Death Valley - Devils Golf Course

There are many odd and bizarre landscapes in Death Valley, but perhaps the strangest place in the entire park is the Devils Golf Course.



The white stuff here, which looks like snow, is actually salt. The Devils Golf Course is a large saltpan, located at the bottom of Death Valley near Badwater Basin. About 150,000 years ago, this area was covered by an ancient lake, which had a depth of 30 feet. That lake evaporated entirely, but left behind a lot of dissolved minerals. Over time, the salt formations have been weathered and eroded into these jagged formations, which almost look like coral.



The area gets its name from the National Park Service guidebook in 1934, which said that "only the devil could play golf" here.



I'm sure some crazy people have probably tried to bring out some clubs and tried to hit a few golf balls from here. No doubt the NPS would surely frown upon that. But there is an actual golf course located not too far away by the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.





The golf course is massive, and stretches on across the horizon. You are free to hike across if it wish, but a sign advises to be careful since a fall onto the sharp formations would be painful.



We survived without any falls, and took some last pictures before heading out to Badwater Basin...