What to Do in Death Valley National Park with Kids
Death Valley National Park in California may sound like terrible place to visit, but it was actually one of my favorite national parks to visit with our kids.
For spring break this year, we planned an almost week-long trip based out of Las Vegas to do some hiking and exploring in the outdoors, which included a side trip to Death Valley National Park.
Death Valley is just a 2-hour drive from Las Vegas, so it was the perfect add-on to our trip! We didn’t want to drive too far after a long flight with 4 little kids, but the 2 hour trip absolutely flew by thanks to the gorgeous scenery and the backseat media player in the Chevy Tahoe we borrowed for the week! The kids got to enjoy a movie while coloring in their coloring books, and my husband and I got to relax with our Starbucks while we planned out our 2 days in Death Valley.
You can read our family’s full itinerary for Death Valley and Las Vegas here.
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Our family road tripping with our borrowed Chevy Tahoe in Death Valley National Park!
What to Know Before You Visit Death Valley - The Largest National Park in the Contiguous United States
The entrance fee to Death Valley National Park is $30 per vehicle.
The best times to visit Death Valley National Park are winter and spring when the weather is mild. Death Valley is the hottest, driest, and lowest National Park in the United States, so the weather during the summer months is often brutal. Temperatures can soar well above 100ºF even in the shade, and only get down to around 90ºF at night.
The Visitor Center at Death Valley is Furnace Creek Visitor Center where you can pay park entrance fees, talk to park rangers, pick up a map, and use the restroom.
Be sure to pick up a map at the Visitor Center! The reception and internet in the park are spotty at best, so we were often relying on our paper map to navigate.
No matter what time of year you’re visiting, bring sunscreen, hats, lots of water, lots of snacks that won’t melt in the sun (apple slices, non-chocolatey granola bars, trail mix, fruit pouches, crackers, etc) and/or a good cooler. Always have water with you when you’re hiking, and lots of extra water in your vehicle.
Where to Stay at Death Valley National Park
Our family has never stayed inside a national park until we visited Death Valley. The park is so large and spread out, and I knew we wanted to visit some of the sights for sunrise and sunset, so I decided to splurge a bit and book one night at The Ranch at Death Valley.
Hotels are definitely cheaper outside the park, but you’ll also be spending a lot more time driving to and from the sites. With 4 young children, I felt like paying for the convenience of location was a good deal.
Here are your options for staying inside Death Valley National Park:
The Oasis at Death Valley
The Oasis at Death Valley is located at Furnace Creek (near the Visitor Center) and consists of 2 separate properties inside the park: The Ranch and The Inn.
The Ranch at Death Valley: The Ranch is family-friendly and the activity center of Death Valley. Here you’ll find standard hotel rooms with private patios, lots of open, grassy areas for kids to run around, a pool, a golf course, and a charming town square. We chose The Ranch for our stay, knowing we wouldn’t be spending much time in our hotel. It was the perfect place to come relax and cool off in between adventures.
The Inn at Death Valley: The Inn is more luxurious and elegant with casitas where families can spread out. If you’re looking for the ultimate place to relax and have the real experience of a lush oasis in the middle of the desert, The Inn at Death Valley should be your choice. The pool is gorgeous, too!
Panamint Springs Resort
The Panamint Springs Resort offers cabin accommodations and camping and RV options. The cabins are a bit more rustic, but do have bathrooms with showers, so if you’re looking for the bare necessities and a place to lay your head at night, check out Panamint Springs.
Stovepipe Wells Village
Stovepipe Wells Village offers hotel rooms, camping, and RV hookups. It’s located closer to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, which is about a 30 minute drive from the Visitor Center. This spot is also family friendly and offers all the standard hotel amenities like coffee, showers, and a pool. This is another great option for families!
Camping Inside Death Valley National Park
Winter-Spring (October-April): There are plenty of campground options available, and the only one that takes reservations is Furnace Creek Campground. The rest are first-come first-serve, and rarely fill up. Find out more here.
