Natural History Wanderings

State Route 190 is open to the western portion of Death Valley National Park. The road remains closed from the Trona/Wildrose Junction in Panamint Valley through Death Valley Junction. Additional areas are expected to open no earlier than August 19 as work to clear debris and repair roads continues.

This partial opening allows for access to limited areas, including, Panamint Springs Resort (a private inholding), Father Crowley Overlook & Lee Flat

The most highly visited areas of the park remain closed due to extensive flood debris and damage.

While areas of the park are still wet and muddy following Friday’s storm, it is important to give these areas time to dry out. Walking onto wet playas can leave footprint scars for years to come and driving on muddy dirt roads can cause deep ruts adding to the damage and time to repair these areas.

Some navigational apps are routing travelers onto primitive backcountry dirt roads to avoid the paved road closures. Park Rangers have responded to aid stranded motorists. Some had all four tires on their vehicle flat, no injuries have been reported.

Backcountry dirt road travel is strongly discouraged in the summer under normal conditions, as there is increased risk of being stranded in a remote location in extreme heat. Not all roads have been assessed for current conditions due to the scale of the flooding impacts.

For more detailed information, click here: https://www.nps.gov/…/access-to-panamint-valley-open…

As areas slowly reopen, current conditions will be updated on our park’s website, https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/conditions.htm