Death Valley National Park? The Forty-niners, whose suffering gave the valley its name, would have howled at the notion. “Death Valley National Park” seems a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron of the great outdoors.

Park? Other four-letter words are more often associated with Death Valley: gold, mine, heat, lost, dead. And the four-letter words shouted by teamsters who drove the 20-mule team borax wagons across the valley floor need not be repeated. There is something about the desert, and especially this desert that at first glance seems the antithesis of all that park-goers find desirable. To the needs of most park visitors--shade, water, and easy-to-follow self-guided nature trails--Death Valley answers with a resounding “no.”

And the word “park” suggests a landscape under human control. In this great land of extremes, nothing could be farther from the truth. A bighorn sheep standing watch atop painted cliffs, sunlight and shadow playing atop the salt and soda floor, a blue-gray cascade of gravel pouring down a gorge to a land below the level of the sea--this territory is as ungovernable as its flaming sunsets.

In Death Valley, the forces of the earth are exposed to view with dramatic clarity: a sudden fault and a sink became a lake. The water evaporated, leaving behind borax and above all, fantastic scenery. Although Death Valley is called a valley, in actuality it is not. Valleys are carved by rivers. Death Valley is what geologists call a graben. Here a block of the earth’s crust has dropped down along fault lines in relation to its mountain walls.

Americans looking for gold in California’s mountains in 1849 were forced to cross the burning sands to avoid severe snowstorms in the nearby Sierra Nevada. Some perished along the way, and the land became known as Death Valley.

Many of Death Valley’s topographical features are associated with hellish images--Funeral Mountains, Furnace Creek, Dante’s View, Coffin Peak and Devil’s Golf Course--but the national park can be a place of serenity.

A multitude of living things have miraculously adapted to living in this land of little water, extreme heat and high winds. Two dozen Death Valley plant species grow nowhere else on earth, including Death Valley sandpaper plant, Panamint locoweed, and napkin-ring buckwheat.

In spring, even this most forbidding of deserts breaks into bloom. The deep blue pea-shaped flowers of the indigo bush brighten Daylight Pass. Lupine, paintbrush and Panamint daisies grow on the lower slopes of the Panamint Mountains while Mojave wildrose and mariposa lily dot the higher slopes.

Death Valley celebrates life. Despite the outward harshness of this land, when you get to know the valley, you see it in a different light. As naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch put it: “Hardship looks attractive, scarcity becomes desirable, starkness takes on an unexpected beauty.”

At 3.3 million acres, Death Valley is the largest national park outside of Alaska. The very notion of hiking the desert in general, and at a place like Death Valley in particular, is a surprising one to some people—even to some avid hikers. The desert that seems so huge when viewed from a car can seem even more intimidating on foot.

Compared to forest or mountain parks, Death Valley has a limited number of signed footpaths; nevertheless, hiking opportunities abound because roads (closed to vehicles), washes, and narrow canyons serve as excellent footpath substitutes.

Planning a Trip

For camping and road information before you go, contact the Superintendent, Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, CA 92328 (tel. 760/786-3200 for road, camping, and weather information; www.nps.gov/deva). The Furnace Creek Visitor Center & Museum, 15 miles inside the eastern park boundary on Calif. 190 (tel. 760/786-3200), offers interpretive exhibits and an hourly slide program. Ask at the information desk for ranger-led nature walks and evening naturalist programs. The center is open daily from 8am to 6pm in summer (to 5pm in winter).

How to organize your time

The distances across Death Valley are enormous. If you only have one day, stick around the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. Take in Harmony Borax Works, Badwater, Dante’s View and hike the interpretive trail through Golden Canyon.

For the average hiker, there’s a week or two’s worth of hiking in the park, though you can get a fair sampling of this desert in three days. Although it’s tempting, don’t over-schedule. Death Valley is vast, with an enormous number of sights to see and hikes to take.

To see as much of the park as possible, choose a different entrance and exit highway. If you enter on CA 127 through Death Valley Junction, exit on the scenic byway through the Panamint Valley. If you entered from the Panamint side, take your leave of the park by following Badwater Road (CA 178) south from Furnace Creek, across the Black Mountains and Greenwater Valley to intersect CA 127 at Shoshone.

Where to Stay

Furnace Creek RanchRun by the same folks who maintain the elegant Furnace Creek Inn, the year-round Furnace Creek Ranch is more down-to-earth with rustic cabin units and motel rooms that are great for families. Amenities include a naturally heated, spring-fed pool, the world’s lowest 18-hole golf course (at 214 feet below sea level), tennis and basketball courts, a playground and a selection of dining options.

