WHERE: Badwater, Death Valley, Calif. Desolate, unyielding and immensely beautiful, Death Valley is no place for hotheads, especially in summer, when daily highs hover around 116 degrees and mountains shimmer pink in desert heat. Nowhere shimmers more than Badwater, 282 feet below sea level on the central valley plain. This lowest point in the U.S. takes its name from a small spring-fed pool next to the road, made undrinkable by the vast salt flats of the surrounding basin.

WHY GO: For desert lovers, Badwater looks out across the ultimate scrub landscape: cracked lakebeds, smooth canyons, crystalline sinks, ghost towns and abandoned mines, a terrain like no other. This swath of the Mojave Desert rates among the hottest places on earth.

WHO GOES THERE: While most visitors opt for an air-conditioned vehicle and a cooler packed with ice, others take the high road ... literally. This month's 30th Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon, known as the Challenge of the Champions, attracted around 88 runners. The 135-mile nonstop course from Badwater to its high point, Mount Whitney (14,497 feet), takes two exhausting days. The race finished Wednesday at the peak's portal at 8,360 feet. Runners ages 24 to 70 passed through Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells and Lone Pine in temperatures nudging 120 degrees. It's been called the most demanding and extreme running race anywhere.

IF YOU GO: Death Valley National Park hot spots: Zabriskie Point, Dante's View, Scotty's Castle, Stovepipe Wells, Bad-water.

Furnace Creek Ranch accommodation is open year round. Rates begin at $116 per night.

LEARN MORE

www.nps.gov/deva, www.badwater.com, www.furnacecreekranch.com.

Reach Chris Oliver at coliver@honoluluadvertiser.com.