Death Valley reopens after flooding in August closed the park

Sarah Gambles
·2 min read
Artists Drive is now open again in Death Valley National Park, which is a scenic draw for visitors like on this day on March 2, 2023. The park closed Aug. 20, 2023, due to flooding that caused the park’s longest closure in history.
Artists Drive is now open again in Death Valley National Park, which is a scenic draw for visitors like on this day on March 2, 2023. The park closed Aug. 20, 2023, due to flooding that caused the park’s longest closure in history. | Sarah Gambles, Deseret News

Death Valley National Park partially reopened this month, following devastating flooding in August.

“This was longest closure in Death Valley National Park’s history,” Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds told Pahrump Valley Times. “I am excited to welcome people back to enjoy their park.”

Visitors can now enter the park on California Highway 190 from the west via Lone Pine or via Death Valley Junction from the east. Some roads are still under repair, and park officials warn traffic could be slow going in and out of the park, per Pahrump Valley Times.

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The areas of the park that are now open, according to the National Parks Service, include:

  • Dantes View Road.

  • Artists Drive.

  • Badwater Basin.

  • Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch Trails.

  • Desolation Trail.

  • Devils Golfcourse.

  • Natural Bridge Trail.

  • Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

  • Mosaic Canyon Trail.

  • Harmony Borax Works.

  • Zabriskie Poi

Badwater Basin is a popular tourist stop in Death Valley National Park. In this March 20, 2023, photo, the weather was hot and dry. | Sarah Gambles, Deseret News
Badwater Basin is a popular tourist stop in Death Valley National Park. In this March 20, 2023, photo, the weather was hot and dry. | Sarah Gambles, Deseret News

What caused the closure of Death Valley National Park?

Storms that brought water from Hurricane Hillary caused flash flooding in the park on Aug. 20, which damaged every road in the park and forced an entire closure of the park. The 2.2 inches of rain proved powerful in the driest region in the U.S., pouring down the total amount of rain the park averages in one year in just one day.

“Two inches of rain does not sound like a lot, but here, it really does stay on the surface,” Matthew Lamar, a park ranger, told the Los Angeles Times. “Two inches of rain here can have a dramatic impact.”

Park authorities worried it would force the park to remain closed for months and could potentially cause permanent damage to the protected land.

Repair costs were estimated at $6 million, and the rains “forged new gullies and crumbled roadways at the site of one of the hottest places in the world,” The Associated Press reported.

Areas of Death Valley that remain closed include:

  • Father Crowley/Rainbow Canyon Vista Point.

  • South Badwater Road.

  • Daylight Pass Road and Mud Canyon Road.

  • Beatty Cutoff Road.

  • North Highway.

  • Fall Canyon Trail.

  • Old Stovepipe Wells.

  • Lower Titus Canyon.

  • Ubehebe Crater.

  • Racetrack Road.

  • Wildrose Road/Emigrant Canyon Road.

  • Wildroas Charcoal Kilns.

  • Wildrose Peak Trail.

  • Telescope Peak Trail.

  • Bonnie Clare Road/Scotty’s Castle.

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