Furnace Creek Ranch, Calif. 190, adjacent to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (P.O. Box 1), Death Valley, CA 92328 760/786-2345; 800/297-2757 or 303/297-2757 for reservations, www.furnacecreekresort.com 224 units. $116-$193 double. AE, DC DISC, MC, V

Furnace Creek Inn Like an oasis in the middle of Death Valley, the inn's red-tiled roofs and sparkling blue mineral-spring-fed swimming pool hint at the elegance within. The hotel has equipped its 66 deluxe rooms and suites with every modern amenity while successfully preserving the charm of this 1930s resort. Stroll the palm-shaded gardens before sitting down to a meal in the elegant dining room, where the food is excellent but the formality a bit out of place.

Reserve early: The inn is booked solid in winter with guests who appreciate a little pampering after a day in the park.

Hwy. 190, 800/236-7916, 760/786-2345

www.furnacecreekresort.com 66 units$260-$390 double; from $390 suite. Extra person $20 AE, DISC, MC, V

Stovepipe Wells Village The truly budget-conscious opt for Stovepipe Wells Village, where the modest air-conditioned motel rooms (sans phones and TVs) surround a small pool. About 23 miles northwest of Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells has a general store, internet kiosk, saloon, and dining room. Rooms have two twin beds, two double beds or one king. Calif. 190 at Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley, CA 92328 760/786-2387; 800/297-2757 or 303/297-2757 for reservations.

www.stovepipewells.com 83 units. $91-$111 double, AE DC, DISC, MC, V

Panamint Springs Resort The privately owned resort, across the Panamint Range and about a 45 minute drive west of Furnace Creek, is a bit off the beaten path geographically and definitely off the tourist track. This charming rustic motel has plain rooms as well as a full-service restaurant that features traditional American fare at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Calif. 190, 30 miles west of Stovepipe Wells (Mail: P.O. Box 395, Ridgecrest, CA 93555) 775/482-7680

www.deathvalley.com. 14 units, 1 cottage, $79-$94 double; $149 cottage. MC, V

Amargosa Opera House and Hotel The hotel is part of a complex of Spanish Colonial style buildings including the opera house where owner Marta Beckett performs on Saturday nights from October to May. The hotel is charming, clean, and filled with beautiful murals painted by Beckett. For some the hotel is the ideal desert retreat; others find it more than a little spooky.

Amargosa Calif. 190, 30 miles east of Furnace Creek, double 760/852-4441 www. amargosa-opera-house.com 14 units, $67-$84 double AE, MC, V

El Portal Motel This ifamily-style motel, located an hour’s drive from the park’s center, offers plain, spacious rooms with either one or two queen-size beds. Hint: Smoke-free rooms are available but are snapped up quickly. Restaurants, a steak house, a bakery, and an ice cream parlor are in walking distance of the motel.

35 miles northeast of Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Beatty, Nevada, 420 Main Street, two blocks from junction of State Route 374 and Highway 95 (Mailing address: P.O. Box 626, Beatty, NV 89003), 775/553-2912 www.elportalmotel.com. 25 units, Doubles $50

Camping

The park's nine campgrounds are at elevations ranging from below sea level to 8,000 feet. In Furnace Creek, Sunset has 1,000 spaces with water and flush toilets. Furnace Creek Campground has 200 similarly appointed spaces. Stovepipe Wells has 200 spaces with water and flush toilets. Make reservations online at http://reservations.nps.gov or call tel. 800/365-2267.

WHERE TO EAT

Furnace Creek Inn At the elegant dining room, the menu highlights several Continental and regional cuisines. The peaceful setting and attentive service can be a welcome (though pricey) treat during otherwise exhausting travels through the park. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. The Sunday buffet brunch is truly decadent; reservations are necessary.

Furnace Creek Ranch, Calif. 190 760/786-2345; 800/297-2757 www.furnacecreekresort.com prices, Open daily 7am to 8:30 pm ; closes with hotel from mid-May to mid-October. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V

Forty Niner Café A family-friendly diner with better-than-average food and a widely varied menu. Features a western Americana menu: biscuits and gravy, omelets, hot cakes, burgers, fried chicken, hot and cold sandwiches and yes some vegetarian dishes. Great date shakes. At the nearby Corkscrew Saloon, you can get a cold draft beer, along with pizza, hot dogs and buffalo wings.

Furnace Creek Ranch, Calif. 190, adjacent to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center 760/786-2345 www.furnacecreekresort .com daily from 7 am to 9pm October to May; open daily 11:30 am to 9 pm for lunch and dinner only from May-October.

