Photo: NPS Photo / Jason GrayBest For
Large RVs and car campers who just need a place to sleep and don't care about aesthetics or amenities. Sunset rarely fills, making it the most reliable walk-up option in the Furnace Creek area — but expect a purely utilitarian experience.
No
Hookups
Flush
Toilets
Sunset is explicitly described by the park as a large campground that 'rarely fills' — a rare and honest endorsement of its reliability as a walk-up option. The tradeoff is stark: no vegetation, no fire grates, and no picnic tables at individual sites. Campfires are only permitted at a small number of designated communal areas. It's a flat expanse of desert gravel that functions more like an overflow lot than a traditional campground. That said, its proximity to Furnace Creek services and its reliable availability make it the best last-resort option in the park's most popular corridor. If Furnace Creek is full and Texas Springs is packed, Sunset is almost certainly open. Opens October 15 and fees are paid via on-site pay station.
Content from Death Valley National Park park guide
November through March is peak season for Death Valley camping, with March alone generating 2,783 reservations in our dataset — the busiest single month. February drives early bookings from wildflower hunters, with 15.1% of February reservations placed 6+ months in advance. Summer months (May through August) see dramatically lower demand — May and August each hit 87.5% last-minute booking rates — but temperatures regularly exceed 110°F, and only heat-prepared campers should attempt the valley floor.
Death Valley covers more than 3,000 square miles and has no internal shuttle system — a private vehicle is essential for accessing any campground. Many of the more remote campgrounds (Eureka Dunes, Thorndike, Mahogany Flat, Saline Valley, Homestake) require high-clearance 4WD vehicles, and some roads close seasonally due to snow or flash flood damage. Plan driving distances carefully: Mesquite Spring in the north and Saline Valley to the west are each well over an hour from Furnace Creek.
The park entrance fee is $35 per vehicle and is valid for 7 days. The America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers the entrance fee for the pass holder's vehicle and is valid at all federal fee sites — a strong value for anyone visiting multiple parks in a year. Furnace Creek Campground charges a nightly fee (varies by site type); first-come campgrounds including Emigrant, Thorndike, Mahogany Flat, and Wildrose are free. Fee-based first-come campgrounds like Texas Springs, Stovepipe Wells, Sunset, and Mesquite Spring use self-pay stations on-site.
The 14-day maximum stay applies at Furnace Creek and most other campgrounds; Backcountry Roadside Camping has a 7-day limit. Cell service is extremely limited throughout the park — download offline maps before arrival and do not rely on navigation apps in the field. The nearest significant supply towns are Beatty, Nevada (approximately 40 miles from Furnace Creek) and Ridgecrest, California to the south; the Stovepipe Wells general store and Furnace Creek Ranch store offer limited supplies within the park. Generator hours and pet rules vary by campground — Texas Springs prohibits generators entirely, while Wildrose allows them 7am to 7pm.
Address
Furnace Creek, California
Coordinates
36.4588, -116.8638
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park
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Death Valley National Park
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Death Valley National Park
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