Admission waived for Death Valley on Saturday

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — In observance of Veterans Day, Death Valley National Park is waiving entrance fees on Saturday, Nov. 11.

The park will still charge for camping fees, according to officials with the National Park Service, which noted that though the park’s main attractions have reopened, many secondary roads in Death Valley remain closed due to flood damage from the remnants of Hurricane Hilary.

Temporary lake still in view

The unprecedented rainfall from the event created a very rare temporary shallow lake in Badwater Basin, which park rangers expect to last a few more weeks.

Star party

What’s more, as visitors view the phenomenon from the park’s floor, they are also provided the opportunity to look skyward as officials from the Las Vegas Astronomical Society and park rangers will host an astronomy program on Nov. 10 and 11, for the annual Death Valley Fall Star Party.

“For two nights, join astronomy volunteers from LVAS as they use telescopes to share the wonders of the night sky,” the release stated. “The event will also feature ranger-led talks and daytime solar observations on a variety of topics daily until mid-April 2024.”

Dark nights

Death Valley National Park is known as a popular destination for stargazing, as the park is endowed with one of the darkest skies in the country.

In fact, the park in 2013, was listed as a dark-sky park following efforts to protect the night sky from light pollution by the bordering Las Vegas.

Additionally, on Friday and Saturday nights park rangers will present walks and talks until mid-April 2024.

A full schedule of events can be found on the park calendar at www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/calendar.htm.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes