Arguably, it's worth staying in hotels near Death Valley National Park just so you can take the Artists Drive through spectacular sedinmentary landscapes. Just fifteen minutes from Furnace Creek Visitor Center you can enter another world, where the pastel colors of the setting sun bounce off the vast swathes of undulating rock. The drive unfolds for nine miles of photo-ready splendor.
The park's best known vantage point gazes out over aureate badlands known as Furnace Creek. Hike from this vista through the badlands loop, from which you can access more of the park's outdoor marvels, including Golden Canyon, Gower Gulch and the imposing Red Cathedral rock formations.
Brace yourself for the most arresting view in Death Valley National Park. Otherwise, this heart-stopping view could almost earn the park it's name. At nearly 6,000 feet elevation, America's lowest point is embraced by the Panamint Mountains, which melt into the Sierra Nevada, way in the distance. The observation point is about a forty minute drive from Furnace Creek Visitor Center, and worth every minute of the scenic journey there.