Dante's View is the best place to admire the expansive view of Death Valley. At 5,475 feet, the vista sits on the crest of the Black Mountains and looks to the Valley, Panamint Range and Badwater Basin with its white salt flats. On a clear day, the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney (14,494 feet) can be seen alongside the lowest point Badwater (-282 feet).
#320 Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is a must-see stop in Death Valley National Park. Its colorful badlands and erosional cliffs started forming 5 million years ago from an ancient lakebed. The vista was named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, manager of the famous Pacific Coast Borax Company. A short walk will bring you to the top of the lookout: the best in the wild west.
#301 Scotty's Castle
Scotty's Castle is a Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival architectural wonder in Death Valley National Park. It was created with the vision of Walter E. Scott, famous gold mine con man. Walter convinced Chicago investor Albert Mussey Johnson to invest in his fake mine. The investment turned out to be a fraud but Albert enjoyed Scott's enthusiasm and constructed the property anyway. The National Park Service purchased the property in 1970 and has led tours of the interior ever since which contains all original furnishings.
*Due to a 2015 flood, the castle is currently closed and estimated to reopen in 2019
#280 Artist's Drive & Palette
Artist's Drive & Palette is a deep canyon in the Black Mountains of Death Valley National Park. Oxidation of metals along the canyon walls create a rainbow of colors from iron, mica and manganese exposed from volcanic activity. This one-way 9-mile drive provides stunning vistas at every turn and is best seen in the afternoon light and sunset where the colors are their most vibrant.
#255 Ubehebe Crater
Ubehebe Crater is a half mile length volcanic crater in Death Valley National Park. It was created by a steam and gas explosion caused by rising magma touching ground water. Research has estimated it could have occurred less than 1,000 years ago making it very young in geologic terms. Timbisha Shoshone Native Americans called the crater 'Tem-pin-tta- Wo’sah' which translates to 'coyote's basket'.
#233 Eureka Mine
Eureka Mine & Harrisburg are the ghostly remains of Peter Aguereberry's famous Death Valley mining camp. He first discovered gold here with his partner Shorty Harris in 1905. Pete would remain here for forty years until 1945. His camp and mining ruins patiently stand against the test of time. A famous 1612 gram Golden Nugget from the mine is displayed at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute.
#203 Aguereberry Point
At 6,433 feet, Aguereberry Point is my favorite spot in Death Valley National Park. Endless views stretch for miles including the Panamint Range, Furnace Creek, Badwater and the massive valley floor itself. The point was named after Pete Aguereberry who came to America from France in 1890. He worked the famous Eureka Mine nearby from 1905 to 1945 and led visitors to this vista he named 'The Great View'. *4 wheel drive strongly recommended on this rough dirt road
#175 Twenty Mule Team Canyon
Twenty Mule Team Canyon in Death Valley National Park is a beautiful drive with colorful badlands and eroded cliffs. It was named after the famous 'Twenty Mule Team' of 18 mules and 2 horses who hauled borax in wagons out of Death Valley between 1883 to 1889. The trip was a difficult ten day, 165 mile trek across the Mojave. History lives on in this perfect symbolic spot of the Old West. *Please use caution on this dirt road in the desert
#170 Keeler Ghost Town
Keeler is a ghost town outside of Death Valley National Park in the Eastern Sierra Nevada known as the 'End of the Line'. The Carson and Colorado Railway extended their railroad all the way here during the Gold Rush in 1883. When nearby mining towns went bust, plans to extend the railway further to Mojave fell through and Keeler became the last stop of the line. The once-thriving adjacent Owens Lake was purchased by the city of Los Angeles who stole the entire water supply leaving Keeler high and dry.
#140 Badwater Basin
Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park is the hottest, driest place on Earth and the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The basin is a great salt pan of 'bad' un-drinkable water that pools only during a rare rain. Average annual rainfall is only 1.9 inches per year while the evaporation rate is 150 inches!
