60 miles of backcountry roads reopen at Death Valley National Park

Linsey Lewis
·1 min read
4

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The National Park Service announced Tuesday that an additional 60 miles of backcountry roads in the southern end of Death Valley National Park are open for travelers.

According to NPS, Warm Springs Road is now fully open, and 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 this route.

West Side Road remains closed north of the junction with Warm Springs Road.

NPS has only completed interim repairs on Harry Wade Road, a 4×4 route that connects Badwater Road to CA-127 on the park’s southeastern corner. Extended sections of the road are a single lane between deep sandy berms with limited opportunities to pass oncoming vehicles.

<em>Map showing open roads (green) and closed roads (red) as of December 12, 2023. (NPS)</em>
Map showing open roads (green) and closed roads (red) as of December 12, 2023. (NPS)

All 1,400 miles of road within Death Valley National Park were damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in August.

In late November, NPS opened the southeast entrance of Death Valley near Shoshone, California, allowing travelers to get to the temporary lake at Badwater Basin from the south.

For more information on the park’s status, click here.

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