Furnace Creek Visitor Center

Cool spot, with bathrooms, decently priced water, and souvenirs. Helpful people and a nice exhibit telling you about Death Valley's history. They have maps for free outside, or you can show your Park pass and get one from the counter. To see the sights, you need this! Be aware there is no Internet here, and the only places you can find it is at Dante's Point and in the middle at the Hotel and Cafe area in Stovepipe Wells. Download the area map before you go. You can also download the map and Visitor information in the NPS App.

It was closed due to the government shut down. But at least the rest rooms were open! And Maps and literature were available. Nice place to stop and rest. Shaded parking spots available. Would have liked to purchase some souvenirs but maybe next time.

Is a must see or visit if your around the area of the national park a lots of information. And guided tours or hikes of the park. Dont forget to see the table display of the parks so you have an idea where you going if your not familyar of the area. Fall to spring the best time to visit.

The visitor center is where you pay for your park pass in person. They have gifts to support the park -- from "high priced" items down to $5 or less stickers. They also have free drinking water, working, flushing restrooms, and free wifi. They also have some pretty good exhibits, like interesting facts about animals and plants around the valley, and historical information about what's been going on in the valley over the decades. The wifi is on and restrooms are open 24/7. The staff is really friendly.

Great place to stop and get information on the trails and places worth investigating. Don't forget to get your park stamp. I visited here in mid-Feb (not sure I would do it in the summer.)

All the rangers inside are super kind and helpful. The exhibit here is really cool to learn more about the park. They have food and drinks for sale too in a fridge as there are pretty much no other options in the park unless you pack in your own. Your yearly pass will get you a free map too :)

'Cool' spot to learn about the desert, and a shop with stickers, t shirts, water and snacks. The bathroom is clean and large. As a desert rat, bring 5 extra gallons of water (liquid gold)and keep it in the car. Drink 3/4-1 gallon a day per person over 125#. It's no joke to have a heat stroke - I did in Tucson. Wear a hat and shades too, the education of the desert is that 'dry, hot, and effort in hikes'= dehydration. This visitor center not run by the NP so discounts are not applied - if you have a Senior pass. "Save the puppfish"

Interesting place, lots of merchandise, helpful staff. It’s one of the busier NP visitor centers so I expected more amenities like picnic tables and recycling bins (I had been carrying my recycling with me all through the park and I ended up taking it home with me because there was nowhere to recycle it).

Awesome spot to stop for snacks, restrooms and information from guides about the area. The gift shop has lots of interesting souvenirs too. I like the temperature reading as you walk into the building The biggest perk of this visitor center has to be A/C, much needed relief from the triple digits and unrelenting sun. We planned our visit just right, a week or so prior to the true heat of Death Valley. you can't truly enjoy the desert and walk around during the hottest months. Tip-do your research and prepare yourself and vehicle prior to visiting Death Valley ; one of the hottest places on earth.

Well darn if this visitor center was not open on the day we came. We were in high hopes to meet any ranger that would come our way. However we did come on a Sunday most folks are at home resting. While we were out exploring death valley and surrounding cities.

Likes: + Free, fun nighttime stargazing event. The ranger points out different constellations and planets and recounts amusing astronomical history. + Plenty of restrooms. + Interactive 3D map of Death Valley. + The famous thermometer is situated right out the Visitor Center front door. Known to have recorded over 130°F. + A good rest stop between popular DV hikes & destinations. + Come here to pick up your parking pass. + Polite, helpful staff. + They have two water fountains, a water bottle refill station, and a spigot for cleaning your shoes. Well done. Non-likes: - Restrooms don't have paper towels.

This place is literally a little oasis in the desert - seriously, as you come around the corner you see a bunch of trees and the parking lot etc, and there it is! They have central AC, clean bathrooms with running water, filling fountains, lots of souvenirs, lots of rangers with info (who also collect the entry fee) and a little theater that plays a movie on look (about 20 min long) about Death Valley. There's plenty of parking including some under an awning (nice because it's so hot). The rangers are helpful and ofc they have the passport stamps there. It's a great stop on your way to the more common visiting spots (badwater basin, zabriskie point, etc.)

