Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [137]
About 5 miles south of this is Badwater, whose simple name indicates the lowest, hottest, and (curiously) one of the wettest spots on the valley floor. At 279 feet below sea level, Badwater is the lowest spot in the park accessible by auto and is marked by permanent spring-fed pools. The water at first seemed like relief to early travelers— until they tasted the chloride, sodium, and sulfate. It isn't poisonous, and it is home to beetles, soldier fly larvae, and a snail that slowly adapted to these harsh conditions.
A similar site is 25 miles north on Calif. 190: Salt Creek, home to the Salt Creek pupfish, found nowhere else on earth. You can glimpse this little fish, which has made some amazing adaptations to survive in this arid land, from a wooden boardwalk nature trail. In spring, a million pupfish might be wriggling in the creek; they're not visible at any other time of year.
Your car will also take you all the way to two of the best lookout points around, both along Calif. 190 southeast of Furnace Creek. Before sunrise, photographers set up their tripods at Zabriskie Point, 5 miles southeast of Furnace Creek off Calif. 190, and aim their cameras down at the pale mudstone hills of Golden Canyon and the great valley beyond. The panoramic view is magnificent.
Another grand park vista is at Dante's View, 25 miles south of Furnace Creek by way of Calif. 190 and Dante's View Road. This 5,475-foot point looks out over the shimmering Death Valley floor backed by the high Panamint Mountains.
Nearly everyone takes the scenic drive up Scotty's Castle Road to visit the park's major man-made attraction, Scotty's Castle (see below). While you're there, it's worth taking the 15-minute drive to Ubehebe Crater, 9 miles west of the castle. The otherworldly pockmark resulted from a volcanic explosion somewhere around 2,000 years ago, give or take a millennium.
You'll know that you're close when the landscape begins to darken from layers of cinders that were spewed from the half-mile crater. A convenient loop road takes you up to the most scenic lip. An explanatory sign graces the parking area, and there's a hiking path (for those willing to brave the often-gusting winds) to an even more dramatic overlook and a field of smaller craters.
Organized Tours & Ranger Programs
In addition to providing hourly Scotty's Castle "Living History" tours (see below), Death Valley rangers keep busy giving lectures, group discussions, and film presentations on varied topics. For those eager to get their shoes dusty, several hikes and guided walks run seasonally, with themes such as Moonlight Meander and Canyon Secrets. Contact park headquarters for a seasonal schedule of day and evening events; nearly all programs (except for year-round Scotty's Castle tours) cease between mid-April and late October.
Historic & Man-Made Attractions
Scotty's Castle, the Mediterranean-style hacienda in the northern part of the park, is unabashedly Death Valley's premier attraction. Visitors are wowed by the elaborate Spanish tiles, well-crafted furnishings, and innovative construction with ahead-of-its-time solar water heating. Even more compelling is the colorful history of this villa in remote Grapevine Canyon, brought to life by park rangers dressed in 1930s clothing. Construction of the "castle"—officially, Death Valley Ranch—began in 1922. It was to be a winter retreat for Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson. The insurance tycoon's unlikely friendship with prospector/cowboy/spinner-of-tall-tales Walter Scott put the $2.3-million structure on the map and captured the public's imagination. Scotty greeted visitors and told them fanciful stories from the early mining days of Death Valley.
The 50-minute guided tour of Scotty's Castle is excellent, both for