Death Valley has a reputation as the hottest place on Earth, which makes a January visit delightful. For those of us in the Pacific Northwest, it’s also a welcome excuse to chase some sun in the depths of winter. With mild temperatures, long golden hours, and a fraction of the spring crowds, a winter visit lets you actually hike the place. We easily filled three days from sunrise through sunset, with hikes and views.
Note: links to Booking.com in this post are affiliate links, which means we earn a small commission if you book through these links.
Why January
Summer temperatures in Death Valley routinely exceed 120°F. January highs on the valley floor sit around 65-70°F, nights are cold, and the low sun angle means the light on the badlands and canyon walls is extraordinary — saturated and directional in a way that flat midday summer light never delivers. Crowds are thinner too; trailhead parking lots that would be full in March were nearly empty for us.
One thing to know going in: Death Valley has sustained significant flood damage in recent years, and as of January 2026 a number of roads remained closed. Darwin Falls was off the table without a road walk, and a few other destinations required checking conditions in advance. We also experienced that this fluctuated in the weeks leading up to our trip as additional winter rains and repairs changed what was open. Fortunately, the closures lightly shaped our itinerary more than they limited it; we found plenty to make the most of our time.
Our Trip at a Glance
Who: Kyle and I, plus my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and two young nieces (ages 5 and ~9 months). We shared plans in advance and met up at key moments, but Kyle and I mostly ran our own itinerary to make the most of the hiking.
When: Late January 2026 — fly into Las Vegas Wednesday night, drive to the park Thursday, three days, returning to Las Vegas Sunday afternoon, fly home Monday.
Home base: The Ranch at Death Valley (Booking.com), centrally located for nearly everything on our list. While Kyle and I spent each day out hiking, The Ranch also had a pool, athletic courts, open air museum and other activities for kids, which was great for staying with family.
Day 0 (Thursday): Arrival and Dante’s View
We landed in Las Vegas Wednesday night, grabbed our rental car, and drove into the park Thursday afternoon — roughly two hours from the city.
A note on gas: Fill up before you enter the park, ideally before crossing into California. Fuel is available inside the park but at a $1–2 per gallon premium. We stopped at the 76 at Amargosa Valley.
On the way into the park, we paused to visit a giant cow, the “Big Bovine of the Desert” at the Nevada-California border.
Not long after entering the park, we turned off for the drive up to Dante’s View. The road winds up into the Black Mountains to a ridge overlooking the valley floor far below. On paper, we were well ahead of the 5:10pm sunset. I had not anticipated (but should have) that because the valley sits between two high mountain ranges running north-south, and the sun drops behind the Panamint Range well before sunset. By the time we arrived, the valley floor was already entering deep shadow. We still enjoyed the view and changing light, and we wandered the ridge north of the main viewpoint to stretch our legs and take in the scenery.
This was also a useful lesson for the rest of our trip: in Death Valley, “sunset” and “the light leaving the valley” are two different things, and the same goes for sunrise too.
We drove back down and checked in to the Ranch (Booking.com). From maps, we knew this was a huge resort, but experiencing it in person was a whole other thing. As it turns out, our hotel room (a standard 2 queen) was near the stables, in about the furthest building from the cottages (where the rest of the family was staying) possible. This was fine, but in hindsight, it might have been nice for us to also stay in the cottages to make evening visits easier.
Day 1 (Friday): Zabriskie, the Badlands, and Lake Manly
Zabriskie Point at Sunrise
We woke up for the ten-minute, early morning drive to Zabriskie Point. There, we joined many other people waiting to greet the day. Some waited at the paved overlook, but we joined the many more waiting just below.
The sun reached the landscape in front of us a little after sunrise time of 6:50am. At first, the light highlighted prominent points, like Manly Beacon, while casting long shadows on the badlands below. As the sun grew higher, the light reached further across the waves of layered hills. The eroded mudstone formations glowed amber and ochre as the light caught them.
Gower Gulch-Golden Canyon Loop from Zabriskie — Including Red Cathedral
Rather than doubling back to the car, we dropped into the canyon and did the full loop back through Gower Gulch and Golden Canyon, clockwise. The published distance for the complete circuit is 7.8 miles and 834 feet of gain, though with various detours, our hike ended up being 8.5 miles and 1904′.
Gower Gulch was excellent. At this early hour, the sun mostly did not reach us. Instead, the show was above us, on the layered walls and formations. We paused often to look up. I also enjoyed seeing bright colors, and lovely sections of breccia–rounded pebbles cemented into the rock–near the end of the gulch.