Death Valley is one of kind park that I would like to check off my bucket list. Today, we finally did it! We came in on a mid April weekday, not busy at all. It was already in the 84 degrees mid day.. luckily, it was windy, which helped a lot. I guess 80 degrees is nothing compared to summer weather when it go to the 120-130's Fahrenheit!! Hence, the name... Death Valley! Before heading out here, one should be prepared especially during hot summer months. Preparing one gallon of water per person is recommended by the park rangers there. In addition, one should prepare enough food during your trip, there's not much to offer at the visitor's center. However, there's a Death Valley Inn right before the furnace creek visitor's center. Restrooms are available throughout the area, but the only running water available is at the visitor's center, this is your best place to be. We only toured a small section of the valley, off the badwater basin road. From the time we arrived the visitor's center to the time we left, it took about 4 hours with a few stops along badwater basin road for pictures and checking out the highlights of the area. Travel safe! Be prepared! P.S. 4th graders get a free América Beautiful pass and it works here!

This is the Death Valley visitor center with a lot of activities for kids part of the Junior Ranger program. Great information about the park. There is a souvenir store and they run a lot of programs. Check this place out. Very friendly park rangers. Huge parking lot, neat and clean restrooms. Some quick grab food and water/soda are available. The temperature reading device at the entrance was cool. Check the pictures uploaded. Also, check the auditorium to view the films telecasted on Death Valley. The muesueum was super cool to learn a lot about Death Valley.

I was impressed by all the reasonable prices! The hats were super cute and only $15! They also had stickers and pins for super cheap, compared to other national parks. Score for cute souvenirs and good prices! That being said, they did have some basic sandwiches for sale for $10... but if you come prepared you won't need to purchase any. They had the cute little penny machine where you choose the design and pay .51 for a squished penny. Staff were kind and helpful.

We had absolutely the BEST visit at Death Valley NP. We started at Furnace Creek Visitor Center where the ranger that helped us when we were ready for a map gave great tips about the order we visited sites in and sunset (which was a major highlight!). Our only regret was planning just an afternoon here. We for sure could have filled at least a full day with fun! We do want to come back to explore some parts of the park in more depth (Artists Pallet, taking our time at Natural Bridge) and get over to the west side of the park (as our oldest saw a picture of a waterfall in the museum at the visitor center that he's intent we go to). We did come in winter, and it was beautiful and doable. I kinda can't imagine coming in summer... That doesn't even sound fun...

On a Saturday morning in mid October, we went to visitors center to ask questions from be ranger and to buy a pass . The parking lot was full of cars, inside, there is a passport stamp desk, gift shop, information on Death Valley, and small exhibit of Death Valley. The ranger was friendly and helpful on tips.

Always an experience to drive super low elevation down down to a special natural geography. With a nice shop and ranger station, good sized amphitheater that explains the area. The rangers are very nice. Knowledgeable with directions into and out of the park. They recommended bad waters and art palette drive, we could only do one of them and it was amazing. Don't forget to join in on getting your junior badge, it is for all ages :)

This is the main visitors center in Death Valley. You'll find a ton of parking, but only 1/3 or so of it is covered. There is a restroom with flushing toilets and a water fountain. Inside you can pay for your park entry and do some shopping. There's a good number of souvenirs plus Gatorade, water bottles, and sandwiches. Unlike next door or other places in the park, buying from this building ensures your money goes directly to the park service. There are two national park stamps insides - one behind the souvenir desk and another in the museum. That museum provides a very good look at Death Valley making it an essential visit. You might get lucky and see wildlife nearby like coyotes!

Free visitor center with /gift shop/park advisors/movie/exhibits. A solid and busy visitor center that has plenty of staff on hand to help you navigate your trip within the park. There are nice informational displays and a highly recommended free movie that gives great insight about the geology and history of Death Valley. - Prepared food (pre made sandwiches and salads) are available but don't expect gourmet options. Prices were fair. - Walking distance from the furnace creek campground.

