The Ranch at Death Valley

Sure, you could play golf at sea level like everyone else. Or you could join the elite few who've conquered Furnace Creek Golf Course—214 feet below sea level—where thin air and bizarre barometric pressure turn every tee shot into a physics experiment. The Panamint Mountains loom in the distance, palm trees sway over fairways, and yes, the occasional coyote might trot across your line of play. Between rounds, saddle up for guided horseback rides through the otherworldly landscape, rent a Jeep to tackle the park's most rugged backcountry routes or pull up a stool at The Last Kind Words Saloon, a meticulously recreated Old West watering hole complete with wagon wheel chandeliers, stamped tin ceilings, wanted posters and authentic Navajo saddles from the 1920s. This is Death Valley the way it was meant to be experienced.