Las Vegas to SF via Death Valley

[Preetesh Dixit]

Hi everyone,

We (I and my friends) stay in San Jose and are travelling to Vegas over the weekend (road trip). We were planning to visit Death Valley on our way back since Google Maps tells us that it will only add a couple of hours of travel time.

We will be leaving Las Vegas in the morning 10(ish) am and need to reach San Jose by 10(ish) pm.

Can anyone please guide us whether this is a realistic plan - considering that the idea is just to be able to see something interesting on our way back without really needing to take anything more than a couple of hours of detour?

If yes, which place / spot in the Death Valley is suitable for such a trip? I think Google Maps shows the Death Valley National Park by default? Is there some other spot which is closer along the route?

Thanks!