News Release
For Immediate Release
For more information,
Contact Abbey Wines
NPS Public Information Officer
760-786-3221
Scotty’s Castle grounds open for restoration tours
Floods Damaged the Castle in 2015, Now the Park Offers Restoration Tours until the Castle Reopens in 2020.
DEATH VALLEY, Ca. (SEP. 1, 2018) – Over a two-week period in October 2015, a series of strong storms hit Death Valley National Park, flooding some areas. The flood was larger than any flood since the 1920s, when Scotty’s Castle, a historic landmark at Death Valley, was built. The flood damaged the building, breaking doors, windows, walls, and leaving debris everywhere.
Now, years after the flood, the National Park Service has been working hard with specialists, architects, and engineers to repair Scotty’s Castle. The repairs are projected to be complete in 2020, when the estate will be able to reopen.
“Scotty’s Castle is such a special historic place,” management assistant Abby Wines said about the time for castle repairs. “It’s better to do this right than to do this fast.”
Until the repairs are finished, Death Valley National Park now offers special walking tours of the castle grounds. These tours showcase the recovery efforts being made at the castle, as well as demonstrating the power floods can do to shape the Death Valley landscape and landmarks.
“Visiting Scotty’s Castle right now is an incredibly unique and unprecedented experience,” park superintendent Mike Reynolds said. “In addition to seeing the intricacies of the castle in a new light, there's also the increased chance of wildlife sightings, and the opportunity to see evidence of the flood of 2015.”
Restoration tours run twice daily only on Sundays from December 2, 2018 to April 14, 2019. The two tours take place at 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person, plus a ticketing fee. There are only 13 participants per tour, and registration is required. The tour is a two-hour moderate-effort tour, so children under 6 years old are not permitted.
All fees collected from the tour will be used to support the preservation work at Scotty’s Castle and the surrounding area. For more information about the restoration tours, visit https://dvnha.org.
Death Valley National Park is the hottest, lowest, and driest national park, homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone people. The park and its partners work to provide the nature and culture of the land and its people through learning experiences and preservation of the wilderness and scenery. Learn more about Death Valley National Park at www.nps.gov/deva.
###