195 miles of roads reopen at Death Valley National Park

Linsey Lewis
·2 min read

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The National Park Service reopened 195 miles of roads in Death Valley National Park after they were closed for months due to damage by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary.

Emigrant Canyon, West Side, Ibex, Saratoga, and Owlshead Roads were all closed since they were damaged by the flash floods in August 2023.

The Federal Highway Administration managed contractors who did emergency repairs of the 21 miles of paved road on Emigrant Canyon Road.

<em>Before and after photos of milepost 5.2 in Emigrant Canyon. (Photo credits: Federal Highway Administration)</em>
Before and after photos of milepost 5.2 in Emigrant Canyon. (Photo credits: Federal Highway Administration)

The emergency repairs included clearing debris off the road, filling in shoulders, and filling in destroyed road sections with aggregate and asphalt cold patches, NPS said.

<em>Photos of milepost 2.1 on Emigrant Canyon Road. FHWA engineers conducting an assessment after the flood (left). Temporary repairs completed (right). (Photo credit: National Park Service)</em>
Photos of milepost 2.1 on Emigrant Canyon Road. FHWA engineers conducting an assessment after the flood (left). Temporary repairs completed (right). (Photo credit: National Park Service)

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NPS repaired 174 miles of unpaved roads that opened at the same time.

NPS said repair work is not done yet and environmental and archeological assessments are in progress along Titus Canyon Road, which will likely reopen next spring.

Meanwhile, NPS crews are shifting equipment to work on unpaved roads in the eastern and northern areas of the park.

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The FHWA’s Emergency Relief for Federally Owned roads program will pay for a contract later this spring that will do permanent repair of multiple paved roads in the park. The contract will install erosion control to reduce damage from future flash floods.

Here is a list of roads that reopened this week:

  • Emigrant Canyon Road, from CA-190 to Wildrose Campground. Wildrose Campground is open. No road access to Wildrose Charcoal Kilns or other parts of Upper Wildrose. Lower Wildrose Road to Panamint Valley also remains closed

  • Side roads off Emigrant Canyon are open, including Telephone Canyon, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo, and Wood Canyon

  • West Side Road is mostly open. It is open from the southern Badwater Road Junction to just north of Trail Canyon Junction, a distance of 33 miles

  • West Side Road is closed from the northern Badwater Road Junction to Trail Canyon Junction due to an impassable muddy mess. In order to protect natural resources, the NPS prohibits any attempt to drive this section. It is scheduled for repair by fall

  • Roads off West Side Road are open including Warm Springs, Galena, Queen of Sheba, Johnson, and Trail Canyon. Hanaupah Canyon Road will be closed while NPS operators finish working on it

  • Saratoga Spring and Ibex Roads are open

  • Owlshead Road is open

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