This Major Road in Death Valley National Park Will Close for Months — What to Know

Death Valley National Park will close a significant canyon road this month as officials continue to work to repair damage from a major 2023 storm.

Starting Jan. 6, the park will close Emigrant Canyon Road and keep it off-limits through early March, according to the National Park Service. The closure will mean there will be no road access to the Wildrose area for the duration, including to the Wildrose Campground, Wildrose Charcoal Kilns, the Wildrose Peak Trail, the Thorndike Campground, the Mahogany Flat Campground, and the Telescope Peak Trail.

“This construction includes armoring to protect the road from flash floods. Climate change is increasing the frequency of severe floods,” Mike Reynolds, the park’s superintendent, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we need to close the road now so the work can happen.”

The road closure is a direct result of damage from 2023’s Hurricane Hilary, which slammed California as a tropical storm and dumped more than 2 inches of rain on Death Valley in a day — more than the area typically gets in a whole year — forcing the park to close. At the time, the rain caused flooding, washed away trails, undercut pavement, and filled collapsed roads with gravel.

On Emigrant Canyon Road, the National Park Service said flooding “extensively damaged” infrastructure and left drop-offs of up to six feet deep.

The road initially reopened in the spring last year on a temporary basis, but more work needs to be done to future-proof it. As part of the construction, officials will “bury concrete barriers and rock-filled gabions in the road shoulders,” the National Park Service noted, protecting it from potential future flash floods.

Death Valley National Park sits between California and Nevada and is known as both the driest place in North America and the hottest place on Earth. Winter is one of the easiest times to visit since travelers don’t have to deal with the extreme heat and crowds tend to thin a bit, while spring brings gorgeous wildflowers.