Death Valley in a Sandstorm: Our Unexpected Road Trip Through the Desert

We'd been driving for hours. From Three Rivers, where we'd stayed after our day in Sequoia, the route took us south around the mountains, back up to Lone Pine and then east into the desert towards Death Valley National Park. It was 3 October 2025, and our night was booked at Stovepipe Wells Village Hotel.

Jakes Saloon and western-style storefronts on the main street of Lone Pine, with mountains behind — Lone Pine, the last proper town before the desert.

A winding road dropping through red and brown desert hills towards a wide valley in Death Valley National Park — The road down into Death Valley.

Two kilometres from the hotel, everything changed

With only about two kilometres left to the hotel, the weather turned. A fierce sandstorm swept across the valley – hard wind, sand everywhere, and the landscape around us disappearing into grey. It felt like driving into a scene from Mad Max.

The stone entrance pillars at Stovepipe Wells with the road and campground almost hidden by blowing sand — Stovepipe Wells in the middle of the storm.

Selfie by the stone gateway at Stovepipe Wells, with the US flag and the road behind lost in blowing sand — Not the welcome to Death Valley we had pictured.

People were being ushered indoors, and the hotel became a place to shelter. We were heading there anyway, so there was no reason to stay out in it.

A room full of sand

We'd booked Stovepipe Wells Village Hotel through Hotels.com because it's inside the park – the idea was to explore rather than just drive through. The storm followed us inside: Inge's room was full of sand. The staff moved her to a room on the other side of the building, where there was much less.

A desk in a Stovepipe Wells hotel room covered in fine sand, with WELCOME INGE written in it with a finger — Inge's first room. Someone left her a message.

The strangest part was how fast it was over. The storm arrived out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly, and by evening the sky over the general store was dark blue and calm again.

The Stovepipe Wells General Store lit up at dusk under dark storm clouds — The general store after the storm had passed.

The US flag flying between lit stone pillars at Stovepipe Wells at dusk — Calm again – just the wind in the flag.

Our grey rental car covered in a layer of dust in the morning, with pink light on the mountains behind — Our car the next morning.

A desert we couldn't fully explore

The next day we had a long drive ahead to Tropic in Utah, near Bryce Canyon – more than six hours. Badwater Basin and several other places were high on our list, but we couldn't follow the route we'd planned. On 18 September 2025 the remnants of Tropical Storm Mario had brought heavy rain to the park, and the National Park Service closed several roads because of storm damage – Badwater Road among them. The main route, CA-190, and the road up to Dante's View stayed open. We had to pick a few stops and accept that the rest would wait for another visit.

It was frustrating. That's one of the realities of road-tripping through remote parks: a route that looks easy on a map at home may not be possible when you arrive.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Close to Stovepipe Wells, we walked out onto the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes – rippled sand, bleached driftwood and cracked mud between the dunes, with the mountains all around.

Close-up of cracked dry mud between the dunes, with the sun low in a blue sky — Cracked mud between the dunes.

Zabriskie Point

We did make it to Zabriskie Point, with its eroded badlands – ridge after ridge of golden, sculpted hills against darker mountains. After the forests of Sequoia it felt like another planet. We took our photos, but we were watching the clock.

Kristine in sunglasses in front of the ridged badlands at Zabriskie Point — Kristine at Zabriskie Point.

A squinting selfie at Zabriskie Point while Kristine takes a photo behind — Bright sun, busy photographers.

Dante's View

Our last stop was Dante's View, high above the valley. From up there you look straight down on the white salt flats of Badwater Basin with mountain ranges on the other side – the one place where the scale of Death Valley really made sense to us. A photo shows it; it doesn't really capture the size.

Kristine with windblown hair at Dante's View above the salt flats — Kristine and a lot of wind at Dante's View.

Was Death Valley worth it?

Death Valley left us with mixed feelings. The sandstorm was extraordinary – not something we'd planned, and a story we'll keep telling. But we never got to slow down and experience the park the way we'd hoped. That's why it doesn't rank very high among the stops on this road trip: not because the landscape lacked interest, but because what we saw made us want much more.

We wouldn't rule out going back in better conditions. From here we drove on towards Tropic, Utah, for Bryce Canyon – where Kristine and Inge were going riding and I had a hike in mind.

Practical information

When	3–4 October 2025, one night
Route	Three Rivers – Lone Pine – Stovepipe Wells; next day on to Tropic, Utah (6+ hours)
We stayed	Stovepipe Wells Village Hotel, inside the park (booked via Hotels.com)
We saw	Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Zabriskie Point, Dante's View
Before you go	Check current road status on the official NPS Death Valley conditions page. Badwater Road was closed by storm damage in September 2025 (NPS)