Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Furnace Creek Visitor Center
4.5
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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5 within 5 kms
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15 within 10 kms
See what travellers are saying
- Matthew A12 contributionsA day in the enigmatic Death ValleyI visit Furnace Creek frequently, talk about an enigmatic, amazing part of Death Valley. I always stop at Dante's View on the way there and of course have to have drinks and a bite to eat at The Inn at Death Valley a beautiful resort. Close by is Artist Pallet and Bad Water. The surrounding mountains are absolutely beautiful, especially with snow covered peaks. A few hours north of Furnace Creek you can go to the Ubehebe volcanic crater. About twenty-five miles past Ubehebe Crater. You can visit Racetrack La Playa, a enchanting place where the wind and icy conditions push rocks and boulders along an ancient salt flat. Furnace Crrek and the entire Death Valley is a place you always want to go back to. Enjoy !!!Visited February 2023Travelled soloWritten 26 October 2023
- Roxie KOakland, California91 contributionsStarry Night!!Excellent staff with up to date information. We went to the NASA Dark Sky keynote talk on Friday. Wonderful!!! Time for questions. Plus the Las Vegas astronomy club was there with their telescopes, even on a a very night. What a treat!!!Visited February 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 7 March 2024
- Grover RPensacola, Florida22,268 contributionsSome Covered Parking SpacesWe stopped at the VC for the usual, restrooms, information and souvenirs. It was good for all three. The parking lot was crowded; however, we were fortunate to get a covered parking space in the shade which even at 70 degrees was nice. I can only imagine the days over 100.Visited March 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 13 May 2024
- BigMerkGlasgow, United Kingdom2,710 contributionsGood facility with lots of Park info - and the thermometerWe stopped here to check into the Park and pay our fee for utilising the Park facilities. There is lots of parking (most not in the shade). At the main door is the thermometer- showing 114 when we arrived. Inside there is a really good display on the Park giving lots of appropriate information. There is the usual gift shop too.Visited September 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 20 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
977 reviews
Excellent
522
Very good
347
Average
89
Poor
13
Terrible
6
ELKW
United States11 824 contributions
Jun 2019
it's like other visitor center, you can get information for the park, they give you a paper admission prove for you to put in the car representing that you have paid the admission fee, we used annual pass, the staff said if put the annul pass in the car front, it may melt due to hot weather, so they gave us a paper prove. I think it was the hottest visitor center in US, it can easily reach or over 100F, we came in June, it will be even hotter in July. There is a device showing the current temp. in front of the visitor center. The visitor center has some information about the park, also has basic faculties that you need. As the Scotty's Castle is closed during the time when we visited, we get only get some information about the castle by looking at the board in the visitor center.
Written 5 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jon K
Minneapolis, MN52 contributions
Feb 2020
If you're planning to spend time in any part of Death Valley National Park, a stop at the main visitor center here at Furnace Creek is a good idea. The rangers are knowledgeable and happy to help you plan, plus you can get maps, souvenirs, and water bottle refills. If you stayed to watch the movie and explore the small museum, you could probably spend an hour or more here. But you can also just stop in, talk to the rangers, and be in your way if you don't have a lot of time. Nearby are where a lot of the park's amenities are too, such as a gas station, hotel, general store, and restaurant. So it's certainly worth a stop in this area of the park.
Written 23 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeffrey L
Morrisville, VT229 contributions
Feb 2020
This is a nice, well done visitor center with good exhibits, historical and biological displays. Get your tour guide newspaper and talk with the staff about any questions you may have of the park. They have a good video of the park explaining the geology and history of the area that you will want to see to get a good overall knowledge of the park. The gift shop is one of the best national park ones I have been to in a long time and the prices are the most reasonable of almost any I have seen anywhere. There are picnic tables for those who want them. The 20 Mule Team site is just up the road about 1 mile, so that is easy to access. Badwater, the lowest point in North America, is about 1/2 an hour away. The Devil's Golf Course and Artist's Palette are on the way. The Visitor Center is a good way to start off any tour of Death Valley, plus if you are collecting National Park stamps, you can get one here.
Written 12 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Places Where We Go Podcast
Simi Valley, CA974 contributions
Dec 2020
A must stop for holders of the National Park Passport book. During our Covid era visit, the bookstore was allowing only six people at a time. The store was just a small portion of the regular setup. Available, were a modest selection of Death Valley centric books, postcards, magnets, shirts, and several other items. The museum section of the visitor center is closed in this era. Rangers were available for guidance on hiking, as well as entrance fee collection.
Written 31 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tattooedtraveller_uk
Norwich, UK635 contributions
Feb 2022
This is a review about Death Valley in general as there didn't seem to be anywhere to be able to do a general one, so I thought the visitors centre would be somewhere people would look !
This was my first National Park as part of a 5 week trip. Having seen lots of pictures of Death Valley I didn't really know what to expect and its so big it could be overwhelming.
I spent 3 nights and 2 whole days in the park, I stayed at Panamint Springs resort, which I have left a review of on their bit. Its hard to know where to stay in the park due to its size, where ever you are, you are going to do a fair bit of driving to see the main bits. There are a couple of very expensive hotels, which look like normal hotels just charging premium, I stayed at a cheaper option and was very happy with it. I would say, fill up with fuel before you go in, and fuel is charged (understandably) at a premium, and where possible, take food with you, there are a couple of very basic cafe/pub type places.
