Quick Glimpse
- Location: Mostly in California, but a portion spans into Nevada
- From Las Vegas: about 2 hours in the car
- Park Size: 3.4 million acres, larger than the state of Connecticut!
- When We Visited: November
- Our Trip: 1 Night/ 2 Days
- Where we Stayed: The Ranch at Death Valley
- Highlights: Badwater Basin, Devil’s Golf Course, Natural Bridge, Stargazing, Hotel Pool, and Mesquite Sand Dunes
Is Death Valley National Park Good for Kids?
Yes! However, one thing to consider, especially with kids, is visiting in a cooler month. November through March have cooler temperatures on average. I’d recommend that time frame, to keep everyone comfortable. If summer is your only option with kids, I’d personally choose another park for a trip. Death Valley experiences extreme temperatures in the summer lots of extra safety precautions to consider, which would make it more challenging with kids.
For the really little ones, there are plenty of stops and hikes that are short and don’t require too much effort to still observe the scenery. Badwater Basin is flat aside from stairs at the beginning, as an example.
For the older ones who may enjoy trekking and exploring, there are also options to hike and to explore further at certain areas, like Devil’s Golf Course where the terrain is lumpy, Natural Bridge, and Mesquite Sand Dunes with sand as far as you can see. The bottom line is that the park is spread out and most points of interest offers flexibility to move at your own pace. You can do just a little or a lot, depending on your limitations.
Why Visit Death Valley?
The landscapes alone are stunning, otherworldly, and beyond your imagination. Beyond that, there are kid-friendly hikes, stargazing opportunities, in park lodging, and an element of history to take away. There is something to be enjoyed by everyone.
I have a whole article making the case for why Death Valley is so underrated and how it’s easily one of our favorite National Parks. See my article here: Why Death Valley is the Most Underrated and Best National Park with Kids.
Our 2-Day Death Valley Itinerary with Kids
We did a 1-night stay in Death Valley National Park.
The drive from Vegas is easy, mostly on major roads, and about 2 hours. We drove there in November, just ahead of Thanksgiving. It was not crowded. The temperature was mild, in the low 70’s and upper 60’s.
Day 1: Badwater Basin, Devil’s Golf Course, Natural Bridge & Artist’s Palette
We drove to Death Valley National Park and arrived midday and ate lunch from our cooler. We stopped at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and then headed straight out to Badwater Basin with the plan doing other stop offs on the way back towards the lodging area. See the park map here.
Badwater Basin
Badwater Basin sits at 282 ft below sea level, making it the lowest point in North America. This site is quite possibly one of my favorite places on earth. There is something magical about the landscape, with the white salt flats and the juxtaposition of the blue sky.
Here you can walk out onto the salt flats to explore. My husband put his finger on the salt and tasted it just to be sure it was real. It was!
People walked way out. It was extraordinary. We learned that the Basin does fill with water temporarily after significant rainfall or in certain times of the year. It was a sight to behold. You must visit if you can. Also, you can look back towards the road area, which has a mountainous backdrop, and see the marking on the mountain where “sea level” actually is versus where you are standing in the Basin. That offered a good point of perspective.
We spend 30-45 mins at Badwater Basin and moved on to our next stop, which was Devil’s Golf Course.
Devil’s Golf Course
In hindsight, this was one of my most favorite moments of the trip. At the time, you think otherwise. You have to drive out on a gravel road, for about a mile, to what doesn’t look like much more than you’ve already seen, and then you walk out to what is other-worldly. Suddenly, you are feeling like you are no longer on this planet, but on some other one, transported in a moment. It was miraculous in my opinion. Apparently, only the “devil” could play golf on a surface like this. I get it after seeing it!
We spent about 15-20 mins at this stop.
Natural Bridge
Up next on the drive, we stopped at the Natural Bridge. This spot is at the end of a very bumpy gravel road about 1.5-2 miles off the main road. Although the road is usually passable by most cars, check before you go as conditions change.
The short hike to the Natural Bridge was doable but note that it is a gravel trail and is uphill, so it is a slow hike. It was nice, but we didn’t explore beyond the bridge. Time needed is about 45mins-1 hour.
There is a spectacular view of the Basin descending down the trail from the Natural Bridge, which makes the hike worth it in its own regard. It’s incredible.
