Death Valley National Park - Father Crowley Vista

We continued our February 2015 trip to southern California with a visit to Death Valley National Park. Death Valley is the fifth largest national park in the country and the largest outside of Alaska. To give a bit of perspective to the size of the 5,269 square mile (13,647 sq km) park, here are some comparisons:

• Death Valley is 50% larger than Yellowstone
• The other eight national parks in California combined would fit inside Death Valley with room to spare
• Death Valley is 95% as big as Connecticut

We arrived in Death Valley National Park late in the afternoon from the west on CA 190. While Badwater in Death Valley is known as the location of the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley is also a park of mountains including 11,043 foot Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range. The western park entrance sign on CA 190 is at an elevation of about 4980 feet. The rain that had dampened our last day at Channel Islands National Park had changed to snow at elevations above 6000 feet in Death Valley National Park. Before we arrived at Father Crowley Vista, we stopped at a couple of gravel pullouts to soak in the view of the evening sun on the snow-covered mountains.

Sunlight on the Panamint Mountains

Nelson Range from the Darwin Plateau

Closeup of Panamint Mountains with Telescope Peak on the right

Rainbow Canyon, Panamint Dunes and Cottonwood Mountains

Father Crowley Vista is located about eight miles west of Panamint Springs on CA 190. Since the temperature was in the upper 30s and we were acclimated to the temperatures in the 70s, our stop at Father Crowley Vista was brief and did not include walking the paved trail that provides a broader view of Rainbow Canyon. The paved parking area is at an elevation of approximately 4280'. The only amenity at the vista is a vault toilet.

Looking up Rainbow Canyon

The view looking down Rainbow Canyon from the parking area

Sunlight lingers on the Cottonwood Mountains

A paved trail leads to the overlook

Sunset from the parking area

An entrance fee of $20 admits all the passengers of a single vehicle for seven days. Other options include an annual Death Valley National Park Pass for $40, an Interagency Annual Pass providing access to most national park, national forest and BLM fee areas for $80 and a lifetime Interagency Senior Pass for those age 62 and older for $10.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm.