The hills along Artist's Drive look as though someone has spilled a paint box over them. Pink, green, mauve, copper, and yellow streak the slopes in bands, and the colours shift with the light: dull at midday, glowing at dusk. At the high point of the drive, a viewpoint named Artists Palette gathers the best of it, with the multi-coloured hillside facing the road and the valley floor stretching away below.
The colours are chemistry. The hills are made of volcanic ash and sediment, and various metals have oxidised in them over time. Iron compounds give the reds, pinks, and yellows, mica produces a pale green, and manganese gives purple and lavender. Together they make a natural pigment chart, and the effect is greatest in the late afternoon, when the low sun intensifies each tone. Photographers come for this reason, and it is the one place in the park where a polarising filter does something miraculous.
Artists Drive is a nine-mile one-way loop, paved, narrow, and winding, leaving Badwater Road at the south end and rejoining it a little farther north. It is a short, lively ride, with dips, bends, and steep little rises, and the corners are tighter than anywhere else on the valley floor. Long vehicles are not allowed, but a bike has no problem. Watch for sand and gravel washed onto the road after storms, and for the occasional tourist stopping suddenly. Ride it slowly, because the point is the colour, not the speed.
Bring water, and carry more than you think necessary. In summer the heat is dangerous, and even in winter the sun can be strong. The best season is from November to March, and the best time of day is late afternoon, when the colours deepen and the temperature falls. If there has been rain, the hills can have a fresh brightness, and a rare wildflower bloom can add yet another colour to the palette.