Death Valley National Park is more than 1,000 miles from Seattle, in southeastern California snug against the Nevada border. Every driving route leads across wide open range land, multiple mountain passes and numerous farm valleys.

Due to last year's rain and flash floods, two entrances remain closed. Open are the Panamint Springs route from California and the Scotty's Junction, Beatty or Shoshone entrances from Nevada. Entering the more than 3-million-acre, 150-mile-long park from Beatty, Nev., gives visitors an extraordinary sense of the landscape and area history. It is awe-inspiring to imagine the early miners and emigrants crossing these extreme landscapes from east to west.

The valley is sandwiched between the Amargosa mountain range on the east and the Panamint mountain range on the west. A land of extremes, its elevation varies from the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin, to 11,049-foot-high Telescope Peak in the Panamint mountains.

Although open year around, Death Valley National Park often records the highest temperature on Earth in summer, and for many years held the world's record for the 134 degrees Fahrenheit recorded July 10, 1913.

As of early April, temperatures were reaching the low to mid-90s, and flowers on the valley floor were starting to fade. However, they are coming into their prime higher up. In addition to limited paved roads, there are 350 miles of unpaved and four-wheel-drive roads in the park.

Do advance homework. There are overnight accommodations for non-campers, but they are limited and often reserved months in advance.

The following three Web sites offer comprehensive information:

The official word: www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm

The inside story: www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~matmus/deathv.html

In addition to the following services, there is a small motel and campground at Panamint Springs Resort and a snack bar and gift shop at Scotty's Castle.

Furnace Creek Visitor Center, 760-786-3200. The National Park Service operates this center and museum at Furnace Creek. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., December-February.

Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch, 760-786-2345. Privately owned and managed motel, general store, post office, gas/diesel station, golf course and tennis courts, among other services.

Stovepipe Wells, 760-786-2387. On the Panamint Springs side of the park, this concessionaire's village has a motel, gas, food, RV hook-ups and more.

For more information: Death Valley National Park, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, CA 92328; 760-786-3200; www.nps.gov/deva

Entering Death Valley on State Highway 374 from Beatty, Nev., approximately eight miles east of the park boundary, especially in early morning light, is exceptionally rewarding. The route takes visitors across the Amargosa mountain range via 4,316-foot Daylight Pass, and gives a sweeping view of the valley below.

Exiting the park on the west side, on State Highway 190 through Panamint Springs, is equally dramatic. The highway crosses the breathtaking Panamint mountain range via 4,956-foot Towne Pass, drops into the Panamint Valley, then climbs to a vista at Father Crowley Point before dropping into California's spectacular Owens Valley.

Shop for groceries and gas before entering the park.

Save time by stopping at the Beatty Ranger Station on the west edge of town to get a park pass, flower brochure and free visitor's guide.

Cellphones do not work in Death Valley — nor along much of the route to and from the park. There are pay phones at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs.

— Karen M. West, special to The Seattle Times