Death Valley reopens 195 miles of roads damaged by Hurricane Hilary

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Death Valley flooded by remnants of Hurricane Hilary

Flooding caused by heavy rain on Sunday, August 20, 2023 in Gower Gulch near Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. 

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – Getting around Death Valley National Park will be a little easier now that 195 miles of roads left closed in the wake of last summer's Hurricane Hilary have now reopened, the National Park Service announced over the weekend. 

Repair crews fixed 21 miles of Emigrant Canyon Road, filling in destroyed road sections, clearing debris and shoring up shoulders. In addition, National Parks crews fixed 174 miles of unpaved roads in the western areas of the park washed out during the torrential rainfall.

Photos of milepost 2.1 on Emigrant Canyon Road. FHWA engineers conducting an assessment after the flood (left). Temporary repairs completed (right).

(NPS/Abby Wines)

CHILLING IRONY: HOW WORLD HEAT CHAMP DEATH VALLEY OWES NAME, IN PART, TO A SNOWSTORM

But work is not finished. Repair crews are now shifting attention to damaged unpaved roads in the eastern and northern areas of the park.

The park closed on Aug. 20 as the remnants of Hurricane Hilary dropped more rain in one day than Death Valley typically sees in an entire year.

Temporary repairs completed at Emigrant Canyon Road milepost 5.1.

(Federal Highway Administration)

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK TRANSFORMS INTO LAND OF EPHEMERAL LAKES AFTER HURRICANE HILARY

Flash floods undercut pavement and caused roads across the California park to collapse, according to the National Park Service.

The rainwater also flowed into nearly every basin in the park, forming ephemeral lakes. Badwater Basin filled with about 2 feet of water soon after the storm. Much of the water has since dried up and just thin, shallow pools remain.