Death Valley National Park in California is world famous for being one of the driest and hottest places on the face of the earth. While there are constantly claims of hotter temperatures being recorded in other places, none deny that Death Valley is consistently one of the hottest. This year, Death Valley set a new record for most consecutive days above 110 degrees, and there s no sign that the record heat will stop any time soon. But while the heat and dryness of the area itself is what makes it famous, you do not necessarily have to experience that record heat in order to experience Death Valley. As a matter of fact, Death Valley is considerably more pleasant to tour in the fall than it is in the summer. Even though we offer tours all year long, the Death Valley tours in fall are the ones when you are going to be able to spend more time outside of the van enjoying the landscape and the climate. As a matter of fact, during the summer we consider our tours of Death Valley to be more “sightseeing tours” because you simply cannot spend enough time outside of the air conditioning to have it be considered an “adventure tour.” The entire concept of an adventure tour is to get out into the landscape and explore it, hike around and sense the area first hand. When it is too hot to do that, we have to modify the tours to be more of looking at the landscape for short periods of time then getting back into the climate controlled vehicles. Both types of tours are great, we just prefer the adventure tours more.
Death Valley itself is surprisingly alive with plants and animals. You would think that the hottest place on earth and being named “Death Valley” that nothing would be able to survive there, however nothing is further from the truth. Even the slightest bit of rain will send seeds that are dormant under the surface of the desert into life, and you will continually see plants and animals that have adapted to the harsh climate during our tours. Of course, there are also areas of Death Valley that are completely barren and stark, with absolutely nothing as far as plants and animals for miles. This contrast is what makes Death Valley so remarkable and so enjoyable to tour if you can get out and walk around for a while. You can see the desert areas close up, and can look over the wide expanses at our leisure.
Our tours of Death Valley do go out all year long except for the times when the heat is too extreme in summer. Fall and spring are the best times to visit because you still get the summer look and feel of the area without the extreme heat shortening your time outdoors. Book your tour today so that you can visit one of the most extreme climates on earth at a time when it isn’t all that extreme!