DEATH VALLEY (KLAS) — It was a dream built on a lie and devastated by a storm. Historic Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park remains off-limits to most visitors. This has been the case for more than six years, since a flash flood forced the government to close the site.
However, there are a few people who can view the castle. They are the workers and volunteers who repair what nature has destroyed and damaged. Abby Wines works with the National Park Service and showed 8 News Now the structure to see how far the restoration work is progressing.
SCOTTY’S CASTLE NEARLY DESTROYED
In 2015, it rained in Death Valley for a full year in one afternoon and nearly swept Scotty’s Castle away. “We’ve lost our water system, our road, our sewage system, electricity and telecommunications,” Wines told *News Now.
The way to the castle was destroyed. Power and water lines were cut. Layers of mud filled the property. When 8 News Now visited in 2017, it was still a mess. And exactly then, in April 2021, the planned visitor center burned down to the ground. “Originally we thought it was going to take three or four years,” Wines said. “Now we’re at 6 years and we still have a year and a half before the lock is open.”
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DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. – MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015: A foot-thick layer of mud fills the garage area of the Scotty’s Castle Visitor Center in Death Valley National Park, California on November 2, 2015. A severe weather system on Sunday, October 18, 2015 dropped nearly three inches of rain in five hours, triggering a 1,000-year flood event that destroyed historic structures, roads and utilities in Grapevine Canyon around Scotty’s Castle and elsewhere in the park. (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images via Getty images) -
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DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. – MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015: Park warden Linda Slater takes photos of flood damage to an office space covered in a thick layer of mud at the Visitor Center of Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park, California on November 2, 2015. A strong weather system left Sunday, November 2, 2015 October 18, 2015, nearly three inches of rain fell in five hours, triggering a 1,000-year flood event that destroyed historic structures, roads, and utilities in Grapevine Canyon around Scotty’s Castle and elsewhere in the park. (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images via Getty images) -
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DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. — MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015: Federal surveyors and archaeologists survey an area along the highway. 267 near Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park, California on November 2, 2015. A strong weather system dropped nearly three inches of rain in five hours on Sunday, October 18, 2015, triggering a 1,000-year flood event , which destroyed several major stretches of road and utilities, including a new water system. The Scotty’s Castle area is visited by 120,000 people annually and generates approximately $550,000 in fees per year. (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images via Getty images) -
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DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. — MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015: A large section of newly paved Hwy. 267 in Grapevine Canyon was cut away by 100-foot-wide floods with 20-foot waves in Death Valley National Park, California on November 2, 2015. A heavy weather system dropped nearly three inches of rain in five hours on Sunday, October 18, 2015, triggering a 1,000-year flood event that destroyed historic structures, roads, and utilities in Grapevine Canyon around Scotty’s Castle and elsewhere in the park. (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images via Getty images) -
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DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. — MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015: A 100 yard stretch of repaved Hwy. 267 in Grapevine Canyon, a two-lane road designed to withstand severe flooding, was gouged out by surging waters on November 2, 2015 in Death Valley National Park, California. A severe weather system fell nearly three inches of rain in five hours on Sunday, October 18, 2015, triggering a 1,000-year flood event that crushed historic structures, roads and utilities in Grapevine Canyon around Scotty’s Castle and elsewhere in the park. (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images via Getty images)
A DESERT DREAM BUILT ON A LIE
“It’s fair to say it was built on a lie,” Wines told 8 News Now. In the early 1920s, con artist Walter Scott convinced Chicago businessman Albert Johnson to invest in a gold mine in Death Valley. The only problem, there was no gold mine. Gold would be mined in the valley, but not by Scott.
But it turns out Johnson wasn’t upset about being cheated on. Instead, the two built the majestic vacation home in the middle of nowhere now known as Scotty’s Castle. “It’s a really nice, special place with a funny story. Truly unique Western story,” Wines said.
When the restoration is complete, the government will have spent around $60 million. It’s high cost that makes some people wonder why fix it at all? “That’s really a question for people who have never been here,” commented David Blacker, chairman of the Death Valley Natural History Association. “As soon as you come here. Once you see this amazing place and this incredible place in an amazing desert stop asking that question.”
On one day a week, Blacker from the park service is only allowed to lead castle tours on a very limited basis. And the tours have been hugely popular, selling out through the end of 2022.
A journey into the depths of Death Valley is not complete without at least learning about an elaborate castle in the desert that has not been lost to time but is taking time to preserve for future generations.