Around the half way point, the trail breaks out of the canyon onto the flat lands near Badwater Road. The trail parallels the boundary between the hills and the flat lands briefly, heading north. Here, even though we were a few weeks to a month ahead of that spring’s super bloom, green shoots and tiny flowers showed promise of what was to come.
At the Golden Canyon parking lot, we turned back in to the hills. By now, even though the sun was not reaching the canyon floor, the light was high enough to cause the walls to glow gold, as you might expect from the name.
At Red Cathedral, we followed the spur trail. This detour is not to be missed. At first, the trail continues up a side canyon. At the end, in a tall red bowl, trails lead off above. These are gravely and slippery–so care is needed–but we enjoyed ascending for the views over the whole area.
From Red Cathedral, we returned to the main trail. Near Manly Beacon, we took one more detour, following a boot path that led to an expansive overlook of the badlands. After, we rejoined the main trail and finished the loop to Zabriskie Point.
Desolation Canyon
From Golden Canyon we drove to Desolation Canyon, accessed via a short unpaved spur off Badwater Road. It’s 3.6 miles (round trip) and 600 feet to the head of the canyon, overlooking the valley and Artist’s Drive below.
At the head of the canyon, we kept going beyond where most people turn around. This route was gritty and a little slippery, but overall straightforward. As we ascended, views kept improving, and it was tempting to just continue. However, with more to see that day, we stopped at a prominent point, had a snack, and then descended. Our total distance and elevation were about 4.8 miles and 1266′.
Natural Bridge and Dry Falls
A short drive south brought us to Natural Bridge Canyon — a relatively quick stop at 1.7 miles, 526′ elevation gain, and under an hour, but a rewarding one. The natural bridge itself is the obvious draw, but continuing past it to the dry falls at the canyon’s end is worth the extra steps.
Badwater Basin — Family Meetup
We met family at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. During our visit, Badwater Road was closed south of here, due to flood damage, but we were glad the route to the basin was open.
We arrived well before family and so walked out on the salt flat. Normally, this is a dry salt flat, and I had been eager to see the expanse of hexagonal crystals. However, recent rainfall had meant that the basin’s pluvial lake, Lake Manly, had reformed. Lots of people gathered on the shore, some wading.
Part of me was excited to see this rare sight, though part of me was also disappointed not to see the flat of salt crystals. Something for a future trip.
Family arrived, and we walked along the salt and lake, catching up on our days. We took some pictures, before noticing the fading light. That motivated us to head toward Artist’s Drive, which we hoped to see before sunset.
Artist’s Drive — First Pass
We drove through Artist’s Drive on the way back — a 9-mile one-way loop through oxidized volcanic hills that shift from green to purple to red depending on their mineral content.
The light was fading by the time we got there. We stopped at the first pull out, Artists Drive Hill, and walked up to the overlook. This view was lovely in the evening light, but it was late enough that the colors were muted.
From there, we continued around to Artist’s Palette. We stopped short of the parking lot. Some of us appreciated the view from the car, others of us got out to wander briefly. Kyle and I made a note that we’d want to return to explore more and see it in different light.
Dinner at Wild Rose Tavern
With a busy weekend and no reservations available, we needed to not dwell long at Artist’s Drive if we were going to get a timely dinner and get our nieces to bed in time.
We ate at the Wild Rose Tavern, which was very convenient to the cottages. The menu was mostly flatbreads and salads – more limited than their online menu (maybe a seasonal constraint?), but workable. Service was friendly, and the space was large and had a shuffleboard table to keep our oldest niece entertained while we all talked.
After dinner, Kyle and I got cleaned up and then walked over to the cottages for a nightcap with family. On the way, we decided we were still hungry, so we stopped in at the ice cream parlor for dessert. It was expensive but hit the spot, and the parlor is a cute setting.
Day 2 (Saturday): Dunes, a Volcano, Marble Narrows, and Rainbow Hills
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes at Sunrise
Kyle and I woke up at 5:45am to eat breakfast, get ourselves ready, and make 25-minute drive north to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. While sunrise was not until 6:51am, we wanted to arrive early enough to see the dunes in the pre-dawn light and to have time to walk out amongst them.
We reached the highest dune by sunrise. Once there, we sat down to enjoy seeing the sun appear over the mountains and the light reach us and the dunes.
After, we resumed wandering. The low morning light on sand dunes does something that’s hard to fully anticipate until you see it — the shadows thrown by even small ripples become crisp and deep, and the whole landscape takes on a texture. We enjoyed seeing tracks in the sand as well as dramatic, changing shadows cast by the dunes.
