 How long will you be in Death Valley? How long is the drive through Death Valley? Well, from where I'm probably going to be staying in suburban Vegas the first night, it's about an hour, hour and a half drive into Too Bad Water Basin. And so, basically, you're in the real nub of Death Valley probably about an hour. All right, here's some advice. Bring a couple of jugs of coolant just so you don't run out.