Death Valley National Park Operating Hours & Seasons

Death Valley National Park is open all year round, but when’s the best time to take your trip? Well, that all depends on what you want to find when you get there.

• Death Valley National Park in the Spring – this is the most popular time to visit the park, the promise of warm, sunny days and blankets of spring wildflowers, especially if there’s been plenty of rain in the previous winter. This beautiful floral display generally peaks towards the end of March and onto early April.
• Death Valley National Park in the Summer – summer comes pretty early to Death Valley, most visitors find it too hot to visit by the month of May although many people still flock to the park even during the hottest summer months. Most of the visitors during the summer are car tourers, hiking trails might be at their best during the summer months, but most hikers are definitely not up to it.
• Death Valley National Park in the Fall – just as summer comes early, the fall comes pretty late to Death Valley (yep, it’s a long hot summer), by the end of October the skies are usually clear and the temperatures more conducive to a little strenuous activity. This is when the camping season really begins, as well as many Ranger programs which continue right through the winter to the spring. It doesn’t get too crowded during the fall, except around the Thanksgiving holidays.
• Death Valley National Park in the Winter – in the winter time you can expect cool days, nights are chilly and rainstorms are rare but they can (and do) happen. It’s a particularly beautiful time of the year at Death Valley National Park, the high snow capped peaks are nothing short of glorious. The least crowded period in which to visit the park is after Thanksgiving but before Christmas, so if peace and quiet is what you’re after you know when to visit.

See, there’s not a soul in sight.

Visitors Centers and Museums

Furnace Creek Visitor Center – is open every day between 8am and 5pm, (Pacific Time). It’s located on California Highway 190 in the Furnace Creek resort area, 24 miles away from Stovepipe Wells Village and around 30 miles from Death Valley Junction.

Scotty’s Castle Visitor Center – is open every day. In the winter time it’s open between 8.30am and 5pm (Pacific Time) and in the summer time it’s open between 9.30am and 4.15 pm (Pacific Time). It’s located in the northerly part of Death Valley, around 45 miles from Stovepipe Wells Village and 53 miles from Furnace Creek.