Death Valley National Park Ranger Programs

Within Death Valley National Park Paleontologists call it “The Barnyard,” a remote box canyon in an inhospitable desert where slabs of mud stone as big as billboards are indented with fossil tracks left by mastodons, camels, horses, and cats the size of leopards. It is one of the largest, most diverse, and well-preserved deposits of prehistoric mammal and bird tracks known to exist, and a window onto the ecology of Death Valley during the Pliocene Epoch, about 5 million years ago, when things were starting to heat up. This is a moderately strenuous, seven-mile round trip hike with 1,500' elevation gain on rugged, uneven terrain. It is not recommended for anyone with mobility or breathing difficulties and prohibited for children under 10. Participants should be regularly hiking at least four miles on uneven terrain in the weeks leading up to this hike. Those that are unable to hike the first mile at a reasonable hiking speed will be escorted back to their vehicle. Hike is in a remote area of Death Valley National Park that is otherwise closed to the public. Guided tours are limited to 15 people and fill up quickly. There is a $1 per ticket non-refundable administration fee for these day long guided hikes.

Note: Do not rely exclusively on your mobile GPS, Google Maps, or similar automated navigation systems to get to Furnace Creek Visitor Center in time for your Special Guided Paleontology Hike. Routes can be misleading and incorrect. The main road transecting Death Valley National Park from east to west is California Highway 190. Furnace Creek Visitor Center is approximately 13 miles from the eastern park boundary.