A Driver’s “Reckless Joyride” Damaged the Eureka Dunes in Death Valley

The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes on first mention in Death Valley National Park are a photographer’s playground. The golden mounds that rise 600 feet from the valley floor are framed by the red-and-white stratified sandstone of the Last Chance Mountains. Green lumps of prickly shrubs, called Eureka dunegrass, sprout up from the sand.

“People are in we the first time they see them,” says Michael Gordon, a guide who leads photography hikes within the park. “They are downright incredible to photograph. It’s not an experience that’s easily forgotten.”

But the remote dunes are currently crisscrossed by a series of scars, the unmistakable marks of automobile tires. On Monday, January 13, the National Park Service revealed that a motorist had illegally driven onto the dunes sometime in late December or early January. A photograph distributed by the NPS showed the tire marks starting near the parking lot before going through a patch of dunegrass and then higher onto the sand.

In the news release, Death Valley superintendent Mike Reynolds asked the public to help rangers identify the culprit.

“I urge the public to come forward with any information that could help identify those responsible for driving on Eureka Dunes,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “I’m saddened that someone would disregard the survival of a rare species for a few minutes of joyriding.”

The park expressly forbids anyone from driving off marked roads. It also prevents visitors from sliding down the Eureka Sand Dunes on sandboards or sleds—popular activities at other dunes like White Sands and Great Sand Dunes national parks. That’s because the sand is the only known habitat of the Eureka dunegrass, which is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. According to the NPS, the driver damaged or destroyed eight different Eureka dunegrass plants.

Gordon, 56, was at his home in Long Beach, California, when he saw the news. “It’s frustrating, maddening, angering,” he said. “There’s no way to claim ignorance because there are signs everywhere.”

Like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, Death Valley National Park must occasionally grapple with vandals and visitors who break the rules. On May 13, an irresponsible driver destroyed a 113-year old salt tram tower in Saline Valley while attempting to free his vehicle from mud.

In 2016, two men used firearms to destroy locks and fences guarding Devils Hole, a water-filled cavern that is off-limits to visitors. One man proceeded to swim in the water.

Gordon first visited the Eureka Dunes in the late eighties, and he began leading guided photography tours inside the park two decades ago. These days, he takes small groups to snap shots of the park’s iconic salt flats and red rocks from mid-October until the temperatures begin soaring in April.

Many visitors stop and see the popular sand dunes at Mesquite Flat, which is located right off of Highway 190, the main road inside the park. But few ever venture to the park’s northwestern corner to see the Eureka dunes.

“I used to be able to show up and not even see another person,” Gordon says. “Still, just a fraction of visitors ever go to Eureka Dunes because the dirt road keeps them away.”

But Gordon has seen more signs of bad behavior at Eureka in recent years: people playing in the dunes with plastic toys, and the occasional tire marks in the sane. “I’ve chastised people and tried to educate them about the rules,” he says. “There’s a clear sign next to the bathroom explaining what they can and can’t do.”

Even more maddening, Gordon says, is the relatively close proximity of sand dunes that do allow off-road access. Nevada’s Big Dune Recreation Area, which does allow vehicles to drive on sand dunes, is located just 62 miles from Death Valley’s Furnace Creek Visitor Center.

The tire tracks in the Eureka Dunes will quickly disappear amid the shifting sands, and within a few weeks the golden mounts are likely to appear as they did before. But Gordon says he will continue to call out bad behavior when he sees it in the sand.

“Those of us who spend a lot of time in the park take it personally. It’s like you’re damaging my park,” he says.