Badwater Basin - the lowest point in the US

[jimmyn]

Badwater Basin was on our shortlist of places to visit while traveling around Death Valley National Park. It is the lowest point in the United States at about 280 feet below sea level. The parking area for the trail to the basin is about 20 minutes south of Furnace Creek and sits across from a small mountain. One of the mountain cliffs has a sign on it that says "Sea Level" to give you a good idea of just how far down you are. In order to get to the "official" lowest point you need to hike a couple miles up the trail, which is just a worn path in the dry cracked ground. We didn't go that far but my son found a hole someone had dug about a foot down to stand in. He kicked out a little more debris and we declared it to be the official new lowest point!