At Badwater you are standing 86 metres below sea level, at the lowest point in North America. Look up at the cliffs of the Black Mountains behind the car park and you will see a small sign high on the rock marking sea level, which gives you a sense of how deep this hole really is. In front of you, the salt flats stretch for kilometres, a crust of white crystals pushed up into hexagonal ridges by the cycles of rare floods and evaporation.
The name comes from a small spring-fed pool at the edge of the flats. According to the usual story, an early surveyor's mule refused to drink from it, and he noted on his map that the water was bad. It is not poisonous, just very salty, and it is home to a tiny snail that lives nowhere else. A boardwalk leads out over the pool, and a well-trodden path continues onto the salt flats. Walk out a kilometre or so and the crowds thin, the crust becomes whiter and the silence becomes total.
The road to Badwater runs south from Furnace Creek along the foot of the Black Mountains, past alluvial fans and colourful rock formations. It is mostly straight, with a few gentle curves, and the surface is generally good. The scenery is the main attraction: the white salt flats on one side, the dark mountains on the other, and the Panamint Range rising beyond. The light changes constantly, and the heat haze can make the distant mountains look like they are floating.
Badwater is also one of the hottest places on Earth. In July, air temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees, and the ground can be much hotter. Riding here in summer is dangerous, and you should take the heat seriously. Carry plenty of water, drink before you are thirsty, and avoid walking on the salt flats in the middle of the day. In winter the conditions are much more pleasant, and the light is softer.
Badwater offers a car park, toilets and the boardwalk, nothing more. The nearest fuel is at Furnace Creek, about thirty kilometres north. The road continues south past Badwater toward Shoshone and the southern end of the valley, but services are very sparse, so check your fuel before going further.