DEATH VALLEY TOURS FROM THE EAST ENTRANCE

The East entrance from Beatty, aptly named “The Gateway to Death Valley”, offers the tourist, sightseer, adventurer, or hiker the closest access to almost all of Death Valley National Park’s most popular and interesting attractions.

Death Valley National Park is so large (3.2 million acres), so the jump-off point for your adventures should be closely and centrally located in order to make the most of your time as driving distances between different parts of can be great.

That is why Beatty is a great ‘Gateway’. Most of the most popular sites to see and explore are closer to the East side of the Valley (closest to Nevada and Highway 95) than they are to the West entrance (the California entrances from Highway 395).

The Beatty entrance is the most central of the Nevada side entrances and thus the closest to most of the most popular sites to see in any direction North or South once a traveler reaches the valley floor.

Some popular sites are literally between Beatty and Death Valley (the ghost town of Rhyolite and the Goldwell Open Air Sculpture Museum). One must-see adventure, Titus Canyon can only be entered from the direction of Beatty.

LAND OF EXTREMES

Death Valley National Park is the Largest National Park in the lower 48 states (over 3 million acres). Only one park, Denali, in Alaska is larger.

The park gets over 1 million visitors a year

Death Valley National Park is one of the few Winter Parks in the National Park System as it is pleasantly warm during the winter months during which most of the other parks in the system are covered with snow.

HOT in the summer. Death Valley holds the record for being the hottest place in the Western Hemisphere. Only one other location on earth has ever had a hotter recorded temperature on a single day. Death Valley has also recorded the HOTEST MONTH at an average daytime temperature in the month of July of over 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

HIGHS and LOWS – Within the borders of the park are mountains over 11,000 feet in height and valley basins over 200 feet below sea level – the lowest points in the entire Western Hemisphere.

Death Valley is home to animal species that can survive their entire lives without ever taking a drink of water. They can survive from the moisture that they take in from the plant life that they eat alone.

GEOLOGY – Death Valley provides an open air display of some of the oldest exposed geology on Earth! Also – Death Valley has geologic formations as young as 10,000 years old. If you are interested in the geologic history of the Earth – Death Valley is one of the best places on earth to study and observe that history.

WILDFLOWERS IN THE DESERT – If late Winter and early Spring conditions are just right, Death Valley erupts in incredible displays of desert wildflower mass blooms that stretch for miles. The last major park-wide bloom was in the Spring of 2005. You can see a picture of one of the areas in bloom in 2005 right here on our website. The wildflower blooms are so incredible that people travel from all parts of the world just to see these amazing fields of wildflowers set against the dramatic backdrop of Death Valley’s colorfully banded mountain ranges and sand dunes.

Natural Beauty – the combination of remarkable and colorful geologic formations and varying and dramatic lighting conditions within the valley combine to make Death Valley visually unique. The park is a popular place for both professional and amateur photographers to visit.

Our helpful and knowledgeable staff at the front desk can help you plan your Death Valley sightseeing and adventures - let us help you plan your trip!

SCOTTY'S CASTLE

Built as a palatial private residence for a wealthy businessman during the 1920’s and 1930’s, Scotty’s Castle can be described as the ‘Hearst Castle of the Desert’ or a desert Xanadu. The National Park Service offers two different guided tours of the Scotty’s Castle – one for the above ground floors and one of its basement and hydro power station. One of the most remarkable aspects of this large estate is how technologically advanced and self-sufficient it was for its day. There is a book store and separate gift shop and café on site at Scotty’s Castle.

TITUS CANYON

Only accessible from the direction of Beatty from State Route 374, the Titus Canyon drive is one of the most spectacular off road drives in the entire U.S. and is recognized by many 4x4 enthusiast clubs as just that. The road up to and down through Titus Canyon is 26 miles long and hosts a extreme sports Marathon every year. The road is well maintained but does require a four wheel drive vehicle due to some high clearance areas.

Get ready to drive through a deep narrow canyon which displays thousands of layers of earth history going back 700 to 800 hundred million years, a real geology lovers paradise. The road is open from Hwy 374 – in a one way only direction only – into Death Valley for most of the year. Snow at the top of a pass or overly wet conditions can cause the road to be closed for periods from mid-November to mid-January each year.