Summer (May-September): There are not many campgrounds open during the summer months due to extreme temperatures, and all are first-come first-serve. Find out more here.
Planning Your Visit to Death Valley National Park with Little Kids
Where is Death Valley National Park?
Death Valley is located in south central California sharing a border with Nevada. It’s inside the Mojave Desert and east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Death Valley National Park is
2 hours and 15 minutes from Las Vegas
4 and a half hours from Los Angeles
5 and a half hours from Sequoia National Park if you want to pair 2 California NPs together
6 hours and 40 minutes from Phoenix
We visited Death Valley National Park on a spring break trip starting in Las Vegas, with a 1-night, 2-day stay in Death Valley, then back to Las Vegas to explore some local state parks.
Click here to see all of the National Parks our family has visited and loved!
How many days do you need in Death Valley National Park?
You need 2-3 days to visit Death Valley NP. We spent 2 days there, and were able to check off the majority of things we wanted to do.
As I mentioned above, it’s helpful to stay inside the park so that you don’t waste time driving in and out. Because it gets so hot inside the park for most of the year, sunset and sunrise are valuable times during the day to visit some of the sites.
Things to Do at Death Valley National Park
What should you not miss in Death Valley National Park?
Hike Golden Canyon
This was our first stop when we entered the park. Golden Canyon is a series of trails that winds through towering yellow badlands.
We parked at Golden Canyon Trailhead, located on Badwater Road. This trail leads to Red Cathedral, and is a 3-mile out-and-back trip, but with 4 young children in the heat of the afternoon, we decided to take it slow and walk as far as we could until the kids started getting restless.
The trail itself is easy enough, with plenty of intriguing side canyons to explore. Though the path gets hot, there are small areas of shade beneath the rock formations during the morning and afternoon (though not as much during midday).
This is a great area to explore with young children, and you can go as far as you want, and turn back when you’re done!
Badwater Basin Salt Flats - the Lowest Point in North America
One bucket-list destination in Death Valley National Park is Badwater Basin Salt Flats. This is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.
Badwater Basin is very easy to access with kids. From the parking lot you can simply walk onto the salt flats. It starts as a path that doesn’t look very exciting, but keep walking! The area with the cool geometric salt shapes that form when ground water rises up and evaporates is about a mile walk from the parking lot.
We arrived a bit before sunset, and I could not have imagined a more perfect way to experience this spot. It wasn’t crowded, and the weather was cooling off but not too cold. The sun began to set and the sky was streaked with oranges and yellows behind the mountains.
A leisurely walk toward the salt flats was such a relaxing way to end our day. There was no challenging hike, and we could let the kids run around and just be kids. We even managed to get a few wonderful family shots with no one else in the background.
10/10 would recommend planning to visit Badwater Basin Salt Flats for sunset! Just make sure to arrive early enough to hike out to the coolest part of the salt flats in time for the sun to set.
Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is known as THE place to go to watch the sun rise, and I can see why! The vistas from the viewing area are breathtaking with the sprawling badlands spread out before mountain ranges in the distance.
This is another easily accessible spot for families with young children. There’s plenty of parking, and the viewpoint is just a short walk on a paved road from the parking lot.
There are several hiking trails accessible from this area, including the Badlands Loop Trail.
We didn’t choose to do any hiking, as we made Zabriskie Point our last stop on our way out of the park.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes was one of our favorite memories from Death Valley National Park. After staying up for sunset at Badwater Basin, we dragged the kids out of bed while it was still dark so we could catch sunrise at the sand dunes.
There’s no official trail at Mesquite Flats. You just park in the parking lot, and head out into the sand dunes. Walk as far as you want, climb dunes, run down them, and just enjoy the views.
If we didn’t have a toddler with us, I think I would have tried to hike all the way back to the highest dunes (you can see them in the distance in the first photo), but since we had 4 sleepy little ones with us who were already complaining about mountains of sand in their shoes, we opted to just climb some of the dunes nearest the parking lot.
