National Park Service Death Valley National Park U. S. Department of the Interior Visitor Guide Fall & Winter 2012 / 2013 Dantes View, Snow over Badwater by Tom Trujillo A Message From The Superintendent Welcome to Death Valley We have made great strides in im- place for me. I will long remember Temperatures National Park! Depending when proving our outstanding dark sky the wide open landscape, the warm you are reading this, I may no lon- resources by improving external winter days, the striking blue skies. Monthly Average Temperatures ger be in the park, as I will return lighting in the Furnace Creek and And there’s nothing like a sunset January 67°F / 19°C 40°F / 4°C to the very first park I worked at Stovepipe Wells areas. We encour- over the Panamints. February 73°F / 23°C 46°F / 8°C in my home state of Kentucky— age visitors to join our rangers for I invite you to enjoy these same March 82°F / 27°C 55°F / 13°C Mammoth Cave. our night sky events which are held experiences and to protect this April 90°F / 32°C 62°F / 17°C My tenure in Death Valley has monthly. national treasure for the people of May 100°F / 38°C 73°F / 23°C been an experience I never could We have grown as an organiza- today and into the future, just as June 110°F / 43°C 81°F / 27°C have predicted. I have worked with tion with the help of our numerous past leaders did for us. July 116°F / 47°C 88°F / 31°C a wonderful staff who championed partners. The Death Valley Natural August 115°F / 46°C 86°F / 30°C many important projects—the History Association continues to September 106°F / 41°C 76°F / 24°C most notable being the renova- support several programs in the Sarah Craighead October 93°F / 34°C 61°F / 16°C tion of the Furnace Creek Visitor park from the sales in the book- Park Superintendent November 77°F / 25°C 48°F / 9°C Center. This remarkable project stores. The Death Valley ‘49ers December 65°F / 18°C 38°F / 3°C transformed the 1959-60 con- also contribute to the Death Valley Death Valley National Park structed facility, landscape and R.O.C.K.S. educational program as Official weather station at Furnace Creek interpretive exhibits into a LEED- well as support local youth for con- Record High: 134°F / 57°C July 1913 certified visitor-friendly complex, tinuing education. The work that Record Low: 15°F / -9°C January 1913 while preserving its Mid–Century the Death Valley Conservancy has Modern design. The new park film, initiated to restore historic Ryan narrated by Donald Sutherland, Camp will preserve this unique What’s Inside? is exceptional and highlights cultural resource into the future. the unique qualities of the park. At the Furnace Creek Inn & Help Protect Your Park ...... 2 Energy efficiencies incorporated Ranch Resort, Xanterra Survive! ............................... 3 into the new building will save the Parks & Resorts park thousands of dollars each is a partner that What To See ........................ 4 year. provides an excep- Walks & Hikes ..................... 5 We also completed the tional venue for many Wilderness and Backcountry events and unforgettable Park Map .......................6 & 7 Stewardship Plan which outlines services for our park visitors. Visitor Center ...................... 8 management strategies for 3.2 And at Stovepipe Wells, the Death Valley Lodging Company million acres of wilderness and Ranger Programs ................ 9 backcountry within the park. The is working to improve visitor expe- plan formally proposes actions that riences in a number of ways. Park News ......................... 10 will be implemented in much of the Death Valley National Park Humans ............................. 11 park for the next 20 years. will always be a special Visitor Services .................. 12 Death Valley Visitor Guide 1 Help Protect Your Park Rules to Live by in Your National Park Entrance Fees Many park rangers are federal law enforcement officers. They help pro- Pay the park entrance fee at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Scotty’s Castle tect the park and its visitors by enforcing a wide range of federal, state and Visitor Center, Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station or at one of the automated fee local regulations. You can help them by observing these laws: machines placed throughout the park. 7-day pass Lifetime Pass y Obey the speed limit and other y Camp only in established Vehicle and passengers ............... $20 Interagency Senior Pass ............... $10 rules of the road. Helmets and campgrounds or in a permit- Individual entering on motorcycle, (for U.S. citizens 62+) seatbelts are required in Death ted backcountry area. Check bicycle, or foot ............................ $10 Interagency Access Pass .............. free Valley National Park. at a Ranger Station or Visitor Annual Pass (for U.S. citizens with disability) Center for backcountry camping Other passes honored ............. y Death Valley Annual Pass ............ $40 Stay out of closed areas. Mines, information. Golden Age & Golden Access service roads, and other areas are Interagency Annual Pass ............. $80 closed for your safety or the pro- y It is illegal to discharge a fire- Interagency Military Pass ............. free tection of features therein. arm anywhere in Death Valley or to (for active duty military and dependents) bring one into a Federal building. y Let wild animals find their own food. They’re good at it and feed- y Keep pets on leash and close to Don’t Steal the “Silverware” ing them is against the law. roads or parking lots. Pets are not allowed on trails or in wilderness. While visiting the White House, Visiting any of our national y Rocks, plants, animals, and would you take a piece of silver- parks is similar to visiting muse- historic objects in Death Valley are y Put garbage where it belongs. ware home for a keepsake? How ums or art galleries. You certainly protected just like in a museum. Litter in the desert spoils the land- about tearing off a piece of the wouldn’t think of taking an artifact Vandalism and theft are prohibited. scape for each person that follows Declaration of Independence? Or or painting home from such places. behind you. spray painting your name on the Removing anything from our y Keep your car on established Statue of Liberty? national parks means that other roads. Unsightly tire tracks in the y Campfires are allowed in es- visitors will not be able to enjoy it. desert destroy fragile plants and tablished firepits only. Gathering Believe it or not these acts of vandalism do happen in our na- If each of the 275 million visitors wildlife and scar the landscape for firewood is prohibited. took away a flower or a stone or decades. tional parks. Picking wildflowers, taking home stones or arrowheads anything from the parks they visit, as keepsakes, and defacing canyon they would leave behind empty walls with graffiti are all actions landscapes. that degrade the parks for other Help protect America’s national visitors. In addition, it’s against the parks by leaving everything in its law. place and not defacing the natural resources. Other park visitors and future generations will thank you. Do You Want to Be a Scientist? Around the world, visitors to re- their burrows to escape extreme mote locations are providing valuable heat or cold. data to researchers by their observa- The Desert Managers Group tions. Your personal observations of has developed a free app for wildlife can be very valuable. Death smartphones so Valley National Park is currently you can provide designing a database that will hold information on visitor data and allow us to develop tortoise sightings distribution maps of wildlife through- to National Park out the park. Two species of special Service staff. Native rock nettle in Titus Canyon interest are the Nelson’s bighorn sheep and the desert tortoise. Other wildlife species observa- tions are welcome also. Please be Desert Invaders Bighorn sheep spend much of as accurate as possible and include their time in rugged and inaccessi- your contact information. Photos To preserve the desert landscape Another way to help preserve ble locations. It can be challenging provide great information and are in Death Valley National Park, we the desert landscape is to ensure and expensive to collect popula- always appreciated. Thank you for must actively manage non-native there are no unwanted hitch- tion data. participating as a visitor scientist! species and quickly identify new hikers on your car or your The desert tortoise population invaders. In Death Valley, we cur- clothes. Before you enter a Please fill out a wildlife sighting has severly declined across the form available at any visitor center. rently enjoy a wild landscape that is park, check underneath Mojave Desert in the past few largely unimpaired. We need your your vehicle and inside the decades. Surveying for a cryptic, help to keep it that way. grill for weeds that low-density species can mean A smartphone applica- might have tumbled Hikers can easily find solitude and silence hours/days of searching with lim- in the Wilderness of Death Valley tion is now available for into your car. Also, ited results. Tortoises in Death free from whatsinvasive. check your clothes Valley are generally active during com to help you report and shoelaces for mild weather, retreating into non-native species to seeds before setting National Park Service out for a hike. If you staff. Don’t worry if you don’t do find seeds, seal them have cell reception, your report in a plastic bag and will be uploaded as soon as you are throw them within service.