Despite its foreboding name, this valley is one of the most thrilling places in the country. Sure, it’s the hottest place in the world, but you’ll soon see that the heat is worth the hassle!

Note: This 40+mile-long tour covers the essentials of Death Valley in 2-3 hours.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

While the famed Gold Rush brought a huge influx of hopefuls to Death Valley, it wasn’t gold which kept the valley on the map. In their frantic search for that prized metal, miners stumbled upon something just as valuable: borax.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Affording breathtaking views of the undulating salt flats below, Dante’s View is a phenomenal place for photography, or simply watching the sun set behind the Panamint Mountains. This vista towers more than 5,000 feet above the Badwater Basin, on the cusp of the Black Mountain Range.

• Admission Ticket Free

This is Twenty Mule Team Canyon, named for those iconic wagon trains I just mentioned. This winding road offers some truly excellent desert scenery as you weave between saffron colored hills and colorful badlands. If you visit in the early morning or around sunset, you’ll be treated to dazzling colors as the orange sunlight paints the dramatic rock faces.

• Admission Ticket Free

Named for a 19th-century borax baron, who you’ll hear about in a second, Zabriskie Point is easily one of Death Valley’s most iconic locations. From this perch on the Amargosa Mountain range, you can really see how erosion has shaped this valley. Directly below are the badlands. Past those, much lighter in color, you’ll see the dazzling salt flats. All of it is framed by the hulking Panamint Mountains beyond.

• Admission Ticket Free

Here at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, you’ll find snacks, water, and restrooms, but more importantly…a thermometer! Just outside the entrance is a big digital readout that’ll tell you exactly how hot it is here at one of Death Valley’s lowest points. Make sure to snap a photo standing next to it to shock your friends and family back home.

• Admission Ticket Free

From here, you can access the Golden Canyon trail. This out and back trail is about 3 miles total, and takes around one hour to complete. This popular trail sees many visitors each year, so you’re sure to encounter a few fellow hikers during your trip!

• Admission Ticket Free

That gentle hill off to your right is called Mars Hill. If you think about it, the name makes sense! Much of Death Valley brings to mind the arid, lifeless surface of the planet Mars. The deep ochre stones, strange rock formations and great dusty expanses certainly feel like they don’t quite belong on earth.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

This canvas was painted by volcanic deposits of iron oxides and chlorite. While the badlands of Zabriskie Point were colored largely by different sedimentary deposits, these rocks owe their glow to a totally different era of Death Valley’s geology.

• Admission Ticket Free

This is the best spot to view the Artist’s Palette, a collection of wildly colorful rocks that look like they can’t possibly be natural. And yet they are!

• Admission Ticket Free

This road is rugged and unpaved, so use caution when driving. It leads to a fascinating landscape known as Devils Golf Course. When most people think of golf courses, they’ll imagine verdant rolling hills, smoothly manicured turf and the sound of birdsong. But Death Valley offers no such thing.

• Admission Ticket Free

This is Badwater Basin, home to salt flats which spread out across the desert for a whopping 200 square miles. At 282 feet below sea level, this basin is the lowest point in North America.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free