Artists Drive is the place where Death Valley shows off its colours. The one-way loop leaves the Badwater road and climbs into the foothills of the Black Mountains, winding through narrow washes and over small crests, past slopes of red, yellow, green, purple and pink rock. The highlight is Artists Palette, a hillside streaked with colour from the oxidation of different minerals: iron gives the reds and pinks, manganese the purples, and chlorite and other minerals the greens. It looks almost painted, and in the late afternoon light it glows.
The loop is about fifteen kilometres long and is one of the most enjoyable rides in the park. The road is narrow and twisty, with dips, blind crests and tight turns, and it feels more like a rollercoaster than a highway. Vehicles over about eight metres are not allowed, so you will not meet buses or big RVs. The surface is generally good, but there may be sand or gravel in the dips after rain. Take it slowly and enjoy the scenery.
Just across the main road, Devil's Golf Course is the opposite experience. It is a vast field of rock salt, eroded by wind and rain into jagged spikes and knobs so sharp that the old guidebooks said only the devil could play golf on it. A short gravel road leads out to it, and if you stand still on a hot day you can hear the salt crystals pinging and cracking as they expand in the heat.
The geology here is fascinating. Death Valley is a pull-apart basin, where the earth's crust is being stretched and the valley floor is slowly sinking while the mountains rise. The alluvial fans at the foot of the mountains are huge, built up over thousands of years by flash floods carrying rock and sediment out of the canyons.
There are no services on Artists Drive or at Devil's Golf Course. Furnace Creek, about fifteen kilometres north, has fuel, food and lodging. Late afternoon is the best time for photography, when the colours are at their richest and the shadows give the hills depth. In summer the heat is extreme, so carry water and avoid long walks in the middle of the day.