Death Valley – Dante’s View

Introduction:

What? :

Situated 5,575 ft (1,699 m) above Badwater, Dante’s View provides an amazing view of the white salt flats valley below you and the Panamint Mountain Range and Telescope Peak across from it.

This is one of the great photographic spots in Death Valley and it is well worth the 45-minute drive from Furnace Creek Visitor Center; you can do this when coming to the park or on your way out.

The best time to visit here is early in the morning (sunrise) where the sun is rising behind you or late afternoon at sunset when it sets behind the mountain range on the other side of the valley. Mid-day is usually hazy with less visibility.

Where? : 

From the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, drive southeast on Highway 190, pass the junction with Badwater road and from here drive additional 10.7 miles until you will see the Dantes View turn-off on the right.

Dantes View is 13 miles from this junction. 

If you are coming from Death Valley Junction then drive 18.4 miles west on highway 190 and after entering the Death Valley National Park you will see, right after Death Valley Pay Station, the turn to your left.

Dantes View is 13 miles from this junction. 

Google Map Link

Additional Death Valley related Blogs:

• Death Valley
• Death Valley Road Trip
• Mojave Desert – Highway 127 from Death Valley to Baker
• Beatty Nevada and Rhyolite Ghost Town
• Death Valley – Titus Canyon Drive
• Death Valley – Ibex Dunes and Saratoga Springs
• Death Valley – Striped Butte Valley 4x4 Drive
• Death Valley – Sidewinder Canyon
• Death Valley – Badwater
• Death Valley – Artist's Palette Drive
• Death Valley – Hiking Golden Canyon and Gower Gulch
• Death Valley – Zabriskie Point
• Death Valley – Salt springs sunset visit
• Death Valley – Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
• Death Valley – Ubehebe Crater
• Death Valley – Racetrack Playa
• Death Valley – Saline Valley, Salt Lake
• Death Valley – Saline Valley, Warm Springs

When? :

The park is open year-round.

The recommended time to visit here is late fall, winter and early spring, summer is just too hot.

Winter sunset and night can be cold, and temperatures may be below freezing so come prepared.

The road may be closed because of snow or floods.

Due note 1:

Although its remote location this is a popular sunrise or sunset viewing point.

Dante’s View is inside the Death Valley National Park so there is a fee of $25 to enter the park (pay at the visitor center or kiosk).

Due note 2:

There are no restrooms at the parking lot but there are ones in the RV parking lot just before the final climb.

No water.

 

Due note 3:

The road leading to Dante’s View is open to all vehicles except for the end, where it is closed to big RVs, you can park there and climb to the top of the hill.

The last 6 miles of the road are closed to vehicles with a combined length of 25 feet or longer.

 

Due note 4:

When visiting or hiking at the Death Valley use several layers of clothing. You can start your day with cold temperatures during sunrise to a very hot midday (even in fall, winter, and spring). This is a high elevation mountain; in the afternoon it can warm but after sunset temperature plumage and it can be freezing.

 

Due note 5:

The viewing platform is right at the parking lot, no walking is needed.

My thoughts:

Dante’s View is not near any of the other Death Valley Park attractions. I visited Death Valley National Park many times in the past but never visited this location but after visiting here I know that I will visit here again.

The panoramic vista from this high location is topping all other viewing points in the park, at least the one I visited.

The visit:

Located on the Black Mountains ridge, Dantes View that is 5,575 ft (1,699 m) above Badwater Basin is an amazing spot for enjoying the vast views of Death Valley's unique landscape.

The salt covered white valley stretching from far left all the way to the far right and the Panamint Mountain Range on the other side.

I used my 600mm zoom lens and I can see below the viewing point the people walking in Badwater salt flats or the roads in the valley below.

From the viewing platform I wanted to explore the path that takes you along the ridgeline to the left. There are few cliff edge viewing points and after a quarter of a mile the ridgeline keeps going down sharply.

When I came back to the viewing platform, I went and hiked the trail to the other side, in the direction of the hill.

This trail follows the ridge for about 4 miles all the way to Mt Perry. I walk only to the official Dante’s View Peak (0.7 mile out and back).

You can spend 1-15 minutes or longer to enjoy the sunset; I was here for 4 hours because I stayed for night photography.

With its high elevation, remoteness, and the vast views Dantes View is also a good location for dark night sky photography.

I stayed here well after dark in freezing temperatures and blowing winds to take long exposure car-light-track pictures and later to do some Star and Milky Way photography.

Additional Pictures: