Death Valley National Park and CA-190 may start to reopen October 15
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – Caltrans and the National Park Service (NPS) announced that parts of State Route 190 (CA-190) and Death Valley National Park are tentatively scheduled to reopen on October 15. The only access into the park will be from the west via Lone Pine, CA.
This reopening date depends on several factors, including future weather events and the availability of materials to fix the road. When this section of CA-190 reopens, drivers should anticipate multiple 24-hour traffic control points where repair work is ongoing.
The national park and state highway have been fully closed since August 20, due to extensive flash flood damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary. Death Valley received more than a year’s worth of rain in a single day. Flash floods undercut pavement and left collapsed roads parkwide.
Lodging, food, and fuel will be available at Panamint Springs Resort, Stovepipe Wells Village, and The Oasis at Death Valley. Some NPS campgrounds will open at the same time.
The park’s eastern entrances will remain closed on October 15. Some hiking trailheads will be available, but most secondary roads in the park will still be closed.
“Thank you to Caltrans, Federal Highway Administration, and NPS staff and contractors for their hard work to reopen areas of the park,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “We look forward to once again welcoming back visitors. We thank everyone for their patience, especially people traveling from Las Vegas or anywhere east of the park.”
More information is online at nps.gov/deva.
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.
