Although pets are welcome in Death Valley National Park, many restrictions are in place. You may take your pet along roads, to campgrounds, picnic areas, and other developed areas of the park, but they must be restrained or kept on a leash at all times. Other than service animals, pets are not allowed inside most buildings or on trails (including to Zabriskie Point), but rules state you also cannot leave them in your car while you are away.
More than 700 miles of backcountry roads in the park offer legal hiking possibilities.
Suggested places to walk with your pet:
Furnace Creek Airport Road: Starting near the Visitor Center, this level, one-mile paved road edges the golf course to the airport. WARNING: coyotes are regularly seen in this area.
Bicycle Path to Harmony Borax Works: Paralleling Hwy 190 north of the visitor center,, this is the only trail in the park open to pets. The interpretive trail around Harmony Borax Works ruins is closed to pets, but those looking for a longer walk can continue on the unpaved Mustard Canyon Road.
Stovepipe Wells Airport Road: From the Stovepipe Wells Campground entrance this unpaved road heads across the valley floor to the airport and access to the Cottonwood Canyon Road.
In the backcountry:
Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road: This three-mile, one-way dirt road passes through colorful, other-worldly badlands. Vehicles may be restricted to traveling only one direction, but hikers can choose to turn around at any time.
Titus Canyon Road: The hike up the narrows of Titus Canyon is one of the most popular in Death Valley and because it is on a dirt road you can bring your pet along. The first 1.5 miles is the narrowest, but you can continue for miles if you like. Spectacular scenery is the main reason to hike here, but the local herd of native bighorn sheep is why you should keep your pet under tight control.
Echo Canyon Road: Although the first part of this road is in the open, if you have a high-clearance, 2WD vehicle you can drive three miles to the canyon mouth, then walk with your pet through the two-mile-long canyon narrows to a natural arch and beyond.
Chloride City Road: This mid-elevation road is a good option when the temperatures are starting to get too warm in the valley. From the Daylight Pass Road, walk the narrow dirt road winding through desert hills to Monarch Canyon (two miles.)
Other public lands:
Death Valley National Park is surrounded by public lands that have less restrictive rules regarding pets. Contact the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Ridgecrest, CA, or Battle Mountain, NV, and the U.S.Forest Service / Inyo National Forest in Lone Pine or Bishop, CA, for current regulations.
