Death Valley Camping

About This Region

Death Valley National Park camping offers an extraordinary opportunity to experience one of America's most extreme and captivating landscapes, from the searing heat of the valley floor to the cool pine forests at 8,000+ feet elevation. With campgrounds ranging from the well-appointed Furnace Creek Campground—the park's only reservable facility with 136 sites and full amenities—to remote primitive sites like Homestake near the mysterious Racetrack Playa, Death Valley provides camping experiences for every adventure level. Whether you're seeking flush toilets and easy access to iconic attractions or complete wilderness solitude beneath the continent's darkest skies, these desert campgrounds deliver unforgettable experiences. The diversity of Death Valley National Park campgrounds is remarkable, spanning elevations from below sea level to mountain peaks where temperatures can be 35 degrees cooler than the scorching valley floor. First-time visitors often gravitate toward developed options like Furnace Creek and Texas Springs, which offer modern conveniences and strategic locations near Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. More adventurous souls discover hidden gems like Wildrose at 4,100 feet, where fierce winds and aromatic mesquite bushes create an authentic high-desert experience, or Mahogany Flat, nestled in fragrant Pinyon Pine forest at the Telescope Peak trailhead. Making reservations for Death Valley camping requires planning, especially for the October through April peak season when temperatures become comfortable for exploration. Furnace Creek accepts reservations six months in advance and fills quickly, while most other park campgrounds operate on a first-come, first-served basis, rewarding early arrivals with the best sites and ensuring spontaneous adventurers can still find their desert sanctuary.

Death Valley's landscape defies expectations with scenery that ranges from otherworldly salt flats and towering golden sand dunes to high-elevation pine forests that feel worlds away from the desert below. The valley floor campgrounds like Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells immerse you in classic desert scenery—endless vistas of barren mountains painted in ochre and rust, creosote bushes dotting the terrain, and the famous Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes rising like frozen waves against impossibly blue skies. As you climb to higher elevations, the landscape transforms dramatically: Wildrose and Thorndike campgrounds offer rolling hills covered in mesquite and juniper, while Mahogany Flat at 8,200 feet provides a fragrant pine forest experience complete with mountain views and access to alpine trails. Outdoor recreation opportunities span the full spectrum from primitive wilderness adventures to family-friendly exploration. Stargazing reaches legendary status here, with some of the darkest skies in North America revealing the Milky Way in breathtaking clarity at remote sites like Texas Springs and Emigrant. Campgrounds provide access to world-famous hiking destinations including Telescope Peak, Golden Canyon, and the mysterious Racetrack Playa, while photographers find endless subjects in places like Zabriskie Point at sunrise and Badwater Basin's geometric salt patterns. Whether you're car camping with full amenities or backpacking to isolated primitive sites requiring 4WD access, Death Valley offers camping styles ranging from comfortable to truly challenging.