Death Valley National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

Death Valley rewards a plan more than almost any other park. It's huge, the drives are long, services are few, and the heat can turn a short walk dangerous. This guide turns all of that into clear, complete plans for one, two, or three days at the pace you choose, built around Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells.

What's inside

• Nine ready-made itineraries: one, two, and three days, each at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, with timing, distances, driving, food and water, and a backup plan for heat, wind, rain, or a closed road
• The valley's history, from the Timbisha Shoshone homeland and the lost '49ers to borax and the twenty-mule teams, the mining camps, Scotty's Castle, and the floods that reshape the roads
• Sightseeing highlights from Badwater Basin, Artists Drive, and Zabriskie Point to Golden Canyon, Dantes View, the Mesquite Flat dunes, Mosaic Canyon, Wildrose, and Ubehebe Crater
• A wildlife chapter profiling 14 animals visitors commonly see, from coyotes, ravens, and roadrunners to chuckwallas and the Salt Creek pupfish, each with a photograph and notes on where and when to look
• Trip planning for seasons and heat, lodging, campgrounds, gas and water, accessibility, pets, and staying safe on desert roads
• 34 photographs and 6 orientation maps

What you'll receive

• EPUB ebook (Death_Valley_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.epub, about 11 MB) for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and most e-reader apps. Kindle readers can send it to their library with Amazon's Send to Kindle.
• PDF (Death_Valley_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.pdf, 97 pages including the cover, about 25 MB) for any computer, tablet, or phone, and for printing the pages you want to carry. It opens on the illustrated cover.

Your download link arrives by email right after purchase.

Edition

First illustrated edition, October 2026. Research completed October 16, 2026. Roads, campgrounds, and closures change often here, so check the park's current alerts and conditions before you travel.

Fill the tank, carry extra water, and catch the sunrise at Zabriskie Point.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.