Behold! The Great Orion Nebula

Join us under the dark skies of Death Valley’s doorstep for our springtime stargazing event — the Great Orion Dark Sky Festival! This event will feature three nights of events including huge telescopes, astronomy lectures by professional astronomers, nightscape photography workshops, a food truck, giveaways, camping onsite in your own tent/RV/camper van/etc., and of course prime viewing of The Great Orion Nebula — one of the biggest, brightest deep space objects in the sky!

Star Clusters, Galaxies, & Nebulae

The nearly moon-free nights during the event will make for amazing nighttime skies! In addition to the Great Orion Nebula, distant galaxies and star clusters will also be on the agenda for telescope viewing. Event activities include:

• View the cosmos through huge telescopes Friday and Saturday nights, along with solar viewing during the day

• Astronomy lectures on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights

• Q&A with the astronomers on Friday and Saturday afternoons

• Nightscape photography workshops on Friday and Saturday nights offered as optional add-ons. Bring your DSLR or mirrorless camera, lens (wide angle preferred), tripod, and hand control timer if you have one.

• Food truck TBD

• Giveaways each night

• Onsite camping included in ticket price for all attendees

• Optional add-on a T-shirt at checkout — t-shirts will be sold as pre-order only, so if you want one, be sure to order it with your tickets!

• Vast desert views and amazing sunsets as well as endless nearby day trips to pursue on your own in Death Valley, Trona Pinnacles, Darwin Falls, countless nearby canyon hikes, and the list goes on!

• The average forecast for late-March in Panamint Valley is mostly sunny/clear with daytime highs in the mid 70s and overnight lows around 50 degrees.

• Dark skies and good company!

• Campfires are allowed as long as they are kept small and don’t disturb the dark skies for your neighbors

• Friendly dogs are welcome

• Clean porta-potties comprise our restroom accommodations

• Please pack it in and pack it out at this primitive location — there is no trash or recycling service

• There is no water and no electricity onsite — bring everything you would need for your camping setup.

• The last 8 miles to get to the location are on a county maintained dirt road which any vehicle can navigate. More info below.

• We ask that no generators be used overnight (temps are fine so there isn’t a need), and only modern “quiet-type” generators be used during the day if needed

• Please only use red lights after dark, and if you must use a white light, shield it as much as possible from your neighbors

• There is more than ample space for attendees to camp on the 80 acre (1/2 mile x 1/4 mile rectangle) property. There are no official campsites — camping is dispersed wherever you’d like.

You bring your own camping setup — tent/RV/camper van, food, water/beverages, lawn chairs for the lectures, headlamps (preferably with a red light option), firewood, etc., and we’ll bring the porta-potties, a location with amazing views, and all the goodies mentioned above.

*** Please note that this is primitive camping aside from the porta-potties — there is no water, electricity, or trash service onsite.

Located just west of Death Valley in scenic Panamint Valley, the event will take place on 80 acres of pristine private property (Google map link below). Any vehicle can navigate the county maintained dirt road to get there. More detailed direction can be found below.

A county maintained dirt road that any vehicle can traverse

The route to this site includes a county maintained dirt road for the final 8 miles. Please expect some sections being “washboard.” Any type of vehicle can make it, but larger trucks and trailers will want to enter from the south through Ballarat, as the road is wider than coming in from the north (both are about 8 miles in distance).

Depending on your vehicle type, and if you have a trailer, one can generally travel about 10-45 mph on the final 8 miles. Arrival time is anytime after 2 PM on Thursday, March 27th, and check out time is by 1 PM on Sunday, March 30th. This event is being held at our Death Valley Stargazing Camp, which is just west of the national park boundary near the ghost town of Ballarat, California. Click here for a map of the location. Any type of vehicle can navigate the county maintained dirt road to this location. RVs are fine as well.

Great spring weather

The average forecast for late March in Panamint Valley is mostly sunny/clear with daytime temps in the high 70s and overnight lows in the low 50s.

No extra service fees from the listed price!
Tickets On Sale Now!

Now ticket credit insurance is built into every ticket! Please note that all sales are final and no refunds will be given, however, if you can’t attend for any reason - even last minute - you’ll be able to forward the face value of your ticket for a time period of one year to any future Dark Sky Festival or Meteor Shower Party happening at our Panamint Valley, CA or Sage Valley, NV locations (we typically have 3 - 4 events each year). If the event has to be canceled for some crazy reason from our end, your ticket(s) will be credited towards any future Panamint Valley or Sage Valley Dark Sky Festival or Meteor Shower Party with no expiration! You are also welcome to sell/giveaway your ticket to family/friends/strangers in the event that you cannot attend.

Sponsored by:

There are several awesome places in the area to explore during the day as well, including the Trona Pinnacles, the ghost town of Ballarat, Death Valley itself, Darwin Falls, and countless canyons with old structures and mining ruins.

See you at the Great Orion Dark Sky Festival!

To keep ticket prices as low as possible, we are unable to offer refunds or credits for any reason, however, if you cannot attend, you are welcome to sell or giveaway your ticket(s) to someone else. You do not need to contact us to do so -- simply send your ticket vouchers to the new ticket holders if needed. If we have to cancel or postpone the event from our end, you will be given credit to any future Dark Sky Festival or Meteor Shower Party. Please note that there are no refunds under any circumstances.