Artist’s Palette
We drove the Artist’s Palette loop as the last attraction for the, since we were approaching sundown. This was a nice option, as you could just do the drive and didn’t have to commit to anything while it was getting dark. Plus, as a bonus, the colors were beautiful with the last daylight.
That night we stayed at the Ranch at Death Valley, which is inside the park, so huge plus. It was nice and worked just fine for what we needed. It is located near the Furnace Creek Visitor center, so it is very centrally located. There are restaurants and shops in this same area. It’s nice to be able to walk to dinner and relax at the end of the day.
Also, my kids love to check out any hotel pool or spa, so we did! They loved it! Apparently, it’s a spring fed pool that stays warm all year long. It has a great backdrop of the mountains in the background. I recommend it!
Stargazing with Kids in Death Valley
Before heading to dinner that night we waited until dark and drove over to Borax Works for some stargazing! It was only about a 5 mins drive away, so it was easily accessible. My pictures don’t do it justice, but it was a great view of the night sky and Milky Way.
When we visited Great Basin National Park, I felt like we missed out on the opportunity to stargaze, so I wanted to be sure we got it in on this trip. It was well worth it for me and my husband, but especially for our kids. They enjoyed it and haven’t seen a night sky like that before.
If you can participate in a stargazing program that the park hosts, that would be even better! But, otherwise know that you can still do this on your own and have a good experience.
Day 2: Zabriskie Point, Harmony Borax Works, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, & Rhyolite
We found breakfast from a combination of our cooler and the amenities on site at the Ranch and then ventured out to Zabriskie Point.
Zabriskie Point
This was definitely a site to see. Also, otherworldly looking. The backside of this point was one of the filming locations in Star Wars, and you can totally understand why when you see all of the topography.
There is parking at the bottom, then you hike up about .2 miles to see the overlook. Time needed is only about 15-20 mins at this stop.
Next up we went back to Borax Works, where we stargazed the previous night, just to see it in the day light. There was a processing area still preserved where they refined the Borax. There are various plaques documenting the history at this site. It was very interesting with the 20-mule team hauling the borax off site.
This stop only took 20-30 mins and was worth it for the history.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
We then we went to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe. This was a filming site for Star Wars. It was wild to see so much sand all of a sudden when driving out to the attraction. It appears out of nowhere. A true area of intrigue.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes is a site where you could spend a lot more time if you wanted and hike way out. We stayed closer to the parking area, so our total time there was only about 30 mins.
Rhyolite
After the Mesquite Sand Dunes, we left the park and headed back towards Las Vegas. We went a different direction out of the park so we could see Rhyolite, a ghost town. Leaving this direction, you head towards Beatty, NV.
Rhyolite was a gold mining town, with camps set up in 1905. By 1906 in transformed into an updated town. However, the mines started failing only years later and the town became abandoned by 1920.
Exploring this area is like stepping back in time. The buildings are still pretty well preserved and definitely worth seeing if you have the time.
Recommendations and take aways:
1. Stay in the park if you are doing more than one day. The park is enormous. Staying in the park allows for you to make more use of your time seeing the sights versus driving in and out. Staying in the park was a great experience, and you can easily access the night sky!
2. Our must do stops in Death Valley with kids are: Badwater Basin, Devil’s Golf Course, Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Borax Works, and the Mesquite Sand Dunes near Stovepipe.
3. Places we haven’t visited yet (check before you go): Scotty’s Castle (currently closed, check for reopening info), Ubehebe Crater, Telescope Peak, and the Charcoal Kilns. In that case we would look to stay farther north, closer to those sites.
4. Be sure to have a full tank of gas and plenty of water when you start your day. Again, the park is very large and spread out, so while there are places to refill, they are few and far between, so you don’t want to be low while exploring.
How Many Days Do you need to Death Valley National Park?
If you’re only considering one trip to Death Valley National Park, I’d say 2 nights, 3 days. We did one night, and while that totally “filled our cup”, we didn’t get to see some of the other popular attractions and feel like we need to do another trip to say that we’ve seen all of Death Valley National Park. It’s up to you based on time, but I’ve put together some itinerary suggestions in my other article here, based on our experience and things we learned.
Looking to explore a different National Park close to Las Vegas? Check out my Zion or Joshua Tree page for more ideas and travel tips.
Or looking to discover other road trip ideas with kids from Las Vegas? See the best destinations within a couple of hours to several hours from Las Vegas on my Road Trip page.
Happy Trails!