Star Gazing in Death Valley

Visitors to Stovepipe Wells are drawn to Death Valley to view the sort of dark night sky that is available in only a few places in the world. One is able to behold both man-made satellites and various planets with the naked eye. This communion with the night sky brings a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the astronomy of the ancient cultures that made a home of this wild and rugged area.

We encourage you to walk in solitude or with your family and friends just a few steps away from your hotel room at Stovepipe Wells. Look skyward as the Native Americans did thousands of years ago. Imagine the Big Dipper as wayward rabbit hunters with their net or the smoky luminance of the Milky Way as a pathway to the afterlife, as the Shoshone and other Great Basin Tribes did. The stars signaled times to plant crops and revealed the timing of sacred ceremonies, in a vast cyclic measurement of time that seems otherworldly in our modern, anxious times.

To help preserve these dark night skies, we have taken great steps to ensure that Stovepipe Wells hotel in Death Valley is gently lit so that the darkness can be enjoyed while still navigating around the village safely. Please help us keep night sky viewing unspoiled by closing curtains at sundown and only using what light is essential to safely navigate.