We drove over to the visitor center once we passed Zabriskie Point. As you walk over to the entrance there's a huge temperature reading just in case you're interested in knowing how hot it is. Everyone takes a picture of it as we did. Once inside I headed over to the ranger counter. 1) to show my lifetime National park pass with ID. 2) to get my parking pass. 3) to ask for information. & 4) hubby wanted to collect his stamp for his National passbook at the gift shop. You can pay the park entrance fee at a pay station; however it's just as convenient in person. And restrooms. There's a small gift shop and an exhibit on Death Valley. There's a 20 minute film on Death Valley that runs every half hour on the hour in the auditorium. It was very interesting. We learned Death Valley was settled by the Timbisha Shoshone tribe and are still there. It was a mystery to us where they're actually residing but Death Valley is enormous. The film also speaks to Borax mining and later early days of tourism and Scotty's Castle. Short film and worthwhile. The thing we always collect is the souvenir penny. Yep, they have one there. For $0.51 it's the best souvenir you can buy.

They warn you navigation/GPS likely will not work in the park, so you must go here to obtain a map. You have to show your paid park admission or your annual/lifetime pass with matching photo id to be given a map. Honestly, this should be done at the park entrance and not 17 miles inside the park. The gift shop was a joke. They could only accept cash or checks! No credit cards. I picked out $48 of merchandise. I had a $100 and they could not break it. POOR way of doing business. What was their change drawer, $10? I scrounged in my pockets and outside in my rental and came up with the exact sum, but I was just lucky. I asked the ranger about if 20 Mule Team Loop had been affected by the flooding and was it ok. He said it was fine and that you could even take a car on it. I have a rental Jeep. For the most part, you could have driven a car on it - except for the final few hundred yards. I think a car would bottom out. They need to be certain of the advice they are giving. It's not a place anyone would want to be stuck without cell service.

The Furnace Creek Visitor's Center is a great starting point for first time visitors of Death Valley National Park. The inside of the visitor's center was closed during my visit earlier this year due to COVID, but the bookstore was still open for purchases and they had an information kiosk out front. The information kiosk was tended by rangers who were able to help me plan out my daily excursions. If you have a National Park Pass, you can present it at the window and they'll give you a park map. You can also pay (if you don't have a pass) the entrance fee here and they'll give you a ticket to put in your car. There are clean restrooms are water fountains here as well. There are several popular landmarks that are located within a 15 minute to an hour's drive from the visitor's center: *Zabriskie Point - 15 minutes *Artist's Drive/Palette - 15 minutes *Devil's Golf Course - 20 minutes *Badwater Basin - 30 minutes *Dante's View - 1 hour I would love to see the inside of the visitor's center at some point, but I am grateful for the useful information that I received from the knowledgeable rangers. Would highly recommend that you make a stop here before your journey through the park (especially if it's your first time visiting).

This place is extremely helpful: not only do they have maps but they also give useful tips for the hikes. After visiting this center, I changed the trip plan a little and added 3 more hikes to it, the hikes I did not know before I asked the workers at the center. The center also has a small cinema-like room where you can watch a short movie about the Park. There is also a small museum inside showing the history, changes, and people who lived and worked at this Park. It was a nice place to rest and cool down. There are also water refilling stations where you can get cold water, precisely what's needed when it is so hot.

(My mocked attempt at writing a short western!) The Outcasts of Death Valley The road to Furnace Creek lay over a steep mountain side. On the other side was a flat bone dry valley. It was half a day's travel from Vegas. In that advanced season, our party soon passed the moister, temperate regions of the foothills into the dry, hot, bracing air of Death Valley. The road was narrow and difficult. At noon our party, rode out to the side of the road and stepped upon the ground, declaring our intention of going no farther before stretching our legs! The spot was singularly wild and impressive. A flat and dry salt lake, surrounded on one side by precipitous cliffs. On the opposite side flat white salt fields as far as eye could see. It was, undoubtedly, the most unsuitable spot for a camp, had camping been advisable. But I knew that scarcely half an hour's journey to Furnace Creek was what must be accomplished, and our party were not equipped or provisioned for delay. This fact I pointed out to my companions politely. But they were fascinated with the view, which in this situation took priority for them. We eventually got back on the road and headed north. As we road down a slope we say the greener spot a short distance away. It was Furnace Creek and the visitor center was further down the road to the left. We pulled over and walked in, thirsty for information. (Getting real!) The crew at the visitor center are great! They are very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Make sure you take the time to talk to one of the rangers, get a map and have them mark some of the points of interest for you. There is a lot to see in Death Valley.

