Places of Interest - Southern Death Valley

Golden Canyon     Artist's Drive      Devil's Golf Course      Badwater     Ashford Mill

The route coming into Death Valley along 178 (also called the Badwater Road) just north of Shoshone is one of the most scenic routes into Death Valley and covers the attractions along the Badwater road. In the springtime this drive offers many views of Death Valley's wildflowers. A great loop tour from Las Vegas would be to enter the park via Hwy. 178 and exit on Hwy. 190 to Death Valley Junction.      See Shopping, Lodging, Dining, Camping and RV Parks and Other Services directory for amenities available Golden Canyon      The most popular and easiest (in terms of difficulty) winter hike in the park is the 2 mile round trip into Golden Canyon, which is along the Badwater road. In the afternoon the canyon walls are bathed in a beautiful red and golden light. At one time a road went into Golden Canyon but the walls and remnants of the pavement testify to the power of rushing water during a Death Valley storm which eventually led to the abandonment of the road into the canyon. Movie fans may remember seeing a little robot called R2D2 in this canyon in the Star Wars film. As with any hiking in Death Valley, be sure to bring lots of drinking water with you during the warmer months. This hike is not recommended in the summer due to the inability to keep up with water loss in the extreme temperatures.

Artist's Drive      Artist's Drive is a 9 mile one-way paved drive through spectacular colors formed by layers of volcanic ash. At Artist's Palette, a paved viewpoint along the drive, you can stop and see the pastels right in front of you. When you get close to the captivating landscape of Artist's Drive you can only marvel at how fragile this scenic panorama truly is. Due to two deep dips and very narrow, winding turns, RVs are not allowed in Artist's Drive.

Devil's Golf Course      If you take the two-mile gravel road into Devil's Golf Course, you won't find a putting green at the end of it. Typical of the sense of humor people have used out here, it was named because "it was linkage so rough only the devil could play golf on it." What you will find at the Devil's Golf Course is one of the most fascinating attractions in Death Valley. Here, rock hard salt pinnacles create interesting formations that resemble crystal caves. Amidst the jagged peaks one can find tiny, new salt crystals forming, which give the peaks a fragile, lacy effect. The salt found out here is almost pure table salt. When visiting this special place, please leave the crystals for everyone to enjoy.

Badwater      Driving 19 miles south of hwy. 190 or 55 miles northwest from Shoshone on 178, will bring you to the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at Badwater, which is 282 feet below sea level. There is always water at Badwater because of an underground spring but in the summer months there is much less of it due to evaporation. In this water, which is 2-3 time saltier than the ocean, the tiny Badwater snail manages to survive. A brand new boardwalk trail and exhibit allow visitors to see this area without harming the habitat of this microscopic snail. Across the valley floor from Badwater, you can see the highest point in Death Valley at Telescope Peak, which is 11,049 feet.

Ashford Mill      This historic stamp mill was built to process the ore from the Ashford mine five miles northeast of here in the early 1900's. When the mill and mine were no longer profitable they were shut down. The mine was reopened in the '20's and '30's but it didn't prove to be successful. Ashford Mill is one of the best locations in the park for viewing wildflowers in the springtime. Desert five spot, verbena, phacelia, and desert gold are just a few of the flowers that can be found here during a good wildflower season.