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Photo: Julietvbarbara / CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Canyons & deserts

Death Valley National Park

Furnace Creek, CA · Mojave Desert$$30 per vehicle, good for 7 days; cards only

About

The salt crystals at Devils Golf Course, on Badwater Road in Death Valley, make tiny popping sounds as they expand and contract in the heat. Badwater Basin is 17 miles south of Furnace Creek on the same road, and a quarter-mile walk from its lot puts you out on the salt polygons. Average highs run 65 to 82°F from November through March and 110 to 116 in summer, when the Park Service advises spending no more than 15 minutes outside an air-conditioned car at Badwater. After dark the Milky Way shows clearly.

Highlights

Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level, North America's lowest pointZabriskie Point's golden badlands at sunriseMesquite Flat Sand DunesArtists Palette drive through mineral-stained hillsFurnace Creek, site of Earth's hottest recorded air temperature

Getting there

Furnace Creek Visitor Center, CA-190, Death Valley, CA 92328

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