Use the NPS app and download the Death Valley bit so you can view it offline when you're in there for maps etc. You can get maps from the Visitor Centre.
There are a few nice scenic drives and areas of interest all near to each other and near the visitors centre which would take the best part of a day to do without rushing. Then there are several other places which are further afield and need more driving.
There are plenty of clean public restrooms.
The one thing I will say, which I didn't realise the seriousness of, is that you can become dehydrated even when it is cold - as in slightly above freezing, I think part of that is due to the generally dry conditions and also the salt, so don#t get caught out as I was quite ill with it. I can safely say that I will not come here when it is any warmer !!!
Highly recommended, its a 'must do' place obviously.
This was my first National Park as part of a 5 week trip. Having seen lots of pictures of Death Valley I didn't really know what to expect and its so big it could be overwhelming.
I spent 3 nights and 2 whole days in the park, I stayed at Panamint Springs resort, which I have left a review of on their bit. Its hard to know where to stay in the park due to its size, where ever you are, you are going to do a fair bit of driving to see the main bits. There are a couple of very expensive hotels, which look like normal hotels just charging premium, I stayed at a cheaper option and was very happy with it. I would say, fill up with fuel before you go in, and fuel is charged (understandably) at a premium, and where possible, take food with you, there are a couple of very basic cafe/pub type places.
Use the NPS app and download the Death Valley bit so you can view it offline when you're in there for maps etc. You can get maps from the Visitor Centre.
There are a few nice scenic drives and areas of interest all near to each other and near the visitors centre which would take the best part of a day to do without rushing. Then there are several other places which are further afield and need more driving.
There are plenty of clean public restrooms.
The one thing I will say, which I didn't realise the seriousness of, is that you can become dehydrated even when it is cold - as in slightly above freezing, I think part of that is due to the generally dry conditions and also the salt, so don#t get caught out as I was quite ill with it. I can safely say that I will not come here when it is any warmer !!!
Highly recommended, its a 'must do' place obviously.
Written 4 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MNice
Bloomington, MN5 286 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
We planned reasonably well before our visit. We printed off their horrible map and thought it’s not too hard to navigate around the park. We came down from Northern Nevada and the northern entrance is closed as it was flooded out. So we automatically missed the northern part because we would not have time to backtrack to it. We came in at the entrance that comes from Beatty, Nevada. When you get to the entrance of this vast space, there are no maps, no Rangers and the kiosk does not vend the $33 park pass. The road immediately comes to a “Y” and, because there is no cell signal, we had no idea which way was the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. We came to another T in the road and ended up going west, not east and almost exited the park. You have to wait in line in the middle of the week in the middle of the day in order to get in a get a map that has any use at all. We saw the park, but had little time to get out of the car. One of the worst marked National Parks in the USA.
Written 20 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rdsm77
Tucson, AZ395 contributions
Jun 2022
I already had a NPS pass so I did not have to stop in. Went to Furnace Creek basically just to take a photo of gas prices at the gas station (over $8 a gallon when I was there). Since I went in June and it was hot, I was at the park early before the visitor center opened and had been able to pick up a map at one of the small information centers elsewhere in the park. Average gift shop. As usual, no plus size clothing as NPS doesn't think large people go to national parks. Restrooms were frustrating as it was not obvious if stalls were empty. Ended up skipping the restrooms. The one thing I did enjoy was the temperature shown near the front door.
Written 30 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Experience Junkies
Marana, AZ216 contributions
Feb 2020
The Park Rangers here were so nice! They gave us great advice and we enjoyed speaking with them. The film was very informative. They have a room with Scotty’s Castle information since it is still being restored. The 2 young people working the registers for the store were focused on whatever they were looking at on the internet, hope no one was shoplifting...
Written 19 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kghudson
Houston, TX462 contributions
Jan 2021
Really fun day had in Death Valley National Park. Stopped here first for hiking and park information and rangers were helpful and knowledgeable. Make sure you get here early enough to enjoy the entire park and plan your visit so you can get the most out of your day. Bring your own food in to eat - restaurants were not open and visitors center did have pre-made sandwiches and snacks but you may be better off bringing your food in. We did a loop and saw the old gypsum mine, bad water basin, natural bridge, artiste palatte's look and dante's view for sunset. Getting to Dante's View was steep and very windey. It got chilley there too towards sunset - but beautiful views of the park and surrounding mountains.
Written 16 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tikidream
bethesda, md493 contributions
Jul 2021
The rangers are terrific and very helpful - especially Betsy! It rained (historic) while we were there and they kept us up to date on road closures and washed out roads. The short film is well worth the viewing. If you have kids, definitely get them involved in the junior ranger program. Small gift shop and get your US Park passport stamped.
Written 29 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There's beautiful quote inside the visitor center describing Death Valley. I was in awe when visiting DV, but intimidated by the sheer brutality of the force of nature. I forgot to take a picture of this, can anyone share the original quote if happen to see it? Thanks!
Written 28 April 2018
Or was it..
"There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand. There is no lack of water here unless you try to establish a city where no city should be "
Edward Abbey
Written 21 August 2019
lizthomson
London, Canada
is the visitor center open now that the shutdown has stopped?
Written 23 January 2018
It was open a month ago, when we were there. Our tour guide did not mention anything about the center being (or to be) closed.
Written 28 January 2018
Will the ranger station have programs in middle October?
Written 17 April 2015
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