Area residents looking for a bit of adventure this weekend may want to take a road trip out to Death Valley National Park.
Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a news release that the park’s standard entrance fees are being waived on Sunday, Aug. 25, to encourage individuals and families to visit national parks on the National Park Service’s 103rd birthday. He noted that he is particularly excited about how the fee waiver can benefit people living in the communities surrounding Death Valley National Park.
At present, visitors are charged $30 per vehicle, $15 per person and $25 per motorcycle.
A park-specific annual pass will set visitors back $55, according to the U.S. National Park Service’s social media site.
“If you’ve been waiting for just the right nudge to visit Death Valley, this fee waiver is it,” Reynolds said in the release. “It’s a great time to come and see Death Valley.”
As the largest national park south of Alaska’s Denali National Park, Death Valley is known for its extremes, as it is North America’s driest and hottest locale, with less than two inches of rainfall annually, according to the park service.
Geographically, at 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley has the lowest elevation on the continent and has seen record high temperatures of 134 degrees.
Sunday, Aug. 25th’s temperatures are likely to be above 115oF at Badwater but will be in the low 90s at higher elevations, such as Dante’s View, according to the park service.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com, on Twitter: @pvtimes