 Las Vegas Area Travel Guide (Part 6) Death Valley and Vicinityby Joseph A. Sprince - Photography by Gerald B. AllenThe Las Vegas Area Travel Guide is a resource for Las Vegas visitors who wish to sample the Southwest's great scenery and outdoor recreation. All destinations within the guide are no more than five hours' drive from Las Vegas. Included are sites close to Las Vegas, such as Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon, Arizona locales (including Grand Canyon, Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, Historic Route 66), Utah (Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park), and California (Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve). Details include descriptions and links to many references. Notable Las Vegas attractions also are included. 
Navigating the GuideOpen the Locater Map by clicking on image at right. Place your mouse pointer on any map icon. A brief description will appear. Click on the link in the icon info window for details. You may also use the Pull-Down Menu or the Las Vegas Area Travel Guide Index at the bottom of the page. Death Valley and Vicinity
This symbol indicates links into the American West Travelogue. While Death Valley is a fairly short distance from Las Vegas, it can feel a lot longer. Once you leave the metro area the distances between the small towns and travel services become long. In the blazing heat of summer the distances can seem very long indeed. You drive through many miles of open desert with very few people or structures. If traveling here in the summer carry plenty of water and supplies in your vehicle, to be as self-sufficient as possible. Las Vegas to Death Valley's Furnace Creek (park headquarters, traveler services) is about a 2 1/2 hour ride (118 miles via NV-160/CA-190 west. or 145 miles via US-95 north). This can be an excellent, pleasant day trip during the cooler months, with plenty to see and do. Expect to stay one or more nights to see more of the region. 
Death Valley National ParkDeath Valley National Park offers perhaps the most spectacular, colorful, and surreal desert scenery in all of the Southwest. Death Valley is renowned as America's hottest, driest, and lowest place. There are few places hotter or drier in the world. In a place of great contrasts, the lowest point, Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, is towered over by Telescope Peak, 11,049 feet above sea level. The park also features sand dunes, salt flats, colorful canyons, even a volcanic crater. There are miles of paved and dirt roads for auto touring, as well as many opportunities for four-wheel driving. One of most amazing sights in Death Valley is Scotty's Castle, a 1920's mansion built as a rich man's retreat. The building and its beautiful furnishings are well-preserved and accessible by guided tour. The park's center of activity is at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (on CA-190, about 20 miles west of Death Valley Junction). Lodging, campgrounds, and food are available. Lodging varies from rustic, to motel rooms at Furnace Creek Ranch, to luxurious accommodations at the Furnace Creek Inn. The park is extremely popular during the winter, and reservations are strongly advised. Access from Las Vegas is US-95, then NV-373 or NV-374; or NV-160, then county-210. Visit time: at least two or three days. For more details, see Trip VII in the travel itinerary section. Display a printable copy of the Park Map. A list of park highlights:
Death Valley links:
Mojave National PreserveOne of the newer national park units, Mojave National Preserve offers more remote and less crowded recreation. Rose-colored sand dunes, volcanic cinder cones, Joshua tree forests, and mile-high mountains are found along the preserve's scenic roadways. There are numerous paved roads for easy auto touring as well as many four-wheel drive routes, including the historic Mojave Road. There is an interpretive center in the town of Kelso and campgrounds at cooler, higher elevations. California's Providence Mountains State Recreation Area is adjacent. It features hiking, camping and popular tours of Mitchell Caverns. Tour reservations are suggested for weekends or holiday periods. The preserve is accessed from I-15, an easy drive from Las Vegas (67 miles to Cima Road or 93 miles to Baker, then south). Visit time: at least a day trip, more to experience the area. A good scenic drive starting and ending at I-15: Drive to Baker, then south to Kelso (stop at visitor center), north to Cima, then north back to the interstate. Display a printable copy of the Park Map.