You can sign up for a guided tour in a 4 wheel drive vehicle at the front desk at the Atomic Inn. It’s a 3 to 4 hour tour which features stops at 2 ghost towns, an outdoor sculpture museum, a bag lunch and of course the tour through Titus Canyon.

MESQUITE SAND DUNES

Sand Dunes are not common in the American Deserts. The Death Valley floor boasts a large collection of sand dunes right at its center. These particular sand dunes ‘talk’ when wind conditions are just right. The wind causes the sand at the top ledges of the dunes to collapse down the leeward side of the dunes making an eerie thumping or ‘barking’ sound. The Mesquite Sand Dunes can be reached by driving from Beatty on Hwy 374 over Daylight Pass down to the valley floor. The Dunes will be visible in front of you. Access can be obtained by either driving north, on the way to Scotty’s Castle and taking a side road to the left that directs you to the Dunes or by going South and then West towards Stovepipe Wells on Hwy 190 (towards Stovepipe Wells – not Furnace Creek) and taking a side road North to the Dunes (there are signs that guide you to this area from both directions of approach to the Mesquite Dunes)

MOSAIC CANYON

One of Death Valleys many spectacular and narrow canyons, Mosaic canyon gets its name from the incredibly varied ribbons of layered earth that display multicolored gravel ,(brecchia), worn smooth to the touch by water and wind erosion creating incredible multi-colored mosaic patterns in the canyon walls.

Mosaic canyon is an easy hike and only accessible on foot through the narrowest areas. You have probably never been to a place quite like this. You only need to hike about one quarter of a mile up the canyon to get to the ‘mosaics’ area. Definitely a must see.

UBEHEBE CRATER

A spectacular crater created by the superheating of groundwater by hot magma underneath it – causing an enormous underground steam explosion which created the crater only 2,000 to 7,000 years ago. The crater is over 700 feet deep and is one of the newest geological formations in the Park. You can park right next to the crater in a large parking lot and walk right up to the edge. A great photo opportunity.

Best access is from Beatty by driving Hwy 374 West over Daylight Pass and turning right (North) at the valley floor on the road to Scotty’s Castle.

THE RACETRACK PLAYA (A GREAT MYSTERY)

One of the great mysteries of Death Valley. A large flat dry mud lake bed or plain (playa) where small dolomite boulders literally Move Across the Plain by themselves. The boulders leave long tracks in the mud – evidencing where they appear to have begun their journey. It is a boulder ‘race track’ if you will, a popular spectacle that you really have to see to believe. See if you can explain just how it is that these large stones move on their own in all different directions. No one has ever actually seen these rocks move or been able to prove why it is that they do move.

This site is one of the more remote sites to travel to in the Park and one of the most ‘magical’.

Best Access is from Beatty by Daylight Pass (Hwy 374) and right (North) on the road to Ubehebe Crater and Scotty’s Castle. Access is 27 miles from a road that starts at Ubehebe Crater along a washboard road to the Racetrack Playa. A vehicle with off – road ability (though not necessarily a 4 wheel drive vehicle), is recommended. This is a logical place to go if you are going to see Ubehebe Crater and Scotty’s Castle as all of those sites are at the Northern end of Death Valley.

RHYOLITE (OLD WEST GHOST TOWN)

A real Old West Gold Mining Boom Town only 3 miles West of Beatty along Hwy 374 going towards the Death Valley entrance at Daylight Pass. Rhyolite is a collection of ruins and still intact buildings that once made up the business of this boom town of as many as 10,000 people. Rhyolite is considered the last of the great ‘boom and bust’ towns of the Western Frontier. A beautifully preserved railroad passenger station and the best preserved bottle house in the house can be seen there. There are bathroom facilities on site as well. The ruins of this old town are probably the most striking of any ghost town of the Old West.

Beatty provides the best access to Rhyolite. Travel approximately 3 miles West on Hwy 374 from Beatty until you see a sign for ‘Rhyolite’ on the right – Rhyolite is several hundred yards up a dirt road.

THE GOLDWELL OPEN AIR SCULPTURE MUSEUM

An open air sculpture museum that is just West of Beatty on the dirt road to Rhyolite. A fascinating photo opportunity – features ghostly and unusual large sculptures against a beautiful desert backdrop. Best access is from Beatty – 3 miles West on Hwy 374 and on your left.

Both Rhyolite and the Goldwell are part of the Titus Canyon Guided Tour that can be purchased at the front desk of the Atomic Inn / Phoenix Inn in Beatty.