Wrangler Steakhouse, Serves all-you-can-eat buffet for breakfast and a lunch buffet that offers a rotating menu of hot and cold entrées. The prices are higher than average, but the buffet is a good choice for families with hearty eaters. At dinnertime, the Wrangler offers table service, grilling steaks, ribs, and other satisfying specialties; the servings are generous but the dinners are pricey.

Furnace Creek Ranch, Calif. 190, adjacent to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center 760/786-2345; 800/297-2757 www.furnacecreekresort.com Open daily 6-9 am for breakfast, 11am to 2pm for lunch and 5:30-9:30 pm for dinner from October through May. Open for lunch only all year except from November 25-December 22.

The 19th Hole The veranda-style bar and grill offers stunning views of the Panamint Mountains. The emphasis is definitely on the bar, with its unique golf cart drive-up ramp. The grill menu features burgers, hot dogs and sub sandwiches.

Furnace Creek Ranch, Calif 190, adjacent to the Golf Pro Shop 760/786-2345 www.furnacecreekresort.com Open daily 11am to 3pm, October-May

Toll Road Restaurant & Badwater Saloon Built from timbers from an old Death Valley mine, the restaurant features a full-service menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a western-style atmosphere. Hearty breakfasts include omelets, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, lunches feature burgers and sandwiches, and the popular dinner choice is a steak and trip to the salad bar. Walk over to the Badwater Saloon for a cool one.

Calif. 190 at Stovepipe Wells, 23 miles northwest of Furnace Creek 760/786.2387, www.stovepipewells.com Open daily 7am to 9 pm with shorter hours in the hot season. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V

The Mad Greek This blue and white-tiled, Greek kitsch-decorated oasis serves wonderful Greek specialties: souvlaki, gyros with homemade tzatziki sauce, calamari, spinach-and-feta spanokopita, a village salad laden with feta, bakalava, and more. The huge menu also features burgers and all-American fare, as well as the best strawberry shake for hundreds of miles around.

Junction of I-15 and Calif. 127, 72112 Baker Blvd. in Baker, a gateway town to Death Valley 760/733-4354 entrees $5-$9 Open daily MC, V

Favorite Hikes

Death Valley Sand Dunes

2 to 4 miles round trip

A 14-square mile field of dunes and some bizarre geology are some of the attractions of walking around the Stovepipe Wells area of Death Valley National Park.

Hiking the dunes is most fun in the cooler morning and late afternoon hours. At these hours, the dunes are at their most photogenic, too; the light is softer, the shadows longer.

Your hike into the dunes is exactly what you make of it--short or long, a direct or indirect route to the higher sand formations. Figure four miles max to climb up, down and around the taller dunes and return. Remember that doing the dunes means a two-steps-forward-one-step-backward kind of hiking, so pace yourself accordingly. Wear shoes; sand surfaces can be very hot..

Golden Canyon

To Red Cathedral is 2.8 miles round trip

The panoramic view of Golden Canyon from Zabriskie Point is magnificent, but don’t miss getting right into the canyon itself--only possible by hitting the trail. Sunrise and sunset, when the light is magical and fellow hikers are very few, are particularly good times to hike an excellent interpretive trail through the canyon.

Zabriskie Point and Gower Gulch

To Zabriskie Point with return via Gower Gulch is 6.5 miles round trip with 900-foot elevation gain

While it’s true that you can drive to Zabriskie Point, you’ll appreciate the view much more by sweating up those switchbacks on foot. The memorable panorama from Zabriskie Point includes a grand view of the valley, framed by the badlands just below and the Panamint Mountains to the west.

An engaging trail climbs through badlands to the point named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, one of the early heads of Death Valley borax mining operations.

A return by way of Gower Gulch offers another perspective on this colorful desert land and enables hikers to make a loop.

Telescope Peak

To Telescope Peak is 14 miles round trip with 3,000-foot gain

Most park visitors are content to stop their cars at Badwater, 282 feet below sea level and look up at Telescope Peak, the greatest vertical rise in the lower 48 states. For the serious hiker, however, the challenge of climbing 11,049-foot Telescope Peak and looking down at Death Valley will prove irresistible. Views from Telescope Peak Trail include Badwater, low point of the continental U.S. and Mt. Whitney, the continental high point.

The trail starts where most trails end--a mile and a half in the sky--and climbs a sagebrush- and pinyon pine-dotted hogback ridge to the pinnacle that is Telescope Peak. The 360-degree panorama inspired one W.T. Henderson, first to ascend the great mountain in 1860, to declare: “You can see so far, it’s just like looking through a telescope."