Death Valley National Park ​

Death Valley holds the record for the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth — 134°F in 1913 — and regularly hits 120°F+ in summer, which is less "weather" and more "physics demonstration." But visit between November and March and the park transforms into one of the most striking landscapes in the country: salt flats stretching to infinity at Badwater Basin, the psychedelic colors of Artist's Palette, sand dunes at Mesquite Flat that glow gold at sunrise, and canyon walls in Titus Canyon that feel like you've driven onto another planet.

At 3.4 million acres, it's the largest national park outside Alaska. Zabriskie Point at dawn is the classic shot. Dante's View gives you a panorama so vast your brain struggles to process the scale. And on rare wet winters, the valley floor erupts in wildflower superbloom that makes the internet lose its collective mind.

Photo Gallery ​

Good to Know ​

Do NOT visit June–September unless you have a death wish and a fully functioning vehicle with AC. People die here every year from heat exposure.

Gas: Fill up before entering. There's one gas station inside the park (Furnace Creek) and they charge accordingly.

Phone: No service in most of the park. Tell someone your itinerary before you go.