Two National Parks · 233 miles apart
Channel Islands or Death Valley
Death Valley drew 1,320,134 recreation visits in 2025, 5.8 times the 227,186 at Channel Islands, so crowds are the largest difference. Channel Islands charges no entrance fee while Death Valley charges $30 per private vehicle. Death Valley holds an International Dark Sky designation and Channel Islands does not. On the rest they match, since neither uses timed entry. The two parks are 233 miles apart in a straight line.
| Channel Islands National Park | Death Valley National Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Designation | National Park | National Park |
| States | California | California, Nevada |
| Recreation visits, 2025 | 227,186 | 1,320,134 |
| Entrance fee, private vehicle | None, free to enter | $30 (Private Vehicle) |
| Timed entry reservation | No | No |
| Campgrounds | 7 | 12 |
| International Dark Sky Park | No | Yes |
| Bird species, NPSpecies | 354 | 384 |
| Hours or season | Open all day, every day | Open all day, every day |
Channel Islands visits by yearDeath Valley visits by year
Fees, hours, campgrounds and timed entry from the NPS API. Visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics system. Dark sky status from DarkSky International. Bird counts from the NPSpecies inventory. Data refreshed October 14, 2026. Other pairs.