Not everything was open: Death Valley National Park We stopped by the visitor center to get some information. Face masks are required when entering this area. Open daily, 8:00a to 5:00p Obtain general information and maps Purchase entrance passes Speak with Park Rangers Bookstore Availability of exploring exhibits and watching the park film may be affected due to COVID-19. It was closed to the public the day of our visit. There is a board outside with a ton of information about the park including the forecast, sunrise and sunset times, things to look for in the night sky, campgrounds that are open/closed, road conditions, and other announcements (see pic posted with this review). It is located just right outside under the shaded roof and is updated daily. It was a perfect day for exploring, highs 77°. The bookstore is open but guests were limited inside for social distancing. I was able to get my National Park Passport stamped inside. Clothing, souvenirs and books were sold at the bookstore but if you get hangry light snacks, sandwiches and water are available for purchase too. It's better to bring your own food in the park. We purchased an annual pass for $80 because we will be using it again in June and will pay for itself. A 7-day pass for a car in Death Valley National Park is $30. Restrooms were open and available for use. Review #2126

Furnace Creek Visitor Center is kinda of open during the pandemic! Open daily from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm! You can pay the entrance fee here or show proof of it and get a map. The actual center is closed, but there are always 2 rangers on the premises to help with fees and directions for visiting the park. I've stopped here twice during my last visit. They enforce COVID safety measures, so wear a mask and keep your distance. I did get helpful directions and information from a nice park ranger. It's useful to double check with them your plans, I did a lot of research and chatting with him was helpful to us to organize our day better! There are clean restrooms and picnic tables around to enjoy your lunch. There's a nice bookstore, they allow 6 people at a time inside. Once I stayed in a line, not for long, next day I was able to go straight inside. They do have cute souvenirs, magnets, Christmas ornaments, great books selection, t-shirts. Prices are reasonable, customer service was great! I got a few souvenirs for us and also for friends and family. Not a huge selection, but decent items and this is the only store open around! Too bad I didn't get to check out their exhibits, otherwise a nice stop!

During our own "Death Valley Days", Gayle and I stopped here to pay our entrance fee, look at the exhibits, and peruse the gift shop. This is a great starting (or mid) point in experiencing Death Valley National Park. We were here in March (just last week) and the temperatures were in the comfortable 70s. And after experiencing the exhibits, it didn't take much to imaging higher temperatures and how that might feel. Store and Ranger staff were helpful, and gave some really good suggestions on sight seeing options. Death Valley NP is a huge piece of scenic land, but the actual stopping points are fairly distinct and clear in where they are and how to get there. From here (and with our newly issued Senior Pass in hand), we were off to Stovepipe Wells and the nearby Dunes.

The visitor center is small, but it does give you just the right amount of history about Death Valley and fun facts about it to understand what's so special about it. You can also pick up a free map and get advice on which sites to visit. Two-three days seems just about right for Death Valley to see everything.

Fantastic Visitor Canter! The staff are so helpful and friendly. Lots of parking, clean restrooms, free WiFi, excellent park topography map in the lobby.

Death Valley National Park is a beautiful park with a variety of landscapes. There is no cell service so download all the spots you want to hit up on Google Maps- Mesquite Sand Dunes, Badwater Basin, Dante's View, Artists Palette, Zabriskie Point, and Golden Canyon. I enjoyed just getting away. And man, climbing to the top of the sand dunes was tough. I cannot imagine going in the summer!

Great spot in the middle of Death Valley, lots of people and great museum on the park! Nice place to go for restroom break and get some precious drinking water. It's a well maintained site with great passionate park rangers.

