A driver needed help after getting stuck in deep mud on Hunter Mountain Road, officials said.
Death Valley National Park
A driver turned onto a closed road in Death Valley National Park and ended up stuck in deep mud, park officials said.
Now rangers are warning other visitors about staying away from closed areas.
The driver in a tan Toyota truck turned down Hunter Mountain Road and then had to call for help when they couldn’t get out, the national park said in a May 7 Facebook post.
Hunter Mountain Road is a scenic 10.7-mile trail, according to AllTrails.
Rangers said multiple other four-wheel-drive vehicles have gotten stuck on the closed road and needed assistance.
Now they are asking the public to avoid driving down this road when it’s not open.
“Rescue in this remote part of the park may be extremely delayed,” rangers said. “There is no cell service in most Death Valley wilderness areas and tow costs are extremely expensive.”
Additionally, roads can get damaged when drivers travel on them while they are muddy. They can also create deep ruts, making it unsafe for other drivers, park officials said.
There isn’t an “estimated time of reopening” for this road.
Other visitors get stuck at park
This isn’t the first time a park visitor has gotten a vehicle stuck.
Tourists following a GPS made a wrong turn and ended up lost in the park last year on July 4, McClatchy News reported. They drove across a salt flat toward Badwater Road out of fear they would run out of gas but ended up stuck.
Then on Dec. 22, two men were off-roading in a Porsche SUV near near Badwater Basin when they got lodged in the mud, McClatchy News reported.
Park rangers told the men park staff would need to “monitor the extraction” of their vehicle. Instead, the men hired a person in a truck to tow the SUV out of the mud, rangers said.
The tow truck also ended up stuck.
The national park saw more than 1.1 million visitors in 2023.