Death Valley National Park

If, instead of turning west on Route 178, you continue north on Route 127 another 28 miles from Shoshone, you arrive at Death Valley Junction, about 30 miles east of Furnace Creek Visitor Center. The Amargosa Opera House is located here. Turn west on Route 190 to enter the park along Furnace Creek Wash (3040 feet), the same route by which the pioneers who named Death Valley entered in 1849.

Eighteen miles from the junction, turn left and follow the road 13 miles to Dante's View (5475 feet). From the overlook here, you can see Badwater directly below, the lowest point in the western hemisphere (282 feet below sea level) plus spectacular views across Death Valley of the Panamint Range and the surrounding mountains. On clear winter days it is possible to see the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S., Mount Whitney at 14,011 feet.

Back on Route 190, additional points of interest heading west include the loop drive through Twenty Mule Team Canyon on the left. The hills which form the canyon are the remnants of an ancient Lake Bed. They audibly contract and expand with changes of temperature, but the mule teams never passed through here.

Continuing 2 miles west back on the highway, the overlook at Zabriskie Point provides a wonderful view of the uplifted, eroded yellow hills created by an ancient lake bed.

Descending into the valley, the highway merges with Badwater Road and turns north. The Borax Museum is located 2 miles further on the west side of the highway. Large mining machinery and exhibits relating to borax mining are on display free of charge here. The Visitor Center is only a mile further.