NPS photo by Elyscia Letterman
Park visitors enjoying the rare shallow lake at Badwater on October 26.
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – The National Park Service (NPS) will reopen Mud Canyon Road and Daylight Pass on November 1. Daylight Pass connects Death Valley National Park to NV-374 and Beatty, NV. Only emergency repairs have been completed, so drivers need to use caution.
Death Valley National Park endured severe flash floods on August 20. The remnants of Hurricane Hilary caused 2.2 inches of rain in a single day. This was the park’s rainiest day on record. That day’s rainfall was more than the park receives in an average year. Some mountainous areas in the park likely received more than six inches of rain that day. The mountains’ steep rocky slopes absorbed little of this rain. Most of it channeled into canyons as flash floods. Floods damaged the park’s utilities, some buildings, and 1,400 miles of roads.
The emergency repairs of Mud Canyon Road and Daylight pass were funded by the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads program (ERFO). A contractor cleared rocks and gravel off the road, filled in shoulder drop-offs, removed damaged pavement, and filled in collapsed road segments with gravel. A second contract will start in a few months to do permanent road repairs, including repaving and selective armoring to protect roads from future floods.
The park’s hotels, largest campgrounds, primary viewpoints and hikes are open. Drivers should expect gravel patches on paved roads and to encounter traffic delays due to continuing construction parkwide. Most of the park’s secondary roads and backcountry remain closed due to flood damage. Information is on the park’s website: nps.gov/deva.
“It’s an exciting time to visit the park,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “How many people can say they’ve seen a lake in Death Valley? It’s really beautiful.”
Death Valley National Park is the homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone and preserves natural resources, cultural resources, exceptional wilderness, scenery, and learning experiences within the nation’s largest conserved desert landscape and some of the most extreme climate and topographic conditions on the planet. Learn more at www.nps.gov/deva.
More information:
Alerts & Conditions – Death Valley National Park
Hurricane Hilary in Death Valley National Park
Flash Floods – Death Valley National Park
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