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Artist’s Drive - Death Valley National Park


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This page last updated on 02/09/2018
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(Fig. 01)
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(Fig. 02)
Directions: Artist’s Drive is a scenic loop drive through multi-hued volcanic and sedimentary hills.  The drive is a 9 mile one way loop off CA 178 (Badwater Road), middle left of (Fig. 02),  south of the Furnace Creek junction and highway 190. There are several parking spots with unique views along the loop. After about 6 miles, look for the Artist's palette sign on the right that leads you to a small parking area.
                                           
Area Description: This curvy, one-way lane drive leads you up to the edge of the Black Mountains. Artist’s Drive rises up to the top of an alluvial fan fed by a deep canyon cut into the mountain. As you make your way up to the mountain face you'll dip up and down, roller coaster-like as the road dips into ravines carved into the fan by Death Valley's occasional, but intense flash floods. The narrow road runs high up onto the fan, with views of the strikingly white salty floor of Death Valley in the distance.
    
03/28/15 Trip Notes: This was our second stop on the days visit to Death Valley. Because I have been here several times before I only ended up with a couple of new pictures (Figs. 03 & 04). The picture in (Fig. 04) shows the southern end of the "huge" wash that runs in front of Artist's Palette.
                      
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(Fig. 03)
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(Fig. 04)
01/27/2014 Trip Notes: On today’s visit to Death Valley we made this our fourth stop of the day, hoping that the afternoon sun might provide some better pictures. As it was after 1:30 in the afternoon, we sat on a nearby rock and enjoyed a picnic lunch. The picture in (Fig. 01) is the view we enjoyed while eating lunch. The close-up in (Fig. 05) shows the upper portion of the trail you can hike out to get a closer view of this colorful area. Even though we chose not to hike out to the end of this trail today, I have done so on previous visits, giving you a very “up-close-and –personal” views (Figs. 06 & 07) of the fascinating geology in this area. Return to ... Furnace Creek Area - Death Valley National Park for more pictures of this area.
                                 
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(Fig. 05)
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(Fig. 06)
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(Fig. 07)