Park Closure

[joez3]

I was planning to go to death valley after chirstmas, but due to the gov shutdown it looks like some of the park might be closed:
"Important Notice: Partial Government Shutdown
Alert 1 , Severity ,closure ,,Important Notice: Partial Government Shutdown
The Oasis at Death Valley, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs are open. Toilets will not cleaned/stocked. NPS campgrounds closed at noon 12/24. Some hikes and side roads closed. Expect crowds over holidays. No services; recreate at your own risk."

Does anyone have complete list of what might be closed? I really wanted to hike the keane

wonder mine area.

Thanks,

 

[cwdtmmrs]

I see that no one has responded to your question and was wondering the same. I am going to DV next week and was hoping for someone who has been there since Christmas to post some information.

cwd

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I spoke with a member who was there yesterday. It appears the campgrounds (Sunset, Texas Springs, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe) are open, no fee, no services. I believe the bathrooms are all locked, but don’t know about the water. Concessionaire facilities are open. Gas at Stovepipe in the mid $3 range, much higher at Furnace Creek.

Very few campers reported in the CGs.

 

[rubberlegs]

I would guess the Keane Wonder Mine road would be no problem. We did that a couple months ago, very interesting! I hiked way up to see the tramway going across a valley.

 

[Missing Link]

Just returned from five days in DV. As Wandering Sagebrush stated above, the NPS campgrounds are open but with no services. We did not stay in one but we did drive through the Furnace Creek CG just to see what was going on. The bathrooms all had signs posted on them discussing the shutdown, but I believe that the bathrooms are open. Very few campers in Sunset, Texas Springs, and Furnace Creek CGs but Stovepipe Wells CG had a pretty good crowd. We passed Mesquite Springs CG and the gate was open, so I assume it too is open but without services. No fees are being charged at any of the campgrounds. The visitors center is closed (including the bathrooms) and many tourists seemed dismayed by that fact. Again, as Mr. Sage mentioned, gasoline was $4.75 at Furnace Creek, $3.57 at Stovepipe Wells, and over $5.00 at Panamint Springs. Overall, I would say that there are fewer people in DV than in previous Christmas/New Years holiday periods. We camped up several different canyons, as well as at Eureka Dunes and traffic was very light. Assuming that many on this site have campers, this might actually be a very good time to visit the Park.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

We just came out from a day trip to DVNP, we are camping outside the boundaries. The Missing Link covered things nicely, but I believe the bathrooms are all closed, per our conversation with a fellow in Sunset CG. Water is on, and the dump stations are open. The CGs looked to be about 20% occupied, maybe less. Very windy. I thought there was a lot of road traffic today. Not as bad as super bloom traffic, but still a bunch of folks.

Looks like the Keene Road is open, as is 20 Mule Team. Salt Creek was closed, my guess is because of the fragile nature of the pupfish population.