Top Desert Parks: Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada

The largest NPS preserve outside Alaska, Death Valley National Park is a vast region of basins and mountains near the north edge of the Mojave Desert centered on a 130 mile long valley, 70 miles of which is below sea level. The place may have a foreboding reputation, but visitors will find a place of amazing beauty with many colorful rocks and canyons, miles of pristine sand dunes, unique evaporative salt features, a diverse range of wildlife and relics from pioneer history. Despite the extreme heat of summer the park is popular all year, and it has many facilities, along the various paved roads; huge areas of the backcountry are remote and inaccessible.

Death Valley: details, map