I was very pleased with our decision to experience sunrise here for several reasons.
Many people go to Zabriskie Point for sunrise, so there were very few other people at the sand dunes.
Mequite Flat Sand Dunes are a bit further away from Furnace Creek, and in the opposite direction from most of the other sites we wanted to see. It was perfect to drive in that direction for sunrise, then drive back to The Ranch at Death Valley for a breakfast buffet at 1849 Restaurant.
The shadows and light on the dunes as the sun rose were absolutely beautiful, and even with my kids being a little annoying whining about the sand in their shoes, it was still an incredible experience.
Artist Drive
Artist Drive is a 9-mile scenic loop through colorful canyons. It’s a detour from Badwater Road, so it would be an easy place to stop on your way out to Badwater Basin for sunset.
With no stops, this drive would take a quick 30 minutes, but we enjoyed stoping at many of the pull outs, getting out of the car, and doing some exploring.
Artist Palette
While you’re driving along Artist Drive, be sure to make time to stop at hike at Artist Palette, a trail winding through colorful canyon walls. The pinks, blues, and greens are caused by compounds such as iron oxide and chlorite from volcanic deposits.
There’s a small parking lot here, so pull in and just enjoy the view from the overlook, or descend the shallow wash to get to the canyon. There is no official maintained trail, which we kind of enjoyed. It was fun to weave through the maze of paths, climb the canyon walls, and find different vantage points of the stunning array of colors.
We went during midday, so the it was HOT, and the colors were more muted in the direct sunlight, so if you want more vibrant colors and cooler weather to explore the area, make it a priority to view Artist’s Palette around sunrise or sunset.
Devil’s Golf Course
We just made a quick stop here to see the cool rock salt formations. There’s no hike here. It’s easily accessible from a parking lot. So just pull in, take some pictures, and enjoy the view before heading to your next spot!
20 Mule Team Canyon Drive
On our way out of the park we decided to take one last quick detour on 20 Mule Team Canyon Drive. It’s a one-way, 2.5-mile road right by Zabriskie Point, and you’ll get one last view of the stunning badlands before exiting the park (if you’re going east).
The road is unpaved, so just be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride.
Get Ice Cream
Whether you’re staying at The Ranch at Death Valley, visiting for a day, camping, or staying somewhere else, be sure to stop by The Ranch at Death Valley’s Town Square where you’ll find the Ice Cream Parlor. It’s an old-fashioned soda fountain with sundaes, milkshakes, and ice cream, along with more substantial options like hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries.
Death Valley National Park gets so hot during the day, so why not spend the hottest part of the day cooling off with a sweet treat in the air conditioning? Afterward you can hang out in the Town Square and enjoy the palm trees and fountains.
Be prepared - this ice cream shop is not cheap! Open Tuesday-Sunday from 2 pm to 7 pm.
Is Death Valley worth visiting?
Death Valley National Park is one of the most diverse national parks I’ve visited so far. I was pleasantly surprised by that, since it’s in the middle of the desert, so you wouldn’t think the scenery would vary as much as it did.
However, with sand dunes, salt flats, mountain ranges, colorful canyons, and golden badlands, no 2 hikes will be the same, and you’ll be treated to some of the most spectacular scenery you’ve ever seen.
I would highly recommend Death Valley National Park to families with young children, as long as you are mindful of the potential danger from the heat! Always have water, bring sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses, and don’t plan to hike during the hottest part of the day.
There’s truly something for everyone at Death Valley, whether you like to hike, take scenic drives, or just enjoy the view.
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Emily Krause is a Florida-based travel blogger who writes about exploring the world with kids. On A Mom Explores you’ll find best family travel destinations, Disney World tips, and how to make travel with babies and toddlers a little easier.
Emily believes that exploring starts in our own backyards, and adventure can happen anywhere with the right mindset.
