Death Valley Boardwalk Reopens 3.5 Years After Its Destruction By Flooding
Three and a half years after its destruction by flooding, the Salt Creek Boardwalk in Death Valley National Park is officially reopening, providing a wheelchair-accessible trail view of Salt Creek Pupfish.
The boardwalk, interpretive sings, and a vault toilet were destroyed in a flash flood in August of 2022, with the parking lot and road being further damaged during the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in August 2023. The Salt Creek recovery included the reconstruction of the boardwalk, improved parking area and trailhead, new vault toilets, signage, and flood cleanup and debris removal.
The new facilities, designed by the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration, were creating to be flood resistance, with some of the boardwalk footings being up to 20 feet deep. Additionally the parking area is armored to protect it during future high water events.
Five pupfish species or subspecies live in Death Valley National Park, who’s ancestors lived in large freshwater lakes. Lake Manly fried up at the end of the last Ice Age, leaving the Salt Creek Pupfish in a short creek that’s sometimes saltier than the ocean. Interpretive signs describing the fish’s ecology and history will be installed over the next few months.
The reconstruction project was funded by the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads Program and Federal Lands Transportation Program, National Park Service Disaster Supplemental, and donations from Death Valley Natural History Association and The Fund For People in Parks.
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