Many Death Valley roads were closed due to the massive flooding earlier this year. On December 12, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that 60 additional miles of backcountry roads in the southern end of Death Valley National Park are now open.
Death Valley roads: Warm Springs and Harry Wade
Warm Springs Road is fully open. People with high clearance 4×4 vehicles can drive over Mengel Pass between Death Valley and Panamint Valley. Warm Spring Canyon Gold and Talc Mining Historic District, Butte Valley, and Barker Ranch are points of interest along the way.
West Side Road remains closed north of the junction with Warm Springs Road.
Harry Wade Road is a 4×4 route that connects Badwater Road to CA-127 on the park’s southeastern corner. The NPS has only completed interim repairs on the road. Extended sections of the road are a single lane between deep sandy berms, with limited opportunities to pass oncoming vehicles.
Damage from Hurricane Hilary
All 1,400 miles of roads within Death Valley National Park were damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary on August 20. The NPS, Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans, and Inyo County continue their work to repair the park’s roads.
Information on the park’s current status is at nps.gov/deva.
Source: NPS media release
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Thank you for the update!!
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Since “Death Valley Days,” I have wanted to see Death Valley. Maybe I will one day. I guess we’ll see. 🙂
I’m going to guess the road past Scotty’s Castle is still not open.
Hi, Tommy. This is from the National Park Service website: “Paved roads closed: Bonnie Clare Road and Scotty’s Castle due to flood recovery work. Unlikely to open before late 2025. No access permitted. No foot, bicycle, motorcycle, vehicle, etc. use allowed.” Have a great day! 😀 –Diane
Thank you, Diane. That road has been closed for years! On one of our many trips to Death Valley, we decided to go that way so we could visit the ‘world-famous’ Scotty’s Castle. I’m glad we did it when we did. I hold out very little hope for the road to reopen on their schedule.
Hi, Tommy. Here’s a link to the information on what caused this to close in 2015: https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/flood-2015.htm It also says: “As of this update (10/20/2023), the park is still uncertain when the final key project will be funded. If all goes well, Scotty’s Castle might reopen in fall 2025.” Ten years. Wow! Take care. 😀 –Diane