Last weekend, I visited Death Valley National Park for the first time. We were in Las Vegas for the weekend, but we wanted to get out of the city, so we took a trip to Death Valley for the day.
I wasn’t sure what to expect in Death Valley, except hot temperatures. What I found was an incredibly vast and varied landscape. The colors and textures of the terrain are striking. And stay past sunset to get an unpolluted view of the the stars.
The park is also full of superlatives:
- The hottest temperature ever recorded on earth (134° Fahrenheit) was recorded in what is now Death Valley National Park.
- The lowest point in North America (Badwater Basin, at 282 feet below sea level) is located in the park.
- The highest point in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet) is visible from the park (on clear days).
If you’re ever in Las Vegas, I highly recommend making the two-hour drive to visit Death Valley.
