Stop At: Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California
Our Death Valley tours start from your Las Vegas hotel, where you will be greeted and checked in by your tour-guide. When the entire group for the day has been assembled, the drive to Death Valley National Park begins. The drive itself is filled with commentary about what you can expect to experience in Death Valley, as well as some local history and information about the trip itself.
Once in Death Valley itself, your tour-guide will stop for a photo op at the welcome sign. Many members of our group will take pictures in front of the sign that welcomes us to one of the most extreme environments on earth, as well as the area that boasts the highest temperature ever recorded. You can expect group members to assume the “I am dead in Death Valley” positions for photographs!
Duration: 10 hours
Stop At: Zabriskie Point, Route 190, Inyo County, California 92328
The first stops on the tour are Dante’s View and Zabriskie point, where our adventurers have the ability to explore each location on their own, to experience the breathtaking views and unusual landscape in their own way. The views of the desert floors from these vantage points is remarkable, and many will simply marvel at the sheer beauty of the expanse while others will stroll around the area, taking in the landscape directly under their feet, noticing unique plant forms and wildlife that inhabits the area.
Zabriskie Point is actually a viewpoint that is part of the Amargosa Range, and is unique due to it’s erosional landscape. It is composed of the elements left behind by the drying up of Furnace Creek Lake, which disappeared around five-million years ago. The location itself was named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, who was the vice-president of the Pacific Borax Company.
Dante’s View is a terrace viewpoint that sits 5,476 feet above the desert floor. It is located on the north side of Coffin Peak, and overlooks the floor of Death Valley. Several paths lead to the peak, which offers a dramatic panoramic view of the basin.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Inyo County, California 92328
View 20 Mule Team Canyon from Zabriskie Point
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Devil's Golf Course, Badwater Rd., Inyo County, California 92328
One of our last stops is the “Devil’s Golf Course” where a brief off-road trip brings us to an area that provides some of the most unique photographs in the world, as jagged salt formations take on the appearance of snow on the desert floor. Our adventurers venture out into the salt-flat, and notice that the formations are very solid and hard, even though they are delicate in appearance.
From this point, our adventure tour of Death Valley returns to Las Vegas, where our visitors say goodbye to their new friends. They retire to their hotels discussing Death valley, the fact that pictures cannot do it justice. To experience a Death Valley tour yourself, simply click the “book now” button above, and secure your place on our next tour of one of the world’s most interesting and beautiful places.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Artists Palette, 11 mi south of Furnace Creek off Badwater Road, Inyo County, California 92328
Artist’s Palatte is dramatic due to the many colors of rock that make up the landscape. The colors are due to the oxidation of different metals, red yellow and pink being from iron salts and green from decomposing mica. There are even purple elements that are produced from manganese. The Artist Drive Formation was produced as a result of a violent and explosive volcanic period in Death Valley.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Furnace Creek Visitor Center, California Highway 190, Inyo County, California 92328
Our adventurers enjoy lunch and refreshments as well as exploring the sites and purchasing gifts to commemorate their trip. The Visitor center is an oasis in the desert, with many cool areas to relax and take in the sites. Take your picture in front of the sign which contains the world-record temperature record of 134 degrees, and which shows the current temperature. The Borax exhibit tells the story of the Pacific Borax Company, who mined the Borax that cleans many people’s clothes today. Borax is an element that is used in laundry detergent, as well as other uses. The famous “20 mule team” that hauled the Borax from the area after it was mined is commemorated even today on “20 Mule Team Borax laundry detergent.”
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Badwater, Badwater Rd., 19 mi south of Furnace Creek, Inyo County, California 92328
Badwater Basin is the area that contains the lowest elevation point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. Do not forget to snap a photo of the mountain behind you that shows the actual point of sea level, which will give you a good idea of how low you are. Badwater Basin is a salt flat, and displays a huge expanse of pure table salt! There is flooding at Badwater Basin often, however it usually doesn’t last very long as the scorching temperatures evaporate the standing water into a thicker layer of salt every time.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Pahrump, Pahrump, Nevada
Stop in Pahrump for a comfort stop en route back to Las Vegas enjoying the beautiful Mojave Desert drive.
Duration: 15 minutes
