LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Several drivers have been cited for illegally driving off the road and getting their vehicles stuck at Death Valley National Park.
According to the National Park Service, on Dec. 22, two men drove a rented Porsche SUV off a road toward a salt flat about two miles south of Badwater Basin. The vehicle got stuck in mud about 200 yards away from the road.
Rangers said the man hired a man with a pickup truck to attempt to remove the Porsche when Park Service officials weren't there but the pickup truck also got stuck in the mud. A tow truck winched the pickup truck out of the mud a few days later. The Porsche drove out of the mud after digging holes and laying down traction.
On Dec. 27, a man drove a BMW SUV over a parking lot curb and for about a half mile through Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes before getting stuck in sand. The vehicle was towed out the following night.
"Vehicles driving off roads can damage fragile ecosystems and damage archaeological sites," Superintendent Mike Reynolds said. "They also impact the experience of other park visitors. People want to take photographs of the park's beautiful landscapes without car tracks in the picture, which can last for many years."
He added that retrieving stuck vehicles can cause additional damage.
Park rangers said they're concerned that some people would see the tire tracks and mistakenly think it was a road and they have installed signs around the tracks warning visitors to not follow the tracks.
