It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to winter travel—there’s family to visit, snowy mountains to ski, or, for the lucky ones, maybe a warm-weather escape like Maui or Mexico. But if you’re looking for something a little different, and like us, have a handful of National Parks on your travel bucket list, winter is the ideal time! Specifically, visiting Death Valley National Park during the winter can be a great way to beat the peak season crowds and the record-breaking heat, which can reach up to 120 degrees during the summer months (!). Death Valley is located in Eastern California in the Mojave Desert. It’s well known for it’s dry climate, magical properties, and jaw dropping sunsets. It is unlike any other place we’ve ever visited, and being that it’s the second largest National Park in the United States, it’s massive size—120 miles long—leaves so much to be explored. So, when we were looking to escape the holiday madness at home, we traded it for an adventure in Death Valley National Park. Below we share our favorite kid-friendly hikes, places to stay and where to find good eats!

Getting There
The closest airport is McCarran International in Las Vegas about 120 miles Southeast of the park. The drive from the San Francisco Bay Area (where we were coming from) is approximately 8 hours and the drive from Los Angeles is approximately 4.5 hours. There are two entrances into the park, one on the eastern side near Beatty, NV, and one on the western side near Lone Pine, CA. There’s a $30 entrance fee per car that’s good for 7 consecutive days of entry.

What To Do
The best way to plan your days in the park is to pick up a map at the entrance or the visitors centers. The rangers at the visitor center are very knowledgeable and can make suggestions for hikes and viewpoints that will work with all ages, schedules, and preferred levels of activity. We spoke to the rangers about things to do with a 7 and 9 year old in tow and they suggested some great spots. Don’t forget to ask for junior ranger books for the kids here as well, it’s the perfect way to keep them entertained while driving from spot to spot in the park. At the end of the trip, go back to the visitor center with their finished books and they can swear in as junior rangers and receive a special pin.

Skip the crowds during the day and head to popular Zabriskie Point to watch the sunset. We arrived here later in the day and took the short paved walk (.4 miles) up to the top of the look out. Be prepared for the spectacular views that follow. The strange shaped rock formations all along the sides of the mountains are touched with a soft gold light showing various colors of pinks, blues, and yellows hidden within them. These formations have been here for more than five million years and are a result of mineral sediments that gathered at the bottom of an ancient lake that was in Death Valley nine million years ago. To hike into the formations down below Zabriskie point, you can take the moderate (3 mile) hike from Golden Canyon Trailhead to Red Cathedral and back. Another don’t miss hike is the Badwater Basin Salt Flats which is the lowest point in North America, sitting at 282 feet below sea level. Drive and park in the nearest lot and walk (.5 miles) into the basin. Once you are at the end of the small trail into the basin, the bright white salt flats go for miles in either direction, a total of 200 square miles, and you can walk freely across the flats. Kids can spend hours here running, jumping, and getting their energy out while parents snap epic pictures. This hike is easy and flat and perfect to do with kids of all ages. Due to the crystal formations and their raised edges, I would leave strollers in the car as it could be difficult to push wheels over them. From the salt flats we drove to Artist