Activities - For Children

Junior Ranger     Sand Dunes     Mosaic Canyon Salt Creek     Rhyolite

While many of the resorts in and surrounding Death Valley have swimming pools for those warm spring and summer days, there are other activities to interest children in our area. In Shoshone they can look in caves where old prospectors lived and in Tecopa and China Ranch they can go birding or look for wildlife. There are museums in Shoshone, Furnace Creek, nearby Ridgecrest and Scotty's Castle and in addition to exhibits, all of them feature an array of children's books and activities. During the winter and spring months rangers give programs and hikes, which will definitely interest children. In this section we will showcase some of our favorite activities for children. Junior Ranger      Most national parks have junior ranger programs and Death Valley is no exception. Children can pick up the junior ranger booklet at the Shoshone Museum and Death Valley Chamber visitors center, the National Park Service Visitor Center at Furnace Creek, the Scotty's Castle ticket office, or the Beatty Ranger station. Children then complete the activities and turn the books in at the Visitor Center, Beatty Ranger Station or Scotty's Castle to get the junior ranger badge. Not only will they have a badge, but they also keep the booklet so they can share Death Valley with their friends and classmates. Children can also become web rangers if they go to http://www.nps.gov/webranger

Sand Dunes      There's nothing children love more than exploring and the sand dunes on hwy. 190 are the perfect place to do just that. In the early morning children can follow the tracks made by little critters the night before and guess who was chasing whom out on the dunes. The residents and visitors of the sand dunes include such notables as kangaroo rats, lizards, beetles, sidewinders, mice, kit fox and coyotes.

Mosaic Canyon      As one ranger described it, Mosaic Canyon is a child-sized canyon. The narrows--the smooth walls--the winding turns and the scrambling--are all great enticements for children to learn more about nature and the power of water and wind while having a good time. Mosaic Canyon is located just west of Stovepipe Wells Village on hwy. 190. The canyon begins two miles from the highway down a gravel road.

Salt Creek      In the spring when the pupfish are active, Salt Creek is a great place for children to watch them as they dart, play and guard their territory. The boardwalk trail protects the pupfish and other insects and creatures that live in the creek from being damaged by humans walking on their habitat. Please stay on the boardwalk as you enjoy the antics of the pupfish. Salt Creek is on a gravel road just off hwy. 190 near the Beatty cut off road in the center of the park.

Rhyolite      There's nothing like a ghost town to whet one's appetite for exploring. The ruins and buildings of Rhyolite reflect the ambition that built the town and the feeling that the boom would last forever. Here one can visit the school built in 1909 and wonder what the children did there. The train depot waits for a train that will never come. The jail only hints at the stories of the people who were patrons of the cells. The Bottle House, built by a 76-year man produces a sense of wonder at the symmetry and design work that went into the building. As if the ruins weren't enough, latter day artists created sculptures that grace the town. There are the ghostly figures of the Last Supper, the whimsical Prospector and the Penguin and the towering Lady of the Desert to name a few of the works in the outdoor sculpture garden in Rhyolite.