NO MATTER HOW HOT I LOVE DVNP! My favorite National Park by far. It's enormous too. Larger than some states. I come all times of the year, even in the summer. If you drive up elevations the temperatures are much cooler. Park at Mahogany Flat in August and the temps are in the 70s. Continue hiking up to Telescope Peak and you better bring a jacket. I've been Jeeping and camping out along some of the more difficult trails in the Park. Even on the western side of the Panamints, into the Valley and towards the Slate Range which is BLM land, the trails are amazing. High clearance, 4x4 and good tires are mandatory! Lots of old mines and ghost towns to explore once off the pavement.

The great thing about this visitor center is that the entrance shows the outside temperature. I came in late December and it was in the 50s. The restrooms are located outside of the visitor center. I came here at 8am when the visitor center opened. However, the women's restroom was closed for cleaning. How does a visitor center open, but restrooms (men and women) are not ready to use? There was only one gender inclusive restroom that could be used and one person was in there for a really long time. I'm not sure if this is typical, but this is why I'm giving this visitor center this score, instead of something higher. There is a small gift shop inside, on the left. They sell things like shirts, books, hats, magnets, and posters. There is also a little "Junior Ranger" section for kids where they sell vests and stuffed animals. There is also educational information here as well on the right hand side of the visitor center. I skipped this part, so I can't speak much about this section. Pros: -Temperature is displayed outside of the visitor center -They have wifi here!!! -Friendly staff -Gift shop -Educational information indoors -Partial shaded parking options are available Cons: - Restrooms were not ready to use when the visitor center was open

The visitor center was clean, and there we're Park rangers available to answer questions about the park. Like other visitors centers, there was a short film as well as information and photographs about the park. It was a small gift and snack center and clean bathrooms.

Fun visitors center, dare I say only visitors center. Who knows, I could be wrong but driving into Death Valley National Park from LA it took quite some time to actually hit the highlights and the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. I went in to explore and stamp my Passport (big kid at heart! Yes I have a National Parks passport). They have a large thermometer out front, I'm sure the pics aren't as fun in the cooler months. We waited for it to hit 100 a couple of times but it was mainly in the high 90s during our visit. I wish I would have watched the film but I did go explore their exhibit room for quite awhile, purchased a patch and obtained a map and some useful tips from the front counter rangers. Definitely worth a stop!

Scammer Alert! We came today just to pass by at the visitor center going towards our hotel in The Ranch but the lady told us we have to pay $30 if we park on the hotel. Then on the hotel I ask the clerk if it's required to pay the $30 just to stay here and they told me No! The hotel is a private property that has been here at Death Valley before the center came. After the hotel we are going to las vegas I just use the road to pass by. I will have it reimbursed from my credit card. If it's denied then I have a lawyer that Ive been paying monthly to deal with them, $30 is nothing to me but being scammed is not acceptable.

I visit Death Valley two or three times each year when the temperatures are cooler most of the times. If I'm in this section of the park, I always stop at the visitor center to show my pass and get my fee proof to tape to the car window. The staff at the desk are generally very knowledgable and helpful such as the time when I asked for information about the abandoned Skidoo Mine. Two days ago, two of the people at the desk had no idea about what I was asking. The one did give me a book where I found the information I wanted and I'll be going back in a week or two to visit the two places I want to see. The building was closed a few years ago while the inside was redone to refurbish the building and put ion some new exhibits. Those exhibits are very well done and show the extremes of Death Valley and some of its history. One of my favorite visits to the visitor center was on July 10, 2013 when the National Park Service had a special program commemorating the 100th anniversary of the warmest temperature veer recorded on Earth which was at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913. After a program in the new auditorium, the group went outside to the weather station and we watched as one of the NPS rangers opened the box and read the official high and low for the day. It was great fun to be a party of history. If you're in Death Valley, I would recommend a stop here for a tour of the exhibits and the photo op with the unofficial thermometer in front.

The Furnace Creek Visitor Center is probably the most visited spot in Death Valley. The center houses a decent museum of the area, sells park admissions, and most importantly has restrooms and water. The center is located in the Furnace Creek area nearly in the center of the Death Valley National Park. The overall look of the center seems a bit dated, although it blends in well with the landscape. There are several places to fill up your water bottles and use a real toilet. The park has several automated entry fee payment terminals, so I recommend using them instead of waiting in line. The general store next door has a MUCH larger selection of Death Valley souvenirs and other items compared to the small selection at the center. This is still an excellent stop for a good overview of Death Valley including movies and ranger events. The digital thermometer in front is a popular photo spot, especially when in triple digits. Parking can be very difficult with a rather small lot, but is worth the effort for water.

