Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish And Wildlife Service), Established 1984; Surrounds Devils Hole, A Detached Unit Of Death Valley National Park · Amargosa Valley, Nevada

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is a federal refuge of spring-fed wetlands in the Amargosa Valley of southern Nevada, just east of the California line and Death Valley, established in 1984 and run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Groundwater that fell as rain and snow thousands of years ago rises here through dozens of springs and seeps into pools of startling turquoise, feeding marshes, mesquite and ash groves in the middle of one of the driest deserts in North America. The refuge is often described as holding one of the highest concentrations of endemic species in the United States: fish, snails, insects and plants found nowhere else. Its most famous resident is the Devils Hole pupfish, one of the rarest fish on earth, which lives only in a single water-filled limestone cavern that is a detached unit of Death Valley National Park, fenced and caged. Visitors walk boardwalks from a visitor centre to clear spring pools where tiny blue pupfish dart. Entry is free, the place is quiet and there is no swimming or wading anywhere.

610 Spring Meadows Road, Amargosa Valley, Nevada, 89020, United States

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the refuge is open daily for day use from about sunrise to sunset, with no overnight stays. The visitor centre usually keeps daytime hours, often roughly 9 am to 4 or 4:30 pm, and may close on some weekdays, federal holidays or during staffing shortages; check. Devils Hole can be viewed in daylight from outside its fence. The traps that ruin a day are arriving in the midday summer heat, driving the dirt roads after rain, reaching the visitor centre on a closed day with no water, and expecting to see a fish in Devils Hole. Confirm current times before relying on them.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos