Beatty

Overview

Beatty is located in the Oasis Valley, 115mi/185km north of Las Vegas.  U.S. Hwy. 95 passes through Beatty.  Visitor support services are present in sufficient quantity and quality for Beatty to serve as the hub for visiting the region’s birding/wildlife viewing areas.  These services include ATMs, gas stations, motels, restaurants, and tow service. The population of Beatty is 1154.  The elevation is 3308′/1008m.

As the “Gateway to Death Valley National Park,” Beatty is the nearest full-service community to Death Valley.  It is only 6mi/9.7km farther than Death Valley National Park headquarters at Furnace Creek Ranch to numerous Death Valley attractions (e.g. Devil’s Cornfield, Mesquite Springs, Scott’s Castle, Stovepipe Wells, Telescope Peak, Wildrose Canyon). Beatty is a convenient, low-cost place to stay during Death Valley visits, being an economic alternative to significantly more expensive in-park visitor support services.  Death Valley is a well-known birding area, especially during spring and fall migration when birds congregate at oases.

Beatty has produced an attractive brochure funded by the Nevada Commission on Tourism entitled a birder’s desert paradise.  This brochure promotes the Oasis Valley Important Bird Area, includes a bird checklist of almost 200 species, and discusses the visionary Habitat Trails Project, which will encompass roughly 6,300 acres of public and private land, extending for 11 miles along the Amargosa River through the Beatty-Oasis Valley.  When completed, the project will include trails, picnic areas, viewing areas, along with educational opportunities, while also serving to protect wild areas that are uniquely rare place in the Mojave Desert.

The 18,153ac/7347ha Oasis Valley Important Bird Area designation recognizes the Oasis Valley as a major spring migration pathway, especially for thousands of warblers: notably Yellow Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Wilson’s Warbler.  Nashville Warbler is also seen regularly during migration.

Visiting wildlife viewing sites reached from the Beatty Regional Hub may be good to excellent from fall through spring and during early mornings or at high elevations during summer or on hot days at other seasons.  Spring and fall migrant and vagrant (birds which have wandered significantly out of expected range) birding may be particularly great.

The best time period for experiencing western spring migrant bird species is April 25-May 20.  For vagrant bird species, visit from May into early June.  The three day Memorial Day weekend is often chosen by Nevada birders as a time to look for eastern vagrant birds (e.g. vireos, warblers).

Fall migration is at its height mid to late August through September.  Fall vagrants show up as early as late August through early October.  The days centered on the third through the last weekend in September are often the best for finding vagrants.

Winter birding may be excellent with mild weather (e.g. sunny, clear days, with high temperatures near 70F at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley National Park).  Birding at Furnace Creek Ranch, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Amargosa Valley (wintering raptors) may be especially good at this time of year.  Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches have been seen on US 95 regularly in mid-winter several miles south of Tonopah, literally walking about on the pavement and flying off when vehicles drive by.  Be sure to look for this species when driving between Beatty and Tonopah in winter.

A particularly fascinating attraction is Hell’s Gate – located 16-19mi/26-31km from Beatty on NV 374.  Imagine settlers traveling in a wagon and coming out of the canyon to be hit with a wall of heat like opening an oven door.  Today’s intrepid adventurers can experience this by opening car windows and sticking their hand out beginning at about 16 miles from Beatty.  Within the next mile or so, you should be able to feel the sudden temperature change.

Beatty is home to Death Valley Candy and Nut Company, Nevada’s largest candy store.  Other visitor attractions include the Beatty Historical Museum, Goldwell Open Air Museum art center and sculpture garden (www.goldwell.com), the ghost town of Rhyolite, and the Stagecoach Hotel and Casino.