Visitor information

Apply for a visit for your research, instruction or community outreach to this incredibly beautiful hanging valley with its meadow system, quaking aspens, Jeffrey pines and diverse wildlife populations.

Trees and shrubs at the edge of a mountain meadow in the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

We are pleased to now offer local accommodations for teaching, research and outreach at the Little Valley Research Station adjacent to the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area. The new property is approximately a 30-minute drive from campus on paved roads with direct access to the forest via backcountry roads from the property. Access to the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area from the Little Valley Research Station still requires a four-wheel drive vehicle and a history of backcountry driving experience.

Approvals for use of the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area and the Little Valley Research Station are limited to those meeting the teaching, research and outreach mission of the University.

Use is available at no cost while rates are being determined. Lodging, facility use and forester time will be charged at hourly, daily and/or weekly rates in the future.

Close up of white flowers growing on a forest floor in the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

Online reservation system

Submit your project or event details (contact info, project abstract, methods and permits) and your request dates.

An instructor and two students doing field work for a course at the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

Policies & regulations

Please review the policies and regulations of the properties prior to your visit.

A wooden zigzagging fence across a large, mountain meadow in the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

Driving directions

Due to access limitations, maps with marked routes and driving directions as well as keys and access codes will be made available upon approval of reservation requests. Access is restricted to approved requests only.

Events

View of the Little Valley meadow with a spring purple flower bloom

Little Valley Fall Forest Festival

Sept. 8-9, 2023: Join us for an interactive open house to learn about the range of research and creative activities happening in the forest, and to participate in science! You can camp overnight on Friday, or come Saturday for a day of fun and education.

Black bear in the Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

Little Valley Bioblitz

Annual spring event: Calling all local wildland enthusiasts, nature lovers, scientists and explorers! Join us for a weekend of biological surveys and camping within the Little Valley at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area.