Cumulative miles driven: 4,721

Death Valley National Park is less than a hundred miles from Las Vegas and covers an area of well over three million acres. There are around a thousand miles of paved and dirt track roads (some needing a 4x4 vehicle) to explore within the 5,000 plus square miles of this protected area. There is plenty to see and over two days we covered around 300 miles within and around the park boundaries and could have seen more given some extra time.

I will be honest, the photographs will probably not do this place justice. Driving toward the park the mountain ranges (between 8,000 and 11,000ft high) seem to take forever to reach as the expanse and distances are very deceptive. There are 5,000ft high mountain viewing areas to see as well as vantage points that are over 280ft below sea level, there are salt flats, sand dunes and secluded streams to explore. The vast open basin areas are, well, just vast and you can easily get the feeling of isolation. So, for once, I am not actually going to write too much about the park and hope that the photographs do go someway to showing the magnificence of Death Valley and the surrounding national park.

If you want to stay closer than Las Vegas, which is around a two hour drive away, then you need to plan in advance especially if you wish to stay within the park itself as options are limited and expensive. There are some cheaper options outside the park. We stopped in Beatty, Nevada about ten miles from the park entrance and this was a reasonable if uninspiring option. It probably would have been a 'one horse town', but unfortunately the horse had bolted!

Death Valley National Park is well worth the $20 (per vehicle) entrance fee and this is good for seven consecutive days . I would suggest that at least two days is needed if you just want to visit the areas easily accessible by car and you don't want to do too much walking. You will need more time if you have a 4x4 and want to explore further or walk some of the longer trails. Even in February the temperature was at 82°F / 27°C and this is a colder month to visit Death Valley. In the height of summer the average temperature is around 115°F / 47°C so bear this in mind, it can get very hot indeed. Just don't forget to take plenty of water with you!