And just when I thought I had noticed everything, the sun leaped into the sky, creating a new world of light and shadows. It was there, too. Tiny tracks offered plenty of evidence that birds, beetles and kangaroo rats had been here. All I had to do was look. If you pick sunrise to visit the dunes, you might save a canyon for sundown.
Death Valley has hundreds to explore.
Mosaic Canyon, just past Stovepipe Wells, is notable because of the artful patterns you'll find embedded in the rock walls. You may have to scramble up and over the rocks here as you walk the narrow trail, but you'll be rewarded again and again. Keep walking and you'll end up at a dry waterfall, a stopping place for many of the canyon trails. Also check out the Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail and Gower Gulch Loop, both through badlands near Furnace Creek. Titus Canyon, about 35 miles north of Furnace Creek, boasts Native American petroglyphs.