Valentine Camp Site Facts, Facilities,
and Habitats

Administering Campus: UC Santa Barbara

Established: 1972

Location: Mono County, on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, on Old Mammoth Road in the town of Mammoth Lakes.

Size: 63 ha (156 acres)

Latitude/Longitude: 37º37'30" N latitude; 118º59'30"W longitude

USGS Maps: Old Mammoth 7.5'

Regional Elevation: 1,250 to 4,012 m (4,100 to 13,163 ft)

Site Elevation: 2,437 to 2,605 m (7,994 to 8,545 ft)

Average Precipitation: 51 to 64 cm (20 to 25 in) per year

Temperature Range:
July maximum: 25°C (77°F)
January minimum: -10°C (14°F)

Facilities: Valentine Camp has housing for 16 in three renovated log cabins constructed in the 1920's. Each cabin has modern cooking, sleeping, bathroom facilities; electricity; spring water; limited parking/storage space. There is no food or custodial service. Users are expected to furnish their own food, bedding, towels, vehicles, and equipment. Housing is assigned at the discretion of the Director. There is one room that has been converted to a wet lab facility. There is a new log classroom building that supports the Outdoor Science Education program. Supplies are available in neighboring Mammoth Lakes. See the site map and cabin photos for more information. Additional laboratory, office, computing, and housing facilities are available at SNARL.

Habitats: Valentine Camp has been protected from entry and grazing since near the turn of the last century and features remarkably pristine sub-alpine habitat including montane forest, montane chaparral, Great Basin sagebrush, high montane riparian vegetation, wet montane meadow, and seep and spring vegetation.

Databases: Synoptic collections of plants/insects available at SNARL and UCSB; bibliography of publications based on on-site research; aerial photos; geographic information system (GIS) being developed.

Personnel: The VESR Reserve Director has an office, and lives at SNARL. A year-round resident caretaker lives at Valentine Camp.

NRS Publications: Reserve brochure published 1987; VESR Flora, 2nd ed. published 2000 - available via website.