Currently debating between 2 or 3 nights to visit Death Valley. What would you recommend?

It somewhat depends where you're coming from and going to (i.e. how much of the travel days before and after you have to spend there), time of year, and what you want to do. If you just want to see the major sites along the main roads that don't require much hiking (Dante's View, Zabriskie Point, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Badwater, Artist's Drive, Devil's Golf Course, the Furnace Creek area, Salt Creek, and the Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes), 2 nights (or even 1) can be sufficient.

But if you want to do just a bit more hiking (relatively easy 1-3 mile hikes), Natural Bridge, Golden Canyon, Titus Canyon (walking in from the west), and Mosaic Canyon can easily fill another day or more so you wouldn't be bored with 3 nights. Visiting Ubehebe Crater adds another half day (unfortunately Scotty's Castle is still closed in that area).

It will be in the 2nd half of April. I'll be driving from Sedona. What I'm planning now is Day 1 drive there. Day 2 Death Valley. Day 3 Death Valley. Day 4 Death Valley until night and then I go to Vegas.

Good plan?

As good as any.

jmastron is correct - it all depends on what you plan to do. Outdoor exploring/hiking? Photography? Well off the beaten path exploration? Golf? Geology? Lots and lots of driving?

Also, not sure what the benefit of driving from Sedona directly to Death Valley is. You may be better off stopping in Las Vegas first if you don't want to back track. Plenty of other places to go after Death Valley besides Vegas.

Also, invest in an America the Beautiful annual pass if you're going to be doing a bunch of driving through federal lands and want to save money.

David

Got the ATB pass already, actually expires end of April so good timing. Outdoor exploring and hiking are probably my biggest interests. Not a golf person at all.

Well, I'm going to be flying out of Vegas (rental car) so I'm going to backtrack regardless. Even if I go to Vegas first, I'll then go to Death Valley and have to return. All else being equal, I'd rather spend the last days in Vegas where I can just chill and head to the airport easily.

I would definitely drive in via Titus Canyon Road beginning northwest of Las Vegas. Spectacularly stunning drive (but it's one-way east to west).

Titus Canyon Road is an awesome drive, but it requires at least high clearance (sometimes 4x4) and is a dirt road with some steep narrow rutted sections. And as you said it's one-way so you can't change your mind and turn back. It isn't really suited for most rental cars (even rental SUVs technically can't be driven off paved roads), and isn't something I'd recommend for a first-time trip to DV, especially not if driving in the same day from Sedona. You can park at the western edge of the narrows and walk in to see the most spectacular part.

If you're coming straight from Sedona and leave reasonably early, come in via Pahrump and you should be able to stop at Dante's View and Zabriskie Point on the way in (and if not you can hit them on the way back to Vegas). The next 1 or 2 full days can be spent doing any number of short/medium hikes along Badwater Road, Titus, Stovepipe Wells area (including dunes and Mosaic Canyon), and maybe Ubehebe Crater. Don't feel you have to do it all, because if you're like us you'll know you want to come back someday anyway :-)

The point about rental cars is well-taken, and folks will need to decide how risk-tolerant/averse they are in that regard. It is true that it would a long and expensive tow if you got in trouble.

That said, my friend and I took a rental SUV over the route a few years and encountered nothing that would have needed 4x4 and little in the way of high clearance. Of course desert monsoonal rains can change things so if there is any way to inquire locally, it's probably a good idea.

And you're right, the most spectacular is the western end, but the first eastern part of the trip is simply stunning in its awesome starkness and loneliness (and the the ghost town and mine your pass has you wondering just how hard life would have been for those folks!). I do remember us parking at a wide spot on the eastern half at one point and I swear it was the quietest moment I have ever experienced. Truly memorable.

ETA: This is a nice trip report https://www.desertusa.com/desert-cal...us-canyon.html

I always think about renting a jeep for these trips but the rental cost is just always so much higher than the rest. Just can't justify it.