Road to Death Valley National Park High Country Reopens
Emigrant Canyon Road, the lone paved route to Death Valley National Park’s high‑country Wildrose area, is open again after long‑term repairs, restoring public access to cooler summer camping and hiking just as valley‑floor temperatures often top 100 °F.
A flash flood heavily damaged the 21‑mile road in August 2023. Temporary fixes kept it marginally serviceable, but crews from the National Park Service (NPS) and Federal Highway Administration spent the winter installing buried concrete barriers and rock‑filled gabions to protect vulnerable sections from future washouts.
The road climbs from the desert floor to 4,000‑foot Wildrose Campground, where daytime highs typically run 15 °F cooler than Furnace Creek. A short, graded extension leads passenger cars to the 1870s‑era Wildrose Charcoal Kilns and the trailhead for the eight‑mile Wildrose Peak Trail.
Drivers with high‑clearance vehicles can continue another six miles to Thorndike and 8,000‑foot‑elevation Mahogany Flat campgrounds, where temperatures can be 30 °F below those in the valley. Mahogany Flat also serves as the jumping‑off point for the 14‑mile round‑trip ascent of 11,049‑foot Telescope Peak, the park’s highest summit.
Visitors should bring all their own water—none is available along the route—and note that vehicles longer than 25 feet are prohibited.
The Emigrant Canyon work is part of a broader flood‑recovery program that has recently upgraded Harmony Borax Works Trail, Badwater Road, Mud Canyon Road, Beatty Cutoff, Daylight Pass, West Side Road, North Highway, Ubehebe Crater Road and new flood‑control gates throughout the park.
