dirt roads to get up to the north, so there are a lot fewer people, but some incredible sights to see.  Start at the Ubehebe Crater and then move on to EITHER the Racetrack Playa or Eureka Dunes.

Ubehebe Crater (1.5 miles)

How often do you get to hike in or around a volcano?  This 770 foot crater is incredible; it was created by a steam explosion.  The hike out of the crater is a challenge, be prepared for two steps forward, one step back.  If you prefer, you can also hike around the crater instead.  There are no facilities up here, so bring your own food/water, and stop at the Grapevine ranger station for bathrooms.

The Racetrack Playa

The racetrack Playa is an amazing sight.  It is a dried lakebed, but the coolest part is seeing the “sailing stones” which move across the lakebed mysteriously leaving a trail behind them.  To access the racetrack, you need high clearance vehicle WITH off-road tires.  You can rent one in the park if you do not have one.  To access the racetrack is a couple of hours of off-road driving.

or

Eureka Dunes

The Eureka Dunes are in the remote northern part of Death Valley, they are the tallest sand dunes in the USA and although not as broad as the mesquite sand dunes, are much taller.  Given their remote location, they are also much less visited.  Similar to the Racetrack Playa, the Eureka Dunes are a significant drive from the main part of Death Valley (2 hours on dirt roads one way).  Plan to stay in the north if you are planning on visiting Eureka Dunes (we stayed in the nearby town of Bishop).  Once you get there, find a parking spot and enjoy exploring.

Three days in Death Valley was an amazing experience for our family.  Given the variety of terrain and activities, it is a great family trip that everyone in the family can enjoy.  Have you been to Death Valley?  What was your favorite part?

Resources:

Death Valley National Park Website
I found this article on pinterest, which is what made me want to go to Death Valley.
This one is another good article on Death Valley and 9 things to do there.

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