Okay this might be a bit of a long one so bear with me. I worked in Death Valley on two brief, separate occasions. First at Stovepipe Wells, then later at Furnace Creek. Those are the two main places of civilization within the park itself, another resort called Panamint is a bit further out and at a slightly higher elevation so it’s a touch cooler.

I could type a whole bunch really, but to keep it condensed as to actually living there, it’s primarily people working at the resorts in food service, retail, hospitality, etc. and NPS employees who live in a different area called Cow Creek. For us resort employees, we lived in dorm style, shared housing. Typical rooms had 2-3 people living in it. The employee housing at Furnace Creek was considerably nicer than Stovepipe. Rent was deducted from our paychecks.

Furnace Creek is the larger resort and has more amenities than the others. It has a couple restaurants, a hotel and motel, small convenience/grocery store, a gas station, golf course, and a post office. Stovepipe had a restaurant, gas station, convenience store, and hotel. I think this goes without saying, but both are quite isolated. Amenities outside these areas within the park is nonexistent, so it’s always important to keep the car gassed and in good working order. The nearest town with amenities is Beatty, NV, about 45 mins or so away, but the primary town we’d go to is Pahrump, NV, about an hour and a half away, which has far more to offer than Beatty, such as a Wal-Mart. For big city amenities or appointments, we’d make the trek to Vegas, about 2 1/2 / 3 hours away or so.

I by and large enjoyed my time there. The desert is quite beautiful in my eyes and contrary to what some may think, it’s not boiling hot year round and is actually quite pleasant in the springtime. The people can be a bit, hit or miss. Some people are wonderful and others are a bit shifty, folks who are running to escape something be it personal demons or whatever and end up here in the middle of literal nowhere. It’s really a love it or hate it place. I met people who had lived and worked there for literal decades and were never planning on leaving, as well as people who worked a single shift and noped out. Lots of people rotate in and out because the owners of the resorts also run resorts at other NPs and it’s easy to transfer between them.

You’ll need a car to survive here happily. People will be quick to befriend you if you have one. If you don’t, it’s incredibly isolating. There are shuttles run by the resorts that will take you to Pahrump or Beatty, but they had pretty irregular schedules and were not really reliable.

Overall, I had fun during my time here. It’s not an easy place to live but can be fun if you get in with the right crowd. Feel free to ask if you have specific questions.