Itinerary for three days inside Death Valley National Park (plus 2 travel days). WITH A 3 YEAR OLD! 

Pahrump

Death Valley National Park

Las Vegas

Travel Day! Catch a flight into LAS and pick up a rental car. 

Then we went grocery shopping and bought food for breakfasts and lunches to be eaten in our hotel room and on the trails. 

After that it was about a 2 hour drive to our hotel which was inside the National Park. Keep an eye out for the exit to Area 51, you’ll drive right past it! 

We drove down the Las Vegas strip since I’ve never seen it before.

We stayed at Stove Pipe Wells Village Hotel. ‌They also have a campground right across the street. 

There are a few other places to stay inside the park or you could also find a place in Pahrump which is the closest town to the park. 

The pool was really nice and the rooms were clean. Though it’s definitely a no frills place to stay. There is a mini fridge in the rooms. The only microwave is in the gift shop, which you can walk to right across the street. Also right on site is a restaurant and a bar, the food and the prices were good! 

We got up early because our son wakes up at the crack of dawn. Ate breakfast at our hotel and packed some sandwhichs and trail snacks.

We drove to Mosaic Canyon which was under 10 minutes from the hotel. 

 Mosaic Canyon hike is 3.5 miles and includes a few somewhat strenuous rock scrambles. We did this with our 3 year old on foot and no hiking carrier. 

We took tons of breaks for snacking and playing and it took us a majority of the day to do the hike. And it was absolutely worth it. 

After our hike we drive back to hang out at the hotel pool, have some dinner at the hotel restaurant, and relax. 

We hiked to the tallest dune which was about a 2 mile round trip. This took us a while as our 3 year old was on foot, but he made it for COOKIES! 

Half way in between the hotel and Badwater is the Furnace Creek Visitor Center which we checked out after our visit to Badwater Basin. 

Up early again, eat breakfast and packed lunches for our daily adventures.

We headed straight to the Badwater Basin (the salt flats) it was about a 50 minute drive from our hotel. No hikes here, just a walk out into the valley on the salt flats. We had our son bring some trucks and we spent some time playing on the flat and enjoying the views. 

After the visitor center, the scenic Artists Pallete Drive was also nearby so we decided to hop on the road. The drive is 9 miles long and has tons of pull off spots where you can walk around and explore. We decided to have our lunch picnic at one of the pull off spots. 

After a full day of exploring we headed back for dinner at the hotel again. They also have a community fire pit at the hotel that we hung out around and did some stargazing at night. 

Up early? You know it! When we woke up we packed up some picnic lunches again and set off for the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes which are right next to the hotel! 

This was absolutely the most unique hike I’ve been on. Hiking the caps of huge sand dunes is definitely challenging, I’m not even sure how our little guy made it to be honest. But totally worth it. 

After playing and eating on the dunes all morning and afternoon, we headed out of the park to explore Pahrump. 

On our way out of the park we had to stop for a picture at the sign of course! 

There are a few little gift shops in Pahrump that we checked out. We also ate dinner at little Mexican restaurant in Pahrump. There are a few other dining options in this area as well. If you hang out in town long enough you might also get an encounter with the wild Burros that pass through town frequently. 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to relax and pack!

Travel Day! Drive 2 hours back to the airport, returned our rental car, and hopped on our flight home. 

You’ll also need to buy a park pass at one of the ranger stations (there is one right next to the hotel) it’s $30 per vehicle and it’s good for 7 days. 

Death Valley National Park

Buy to unlock full guide