Over two hours, we walked about 4.2 miles on the dunes, with 785′ of elevation gain. Running down the dunes was joyful. I was also happy that we ran across some hexagonal salt crystals on the return to the parking lot.
By the time we left, the sun was higher and the textures had faded. The stark contrasts between the brightly illuminated and shaded faces of the dunes was still another kind of beautiful.
Mesquite Flat is the most accessible dunes in the park, which means they are also the most visited. On a crisp January morning, there were others around. However, as we wandered, we often felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.
Ubehebe Crater and Little Hebe
From the dunes we drove north to Ubehebe Crater — about an hour. We stopped a couple of times along the way to admire cacti, rocks, and views.
Ubehebe is a maar volcano — formed by a steam explosion when rising magma contacted groundwater. It is about half a mile across and 600 feet deep.
Rather than just hiking into the main crater, we did a winding loop along the rim: around Ubehebe and out to Little Hebe Crater as well. This added up to 2.4 miles and 590′, which took us a little over an hour. We did not do the hike into the crater.
For me, highlights included the tarns that formed in nearby, subsidiary craters as well as some of the bright orange in Ubehebe crater. During our visit, Ubehebe Crater, which is normally dry, also had a small lake (or large puddle, if you prefer) in its center.
Mosaic Canyon
We topped up gas and grabbed cold drinks at Stovepipe Wells before the drive to Mosaic Canyon, with the trailhead off a short unpaved road that is passable to standard vehicles.
This was a busy spot mid-day on a weekend, and deservedly so. The lower section is smooth marble, polished by water into curves that feel almost architectural. Higher up the walls transition to breccia — varied, angular fragments cemented together. Sections of the canyon had marble on one side and breccia on the other.
We continued up the canyon, through a boulder jam, taking a bypass of one drywall, passing through a shallow narrows, and concluding at another, 25′ dry fall. We then retraced our steps, for a total hike of about 4.1 miles and 1305′ in 1h45.
For those with less time or inclination to explore, the first half mile of the canyon offers a lot of highlights, including breccia and marble. We recommended it to family, who went later in the weekend. My older niece particularly loved where the smoothed marble crosses the canyon floor.
Artist’s Drive — Proper Visit
After Mosaic Canyon, Kyle and I returned to Artist’s Drive for some further explorations. Where the previous day had been a quick visit in fading light, this time we stopped, got out, and explored up into the Artist’s Palette area.
This is one of the best-known spots in Death Valley, and many people were out enjoying it this weekend. We enjoyed getting up close to the colorful hills. Wandering through, rather than being a palette of many colors laid out before us, it was instead more like walking a path through corridors of changing color. Our longer exploration was about a half mile.
Seeing these hills from a distance and actually walking among them are two different experiences. Build time into your itinerary to explore!
Zabriskie Point at Sunset — with Family
My mom had noted, when planning the trip, that it would be nice to get a photo of us all together. We planned a Zabriskie Point sunset visit with that in mind. Kyle and I pulled off on the roadside from Artist’s Drive to change into photo and dinner clothes before driving the rest of the way to the point.
Family had reached the point slightly before us, and so we walked up to the overlook to enjoy the sunset views with them. It was fun to contrast it with the sunrise colors and light the day before, and to experience it with family.
Once we lost the direct light, it was time for a few photos, and then to head to dinner.
Dinner at the Inn at Death Valley
My brother had made reservations at the Inn at Death Valley. It was fun to walk through the old hotel, where the lower entrance has mining and other exhibits leading to the elevator.
Once at the restaurant, they sat us on the patio. This was perfect for our group. My niece could get up and wander, and we had lots of space.
The meal was certainly pricey, but the food was good, the service was friendly–they clearly cared about whether we were enjoying ourselves–and the setting was lovely.
Day 3 (Sunday): One More visit to Zabriskie Point, a Desert Peak, and the Drive Home
Zabriskie Point — ridge views at sunrise
On our third morning, we made our third Zabriskie visit. This time, we skipped the main point and took a boot path south along the ridge for a different angle on the formations.
We loved seeing this area again, but from a slightly different vantage point. As is our tendency, we were tempted to keep exploring further and further. We were not alone on the ridge, but it offered much more solitude than the overlook.
One side of this ridge is steep and exposed. If you are nervous about heights or with kids prone to wandering without good awareness of their surroundings, it’s probably better to stick to the main overlook area, which is plenty beautiful.
After returning to the car, we drove back to Furnace Creek to swap gear and suitcases with the family before their departure. We didn’t want to leave leftover food in our car for the day, and they were counting on our extra trunk space to carry some of their suitcases. This was also the first, and only, time we saw our hotel room in daylight; it turned out it a nice peek-a-boo view of Telescope Peak.
Corkscrew Peak
For our final day, we knew we wanted to do a longer hike. By this point, we’d seen a lot of the destinations accessible via shorter hikes, and we were not coordinating around dinner or sunset logistics with family.
We considered several, including peaks further west: Wild Rose or Telescope Peak. However, a long drive time and recent trip reports that suggested icy summit conditions deterred us.
We instead picked Corkscrew Peak, which Kyle found on r/DeathValleyNP and was ranger-recommended. The starting point for this use-trail is on Daylight Pass Road, a little more than halfway between the turnoff from Scotty’s Castle Road and the California-Nevada border.
From the road, the trail winds around across washes before entering a broad wash and heading for a ridge. At the ridge, the route then climbs steeply but steadily. I enjoyed how varied this hike was. The wash offered a perspective on the desert different from what we got along the road or in canyons. Corkscrew’s summit included some fun rock formations. It also offered excellent views back over Death Valley and north and east to many colored hills. We also enjoyed seeing a chuckwalla sunning itself on our way down.
Our hike totaled about 8.2 miles and 3200 feet of elevation gain. There’s some discrepancy here – Kyle’s watch thinks 9 miles, there are some online estimates of 7.2 miles.
The Drive Back (with Burros!)
From Corkscrew Peak, we could continue along Daylight Pass road to head out of the park and toward Las Vegas. Along the way, we spotted wild burros — something we’d hoped for but weren’t counting on.
The drive back went smoothly. We returned to Las Vegas in time for a pizza dinner with the family: a low-key, relaxed end to our visit.
Planning Notes
Getting There
Las Vegas was the natural gateway for us, as we could stay with family before and after the trip to Las Vegas. It’s roughly two hours to Furnace Creek and has direct flights to many destinations.
When to Go
January sits in Death Valley’s sweet spot: valley floor highs in the mid-60s°F, minimal crowds, and that low-angle light. Nights are cold (30s°F on the valley floor, colder at elevation), so layer accordingly. And as noted above: the valley floor goes into shadow well before official sunset — worth keeping in mind when you’re planning sunrise and sunset stops.
Lodging
Four options inside the park:
- The Ranch at Death Valley (Booking.com) (where we stayed) — casual, central location. This is the most family-friendly accommodations, and they offer both hotel-style rooms (where Kyle and I stayed) and cottages (where family stayed). If we were doing it again, Kyle and I would probably pick the cottages too.
- The Inn at Death Valley (Booking.com) — the historic inn, same central location, pricier. Spring-fed pool at a consistent 87°F. We visited for dinner one evening.
- Stovepipe Wells Village (Booking.com) — further north, better positioned for the dunes and Ubehebe.
- Panamint Springs Motel & Tents (Booking.com) — western edge, good for Panamint-area destinations.
Food
Food in the park is expensive, as is often the case in remote settings and with National Park concessionaires. We thought the meals we ate at park accommodations (especially Last Kind Words Saloon and The Inn at Death Valley) were good and the service was consistently friendly–we always felt like staff cared that we were having a good trip. To make the most of our sunrise to sunset days, we brought berries, yogurt, granola, and orange juice for breakfast (making use of our room’s refrigerator) and fruit and snack bars for lunches.
Rental Car
We rented an AWD, higher clearance vehicle because several worthwhile destinations involve unpaved roads, and post-flood conditions can be variable, though I don’t think that any of our destinations truly required it. We booked through Costco Travel. Some of the remote destinations would have been more accessible with a 4×4 and true high clearance, but this was not necessary for how we spent our time.
Road Closures
Death Valley has sustained repeated major flood damage, and closures are an ongoing reality. We were fortunate that only one closure directly affected our plans — Darwin Falls was inaccessible by road. We still filled three days easily, but it’s always worth reviewing current status before you go: NPS Death Valley Conditions.
Gas
Fill up before entering the park if possible. Gas is available at Furnace Creek (24 hours, unleaded and diesel), Stovepipe Wells (24 hours, unleaded only), and Panamint Springs (7am–9:30pm, unleaded only) — but expect to pay $1–2 per gallon more than outside the park. Stovepipe Wells was somewhat cheaper than Furnace Creek.
