Death Valley National Park hosts Star Party from 6 to 7 November

Death Valley National Park hosts the Fall 2026 Death Valley Star Party in Furnace Creek on 6 and 7 November 2026. The Las Vegas Astronomical Society returns with public telescope viewing and a Saturday solar session.

Fall 2026 Star Party brings telescopes to Furnace Creek

The event is co-hosted by the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, Death Valley National Park and Xanterra Travel Collection. The programme is open to all experience levels, with the society setting up telescopes for views of the night sky.

Stargazing takes place on Friday 6 November and Saturday 7 November from 7pm to 10pm at Fiddler's Campground. Solar viewing follows on Saturday from 10am to 2pm at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. The event falls close to a new moon, a detail the organiser links to darker conditions for viewing the Milky Way, star clusters and planets.

The National Park Service also lists a Star Party at Fiddler's Campground on both 6 November and 7 November. Its event pages identify the park, the Las Vegas Astronomical Society and the telescope programme at the same venue.

Why the park's dark skies shape the November programme

The National Park Service has designated Death Valley National Park a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park. The designation is the highest dark-sky rating described on the event organiser's visitor information page.

That status gives the November programme a direct connection to the landscape. Visitors move between an outdoor telescope field at Fiddler's Campground and the visitor centre, where daytime solar viewing uses a different type of telescope.

The park's geology also helps explain its broad horizons and varied viewing locations. National Park Service material records rock formations ranging from 1.8-billion-year-old metamorphic rocks in the Black Mountains to recent playa sediments in the valley basins. Furnace Creek appears within the documented Funeral Formation.

The event therefore links a fixed November programme with two features of the park itself: protected night skies and an open desert setting shaped by long geological change.

Visiting Death Valley National Park: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The Fall 2026 Death Valley Star Party runs on 6 and 7 November 2026. Night-time telescope viewing is at Fiddler's Campground, while Saturday solar viewing is at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
• The event is presented as public viewing for all experience levels. Parking for the campground is at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, followed by a short walk to the telescope area.
• Furnace Creek lies on Highway 190 in California, United States. The named venues are Fiddler's Campground and the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

Event details are set out by the event organiser and the National Park Service Star Party listing.

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Frequently asked questions about Death Valley National Park

When does the Star Party take place at Death Valley National Park?

The Fall 2026 Death Valley Star Party takes place on 6 and 7 November 2026, with night-time telescope viewing at Fiddler's Campground.

What is Death Valley National Park?

It is a United States national park with a Gold Tier Dark Sky designation and geological formations spanning much of Earth's history.

Where is Death Valley National Park and how do you get there?

The event venues are in Furnace Creek on Highway 190 in California. Parking for Fiddler's Campground is at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.