At about the center of Death Valley, this nice spot with lots of water was turned into a resort (100 years ago?) and next to it, is the visitor center. You pass the restrooms and drinking fountains in order to enter the building. There is a gift shop, along with a relief model of the park. At one end is an auditorium that shows a short film depicting the history of the area. At the other end are the displays typical of a museum, which almost no one was viewing, although there weren't many watching the film either. It seemed as though most people made it to the seats just past the entry doors.

Convenient spot to get maps and lots of information on events going around for the kids and adults as well and a great little museum of the history of the park. It's nice and cold in there with restrooms water stations and souvenirs gift shop I noticed they had a room where they held a arts & crafts things with kids so nice, and we found out about the ranger show definitely don't wanna miss that they meet at harmony borax

Plenty of parking and semi-clean bathrooms are a plus. The small museum is kind of cool. However, the rangers answer almost every question with "I don't know" and, weirdly, national park stickers aren't available here, but only in the general store. The NPS Passport stamp is hidden behind a counter? Really? We received more help from a campground host than any ranger, which is very unusual for a National Park, and very different from our experence here only a few years ago.

There are many permit stations throughout the park, so you don't actually have to stop at the Visitor Center if you don't want to; however, you really should. Even though we come to DVNP regularly, no trip is complete without stopping in here. This Visitor Center was remodeled in 2012 and provides all of the modern amenities any visitor could ask for, including the most important--lots of clean bathrooms, fresh water, and air conditioning. The exhibits in the museum area are wonderful (and air conditioned), it's always fun to see where you've been on the giant topo map (in the air conditioning), and the orientation film is gorgeous in a nice, dark (and air-conditioned) auditorium. Perhaps you see my point here? Stop in, take your photo outside with the thermometer to wow your friends back home, and then step in to cool off. It is a good way to spend an hour (or two), especially in the midday, when it's not much fun to be outside in Death Valley!

Furnace Creek is the center of everything in the park with this very nice visitors center. Cool exhibits, nice rest rooms and the perfect gift shop to pick up one of our must have magnets. Yeah, our refrigerator is covered with them from all of our travels.

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.

What is not to like about a visitors center inside one of the most iconic NP locations? Very little, and aside from a rude encounter by an obviously dehydrated tourist, everything here was great. We spent six days inside Death Valley, and made this visit on day three. The staff of rangers and customer service folks were very friendly and informative here. We dropped some cash on t-shirts, stickers, and a couple of cool Death Valley history books here. There is also a really cool relief map of the area, with easy to read highlights. The bathrooms were clean and well appointed. The park notices and road conditons were cleary posted outside the visitor center so if you visited in off hours, critical information can still be accessed. There is a cool digital thermometer outside well worth a couple of photos. It was a nice visit for us in November of 2017, so the daytime temps were in the high seventies. Take your time parking here, and avoid the thirsty tourists and you will do just fine.

Very nice newly renovated visitor Center with ample space for exhibits, an auditorium for ranger talks, a large area for visitor information and space left over for all the cool park souvenir things to buy. The restrooms are spacious and clean. We really liked the new exhibits -- be sure and take the time to walk through them because they give you a great overview of the park and its unique history. Make special note of the boulder outside proclaiming Death Valley as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve -- that's an important world designation for this special place.

The Furnace Creek Visitor Center is a gorgeous mid-century modern style building with clean restrooms. It's a pretty place to see and buy the t-shirt.They also have well-organized trash & recycling stations if you're doing dispersed camping. As far as Visitor Centers go, it's nice. As far as customer service, it's not. We had done our research on the park but hadn't been able to find a heck of a lot of info on 4WD trails and campsites. Our intention was to get more info on the 4WD ("backcountry") campsites we could visit. The first ranger we spoke to was Stan (yes, I'm going to name him. Stan, I'm going to talk to your boss next time) was completely on autopilot and suggested we start with Echo Canyon. When we asked if it was a popular site, we got an "I don't know." Let me tell you something, folks, Echo Canyon is not a nice place to camp and I would not recommend it. Okay, fine, we had the equipment, did the do and camped there for the night. Luckily, on the way out, we met some seasoned campers who filled us in where to go next. Just to be safe, we decided to give the visitor's center another try and we got Jan. Jan was definitely more engaged but didn't seem to know too much. We said we wanted to see the Racetrack and he told us it was more treacherous than Echo Canyon (it wasn't) and he didn't really know of any 4WD campsites. To be honest, the cashier at the Stovepipe Wells General Store (Blain) was a better source of info than these 2 "rangers" combined. We just so happened to stop in the next day and, completely frustrated with our previous experiences, asked him for a recommendation. To be honest, it was the best camping we had the whole time. So let me recap: a cashier at a retail establishment is a better ranger than the rangers at Furnace Creek. Helpful to know: you do NOT have to go to Furnace Creek to pay your fees. There are several locations where you can pay throughout the park. In fact, I'd suggest you pay them at Stovepipe Wells General Store. Ask for Blain.

Great visitor center with some covered parking spaces. The center is not very big. it has the rest rooms, museum, theater, and gift shop that one expected, but at a smaller scale. However there is no food stand available, so bring your own refreshments.

LEED certified and remarkably clean visitor center. As the main visitor center of Death Valley, they have a small museum of sorts about Death Valley and a well staffed information center. There is also a 3D topographical/interactive map by the entrance where you push a button for a location and a light displays on the map. The visitor center closes in the evening, but the bathrooms and entrance fee machine is available 24 hours/day. If you show your entrance fee ticket to one of the park rangers, you get a pretty good map of Death Valley. There is a little shop inside with some trinkets/books. I believe there is also Wifi access inside and also cell reception (at least for my T-Mobile phone).

Another really great national park visitor center, full of interesting exhibits and helpful information. The rangers, as usual, are quite friendly and receptive, but lines can form at the information desk, especially when it's really hot and people are ducking in here for some relief. There's a couple videos that run that do a nice job of telling the story of the park. There are also some really well-done ranger programs. The junior ranger program is great fun for kids.

It's a nice place. They have 3G cell service here, but it's full bars. They have actual flush toilets here (better than a pit toilet). Inside there's an area with three rangers behind a counter where you can get directions and recommendations of what to see and what roads to go through. They also have a gift shop (yes, they sell food). They also have one of those penny press machines and an exhibit on Scotty's castle (which is closed at the moment).

Not the most lavish national park visitor center (this is Death Valley after all, not Yellowstone), but it's staffed with a lot of great rangers and has been recently remodeled. You can get a lot of nice DV stuff from the Death Valley National History Association, which is set up inside the visitor center. This past week, the visitor center hosted a nice series of talks concerning the hundred year anniversary of the world record temperature recorded in Death Valley (134).

The best experience was the movie. It runs at the top & bottom of the hour. Really touching! I won't reveal the details. You have to see it yourself!

Two years after my first visit, I am happy to finally be able to upgrade my rating to 5 stars! We came here for the long Memorial Weekend and had a great experience. The two rangers we interacted with were very nice and professional, giving us lots of good advise for new places to see while in the Death Valley. Dee Casimiro in particular was the epitome of courtesy.

This was our first stop in Death Valley National Park, so we could get our camping pass and stamp for our National Parks passport. One of the larger visitor centers I've been to, however there isn't actually much to see. They have a walk-through informational gallery where you can learn more about the park, an info desk, and a small gift shop. If you're here to stamp your passport, you have to ask for it behind the counter. There's no stamp station, like in Yosemite.

This is where you want to go to pay for the fees if you're camping/RVing and get your pass. There's limited parking here but people are always coming and going. They also have restrooms, a small gift shop, and an info center with maps and other brochures of things to do while in Death Valley. If you have any questions, you can ask the employees there- they're pretty friendly and helpful.