3 million acres of desert might sound desolate, but Death Valley is so beautiful! It stole my heart when I first visited 4 years ago, and it was so good to re-visit this time. We explored some new areas as well as returned to our favorites. The highlight was being able to walk out into Manly Lake at the lowest spot in North America. (Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states, is only 85 miles away). Read on for photos:

Badwater Basin (282 feet below sea level) and Manly Lake:

Knowing weather and high wind was coming in the next few days, our first stop in Death Valley was Manly Lake, a.k.a. Badwater Basin filled with a rare and temporary lake. Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level, making it the lowest elevation in North America. Interestingly, Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states, is only 85 miles away.

We walked out on the salt flats here 4 years ago, but this time it was surreal walking out through water. The last time there was water here was in 2005, 18 years ago. The lake was shallow but huge, miles wide and across. We walked out quite far, with water just above ankles, and enjoyed watching people with kayaks further out. The reflection of the Panamint Mountains to the west were stunning. At the car, our legs were coated with salt, well worth it for this experience.

We were so fortunate, because our second day in the park brought extremely high winds (gusts to 70mph) and the entire lake was pushed over a mile away, shutting down access to it.

Desolation Canyon

One of our two favorite canyon hikes at Death Valley, Desolation Canyon offers beautiful views from above down onto Artist’s Drive and the valley floor below. There are several spots that require a bit of scrambling, help from a hiking partner is much appreciated. Being able to see part of Manly Lake from above was a bonus!

I’m in awe that anything can live and survive in this environment, but Mother Nature finds a way. We saw a few thriving plants as well as lizards. Evening primrose was blooming, one lizard was a zebra tail, the other possibly a juvenile chuckwalla.

Golden Canyon and Red Cathedral

The initial section of Golden Canyon is very accessible, especially for those who aren’t comfortable with the minor scrambling that is required in some of the other canyons. That changes once you get closer to Red Cathedral.

The views of canyon walls, with Red Cathedral in the distance and glimpses of Manly Peak are beautiful. There is a connecting trail up to Zabriskie Point above, but we chose to go toward Red Cathedral, requiring more scrambling and ducking through small openings. I brought home a few knee bruises from near the end of the trail, worth it IMO!

Titus Canyon

Titus Canyon is (was?) a 26-mile, one-way high clearance vehicle road that I would love to drive some day, but for this trip we decided an early morning walk through stunning canyon walls would be a perfect way to start our second day. The gate at the bottom of the canyon was locked, so we weren’t sure if it was open to vehicles or not.

The entrance to the canyon is immediate from the parking area, and very easy walking so it’s possible to take in the huge walls without needing to pay much attention to where your feet are going. We meandered for about 1.5 miles up the canyon, loving the beautiful patterns of rocks in the canyon walls. I had a lovely sit-spot meditation in the sun while DH explored further up canyon. I was serenaded by white-throated swifts and canyon wrens.

Back to the car, where we noticed that the forecast wind was definitely making its presence known.

Ubehebe Crater

We had not been to see Ubehebe Crater on our previous trip, so decided to explore since it was in the general direction of Titus Canyon. By this point the wind was becoming much stronger, buffeting our car along the road. This road feels like driving to nowhere, desolate but beautiful. Near the crater the terrain changes to what I imaging the surface of the moon looks like.

By the time we got to Ubehebe, we could barely open our car doors against the wind. Standing in the wind, being pelted in the face by flying sand and small gravel, leaning into the wind at a crazy angle while walking, was definitely an interesting experience! We had planned to walk the entire loop around the crater, but that was impossible under the weather conditions. After a short and difficult stroll up to Little Hebe Crater for a few photos, we retreated back to the car, fighting fierce wind the entire way.

Mosaic Canyon

Mosaic Canyon, very close to the Stovepipe Wells area, is one of our favorite canyon hikes in Death Valley. Another one with a bit of scrambling required, and 2 work-arounds when you think you’ve hit a dead end. The NPS Death Valley website gives a good description of how to get around these two spots in their “Hikes” page.

Mosaic Canyon is named for the beautiful patterns and textures of the rock found throughout the canyon. Some is scoured marble or granite, which means scrambling up a 6-foot smooth wall can be a bit of a challenge, another great place where a hiking partner is a handy thing to have!

We had a lovely conversation with a raven part way up the canyon, and noted several flowers blooming as well. Unfortunately at the end of the canyon were 2 large groups that were being ridiculously loud and annoying, so we didn’t linger but immediately turned and headed back down, this time sliding down the smooth walls, much more fun than trying to climb up them!

Artist’s Drive

A beautiful one-way loop road that meanders through the eastern foothills, through varied terrain and colors. Stopping and getting out at Artist’s Palette to see a hillside of beautiful colors is worth it (but maybe not in 70mph wind!)

Zabriskie Point

Perhaps the most popular viewpoint at Death Valley, a short drive from the Furnace Creek area. The short walk from the parking area opens up expansive views to the foot hills and valley floor below. It was possible to see part of Manly Lake, as well as the dust storms that were exploding in the valley below.

It’s also possible to see the trails that connect Zabriskie Point to Golden Canyon below. We might have considered hiking the whole thing, but at this point in our trip the wind was intense, making it hard to stand up straight, much less hike in it.

Driving in Wind and Sand

We are so thankful that we got to visit Manly Lake and do the hikes that we did, because by the end of our second day it was becoming dangerous to drive or be outside due to the extreme wind. (A spot in the Sierra Mountains, not too far away, clocked a 190mph wind gust during this time!)

Rhyolite Ghost Town

On our third full day, we decided to not attempt going down into Death Valley due to extreme weather conditions, winter storm and high wind warnings. We did explore Rhyolite Ghost Town, just outside of Beatty NV. It’s amazing to think of how people were able to live and work in the mines in these conditions. The train station must have been a stunning building at its peak. And an entire house made out of bottles… good way to recycle what was used the saloon.

While weather was not perfect, we are still so thankful to have been able to go back to this amazing place, to walk in a lake that only appears once every few decades, to re-visit some of our favorite hikes and explore new areas.