Corn Creek Visitor Center ~ Desert National Wildlife Range

​The Desert National Wildlife Range covers a lot of ground in southern Nevada, so the best place to start a venture is the Corn Creek Visitor Center. Back when I first visited this wildlife refuge, there was no visitor center and the signage was minimal. Many improvements have been made during the last decade and the addition of a full scale visitor center was a real plus. Tourists can now browse information about this vast desert wildlife habitat and attend learning activities that are hosted by the park rangers. 

The most beneficial aspect of having a visitor center on site has to do with navigation, which used to depend on plenty of guesswork in the past. Previously, there was not much published information to go on, but now the park brochure maps make this place easier to figure out. The hiking trails are listed too and information about the Desert Pass Campground can also be found. Most importantly, the new visitor center is the best source for accurate information about the dirt road conditions and closures. These dirt roads do wash out after heavy rains, so being forewarned is far better than enduring many bumpy miles of traveling in rough conditions, just to fall short of a destination because of a new closure. 

The Corn Creek Spring is located next to the orientation area and there is a pond that was created to help preserve the ancient Pupfish, which have been living here since the age of the dinosaurs. The pond is also a good bird watching area and there are plenty of information placards. Corn Creek is the best place to become familiar with the Desert National Wildlife Range prior to doing a long back country excursion and the visitor center actually is good little day trip destination as well!