A full field of yellow desert gold flowers lines the slope up to the mountains—the sweet reward of our spontaneous journey up here.

March 14, 2026

We are in the area visiting Joshua Tree National Park, so we don’t have long in Death Valley—maybe a couple hours before sunset? Then it’s back on the road down to Joshua Tree for the night. But we’ve heard this rare 10-year superbloom is a sight we can’t miss and being so close is too tempting to pass up. So it’s worth our curiosity.

Our first stop is the Furnace Creek Visitor Center to set a gameplan for our limited time in the park. The middle of March is a little late for this particular superbloom, so only a few places around the park are in full swing: beneath Death Valley Buttes along Daylight Pass Road and down at Mormon Point beneath Badwater Basin.

Because we eventually need to exit the park through the south, we decide to check out the Buttes first. And I must admit, the show of wildflowers is pretty lacking. Desert gold flowers line the roadway, but the fields and fields of them we were expecting are nowhere to be found. We find one area to pull over and test some photos, but to not much avail. Everything is pretty sparse. A little discouraged, we hop back in the car and cruise down the valley towards Badwater Basin, starting to wonder if the superbloom is all just social media hype.

On our way down, the sun is nearing the mountains, about to set. Our time is running short. And that’s when we come upon the crowds. A couple miles from the turn for Natural Bridge, we find cars pulled over on the side of the road. And for good reason. A full field of yellow desert gold flowers lines the slope up to the mountains—the sweet reward of our spontaneous journey up here. The westering sun intensifies the colors, igniting them brighter than usual.

I pull over with the crowd and hop out among the flowers careful not to tread on any. It’s no tulip farm from Holland, but it’s quite spectacular for Death Valley. Satisfied with the turnout, I return to the car just as the sun dips below the western mountain range.

Continuing south, we can’t pass up the opportunity to peek out over Lake Manly, a seasonal lake formed by valley drainage collecting in Badwater Basin. The beauty of this phenomenon is found in the absolute still waters reflecting the landscape with mirror-like perfection. It’s one of the National Park Systems natural wonders.

Before we head back to Joshua Tree, we grab a quick tailgate dinner as blue hour descends on Lake Manly. The night grows dark and the stars come out—our signal to start the 4-hour journey back. We definitely didn’t hit the peak of the superbloom, or spend as much time as we wanted here, but the small taste of the spectacle we found is better than always wishing we had. I guess we’ll see you again in 10 years, Death Valley.