I’d been wanting to visit Death Valley for years, and late last year I finally made it happen. I just threw some gear in a bag on a Friday morning and headed out from LA. Badwater Basin was at the top of my list—how often do you get to stand at the lowest point in North America?
The Descent
The drive from LA took about 4.5 hours. Once you cross the park boundary, the scale hits you. The final stretch on Badwater Road is wild. You’re descending continuously with massive mountains on both sides.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I almost missed the best part. If you look at the rocky cliff directly across the road from the parking area, there’s a tiny white "Sea Level" sign perched way up on the mountainside. Looking up at that sign on the asphalt really puts it in perspective. I was 282 feet below where the ocean would be.
Walking on Another Planet
There’s a boardwalk that extends onto the basin floor, but don't stop there. Most people take a selfie and head back, but the real experience starts when you step off the wood and onto the salt flats.
What looks like snow from the car is actually a massive crust of salt. And the sound? It’s this weird, metallic crunch. Not soft like snow, more like walking on a layer of crushed glass.
I walked out about half a mile. There’s a main flattened path, but if you turn off a bit, you find those geometric patterns you see in photos. They aren’t rocks, even though they look like it. They’re salt crystals pushing up through the mud into these ridges. I probably spent thirty minutes just crouched down trying to get a decent photo of them. Everything is so flat that the mountains look like they're miles away, and the silence out there is heavy. It's the kind of quiet you just don't get at home.
A Few Lessons Learned
Water is no joke. Even in the "cool" months, the air is so dry it basically sucks the moisture out of you. I finished two bottles before I got back to the car and still felt thirsty.
Don't wear flip-flops. Seriously. The salt crust is sharp and uneven. I saw a few people struggling in sandals, and it looked like a great way to slice a toe.
The reflection is real. The white salt acts like a giant mirror. You’re getting hit by the sun from above and the reflection from below. My face was definitely red by the end of the day.
Pack light. I used a small sling bag for my water, phone, and chapstick. It was perfect for keeping my hands free to take photos without lugging a heavy backpack across the flats.
Beyond Badwater
I also hit Dante’s View on the way back. It’s a bit of a trek, about a 50-minute drive from the Badwater lot because you have to loop back toward Furnace Creek before heading up the winding mountain road. But looking down at the entire basin from 5,000 feet up? Worth the extra gas.
I also squeezed in Artist’s Drive on the way out. It’s a 9-mile loop through these volcanic hills that look like someone dumped buckets of pink, purple, and teal paint over them.
The Bottom Line
Badwater isn't a "hike" in the sense that there’s a summit or a finish line. You just walk out, feel small for a while, and walk back. I spent about 90 minutes there, which felt like the perfect amount of time to soak in the experience.
The Essentials:
Connectivity: Cell service is nonexistent. Download offline maps before you leave or you’ll be flying blind.
Weather: Summer here hits 120°F, which is genuinely dangerous. Late fall was perfect—cool enough for a jacket in the morning but T-shirt weather by noon.
If you’ve been to Death Valley, what did I miss? I’m already itching to go back and see the rest of the park. Follow us at @torchedc and stay tuned for more park reviews and outdoor adventures! -TORCH
*Map courtesy of the National Park Service.