Where is the hottest place on Earth? And why do you want to know? Surely, it’s not because you’re looking to plan a trip there during peak temperatures. We all want warm places to visit in winter, but still. The hottest of the hot is not necessarily one of the best places to travel.
A superlative is a superlative, though, and for a long time there’s been a location with a temperature reading that has sat higher on the thermometer than anything recorded anywhere before or since. That location is Furnace Creek, a census-designated place in California’s Death Valley National Park with a population of 136 people. On July 10, 1913, the air temperature in Furnace Creek was recorded as being 134 degrees Fahrenheit (57°C). The average high temperature in the region in summer these days is around 120 degrees in the shade, so you can see why the invocation of such descriptors as “death” and “furnace” are particularly apt here.
There’s a reason Death Valley gets so uniquely hot: This valley is not only long and narrow but also exceptionally deep. At its lowest, Death Valley sinks to 282 feet below sea level. Not only this, but it is also flanked by high mountain ranges. Sparse vegetation does little to shield the desert surface from sunlight, and these conditions combine to create quite the convection oven.
Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth—but can you visit?
Keeping that in mind, the hottest place on Earth remains a perfectly good place for camping and hikers, with lodging and campsites available year round. Springtime is an excellent time to go, especially in March (average high of 82 degrees) and April (average high of 90 degrees) as temperatures creep towards unbearable highness (average high of 100 degrees) by May. Explosive wildflower superblooms occur during these months if the conditions are right—a preceding winter of heavy rainfall, namely—and most recently occurred there in 2024 and 2016. Autumn and winter are also safe and pleasant times to visit.
If you want to experience extreme high temperatures in Death Valley, summer is the time to do so—however, the extreme heat is considered unsafe for most if not all human beings. The National Parks Service is more or less clear about this, with their bits of advice for summertime hikers and campers all but imploring visitors not to overestimate themselves and running the gamut from “drink at least one gallon of water per day” to “travel prepared to survive.” They also advise travelers against hiking at low elevations in the summer, as many underestimate the potential deadliness of the sun in these areas.