Rhyolite Ghost TownAnother interesting stop on the way to Death Valley, Rhyolite is one of Nevada's best ghost towns. A gold boomtown built to last, Rhyolite had about 10,000 residents at its peak in 1907, with many blocks of stone and brick buildings. By 1920, only 14 residents remained. Today, only a few buildings remain out in the barren desert. These include the unique Bottle House which was built with 30,000 (mostly beer) bottles. Inside is a small museum with artifacts from the town. There are a few caretakers and volunteer guides who interpret the site for visitors. The site is about two hours from Las Vegas. Take US-95 to Beatty, then Nevada-374 a few miles west. The east entrance to Death Valley National Park is a few miles west on NV-374. Visit time: a couple of hours. Armagosa Opera HouseOne of the strangest experiences of the remote Mojave Desert, Marta Becket's Armagosa Opera House is the backdrop for live theater performances on Saturdays, October through May. The one-person show features dance and mime by Ms. Becket who also spent years painstakingly restoring a decrepit 1920s building into a theater. She also personally hand-painted the spectacular murals which cover the interior walls. The adjacent Armagosa Hotel offers rustic lodging and is also decorated with Becket's unique art. The complex is in Death Valley Junction (CA-127 and CA-190), en route to Death Valley. The town is also less than ten miles from Ash Meadows (Item 12 above) via county-210. Visit time: overnight if you want to attend the show; otherwise it's a drive through. 
Ash Meadows National Wildlife RefugeAn interesting side trip en route to Death Valley, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge protects a desert oasis pockmocked with springs, marshes, and small reservoirs. The refuge provides habitat for at least 24 plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. This is the greatest concentration of species of any local area in the country. An interpretive kiosk and boardwalk nature trail are available. Activities include wildlife observation, picnicking, and hunting. The refuge is 90 miles from Las Vegas, west on Nevada-160, then west on county-210. Visit time: a couple of hours; possible lunch stop. Goldfield, NevadaGoldfield is a semi-ghost town located between Beatty and Tonopah on US-95. It started in 1902 as a gold mining boomtown quickly reaching a peak population of 30,000. When the gold ran out, so did the people, with the population dwindling to 1,500 by 1910. The census of 2000 showed about 400 remaining residents. While still a functioning town, most of the downtown buildings are unoccupied relics of the gold rush era. A 1923 fire burned away most of the wood structures. But a number of large, intricate brick buildings survives to this day. Goldfield remains the county seat, and the Esmeralda County Courthouse built in 1908 is still functioning. The original adjacent jailhouse is still in use. Other major buildings still standing include the Goldfield High School, the Santa Fe Saloon (1905), and the Goldfield Hotel (1908). The hotel was once considered the most luxurious between Chicago and San Francisco, with all the "modern" amenties (like phones and electricity). It is also allegedly haunted and has been featured on numerous TV shows relating to ghosts and paranormal activity.
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Books
The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park
by T. Scott Bryan, Betty Tucker-Bryan
First complete guide to cover the entire park region, from the habitats and lifestyles of wildlife in the area to backpacking trips, short day walks and full-length hikes. 
Hiking Death Valley: A Guide to Its Natural Wonders & Mining Past
by Michel Digonnet
Illustrated with original topographic maps, this book will guide you to Death Valley's most popular sites and many spectacular, out-of-the-way places, illustrating the remarkable diversity of its terrain, geology, flora, and fauna. 
Photography
Rainbow Bridge I by Gerald Allen
The world's largest known natural bridge in its exquisite setting. Related Pages
The Mojave Desert covers most of southeastern California and Nevada. It is one of the world's most arid and warmest places, with Death Valley offering the extremes of both. The desert mountain ranges in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada provide stark and beautiful scenery.
Location
The Mojave Desert encompasses southeastern California and Nevada. Most destinations are readily accessible from Los Angeles or Las Vegas, using Interstates 10,15, and 40. Las Vegas is located on Interstate-15 in southern Nevada. Local Weather
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