Death Valley National Park opened Cottonwood Canyon and Marble Canyon roads on Wednesday, November 23. The National Park Service (NPS) road crew re-established these backcountry roads after damage by flash floods this summer. A free permit is now required to camp along these backcountry roads and for backpacking along the Cottonwood-Marble Canyons Loop.
The Cottonwood and Marble Canyon Roads are accessible to high-clearance vehicles with all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. The road corridor beings with 4 miles of deep sand that is not typically passable for a low clearance vehicle.
There are ten campsites along Cottonwood Canyon Road and four along Marble Canyon Road. For information on how to acquire a free permit, visit nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/wilderness-permits
Roadside camping has greatly increased over the past decade. As sites filled, people drove off road to create new sites. Permits are a way for park rangers to communicate with campers about Leave No Trace ethics, NPS regulations and other ways users can help protect the environment. By limiting roadside camping to designated sites, the NPS hopes campers can experience the solitude and quiet of the surrounding wilderness and limit the human impact on the desert.
Many other roads in the park remain closed. Visitors should check the most up to date road conditions on the park webpage: nps.gov/deva
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