After many months of traveling across the vast Australian outback, we thought we had discovered the most desolate of wastelands. A wilderness so isolated and inhospitable, we seemed to be in a different world altogether, on Mars maybe, but certainly not Planet Earth.

But when we visited Death Valley in Eastern California, we discovered the most forbidding world yet. Still hotter, drier, and more desolate than any other place we’ve ever visited. Among the first to experience this harsh environment were pioneers who got lost in the desert valley on their way to the California goldfields in the winter of 1849-1850 and gave the valley its ominous name.

Years later, in 1913, a temperature of 57°C was recorded in Furnace Creek, the highest temperature ever recorded. The geographical location of the park in the northern Mojave Desert, hemmed in by the Panamint Mountains to the west and the Amargosa Range to the east and characteristic desert climate make Death Valley at once the hottest and one of the driest places on earth.

You’d think that no earthly creature could withstand the ferociously hot daytime heat in summer and extreme dryness. But the desert is very much alive, day and night, and supports surprisingly rich biodiversity. The more time we spent exploring Death Valley’s narrow canyons and characteristic badlands, the more we noticed lizards skittering between rocks, squirrels chasing each other up the juniper trees, and ravens circling above the campground waiting to wreak havoc on someone’s site (better not to leave anything outside, especially food).

Much bigger creatures still, bighorn sheep, coyotes, and kit fox, have adapted to the harsh conditions of the desert, although we did not see any.

The most common scenery in the park, however, is bare rock, devoid of almost any vegetation. It was quite astonishing really, how that lack of greenery puts a particular focus on the beautifully carved and colored rock formations rising against a bright blue sky and snowcapped mountains.

At night, when the incredible emptiness of the valley is amplified by the high and exceptionally dark and starry skies, the softest of sounds travel easily across this silent expanse.

Death Valley is easily accessible by car and being able to see grand panoramas, narrow slot canyons, salt-encrusted plains, and wavy sand dunes, from the comfort of your airconditioned car is certainly a great advantage during the hotter months. Artists Drive, the park’s most spectacular scenic drive through the Amargosa Range foothills, is a stunning and very comfortable adventure.

I’d still encourage you to explore some of the park’s many popular and well-maintained scenic walking tracks. Not in the extreme midday heat, of course, but our morning and evening hikes became our fondest memories of Death Valley. The trails range in walking distance, time, and difficulty from short strolls that access the park’s most spectacular viewpoints to unmarked backcountry routes.

We’ll share our 5 favorite trails in Death Valley National Park in this post, but if you need more help finding a walk or hike to suit your experience and ability, we found the staff at the visitor center to be really friendly and helpful.

When you plan your visit, it helps to know that the park is really huge, and 90% of it is a designated wilderness area, not easily accessible. The Furnace Creek Area is Death Valley’s central hub, where you’ll find lodging, restaurants, the park’s main visitor center, a post office, and a small general store. It’s located roughly in the center of the park with Golden Canyon Trail, Zabriskie Point, Artists Drive with Artists Palette and Badwater Basin in easy reach.

Thirty minutes northwest of Furnace Creek on CA 190 is Stovepipe Wells Village, the second tiny desert community in the park near two of its main attractions, Mosaic Canyon and Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. The northern section of the national park, the area around Scotty’s Castle and Ubehebe Crater, was temporarily closed due to flood damage at the time of our visit.