Death Valley: Saline Valley Warm Springs Campground Closed After a Fire
A fire on September 15, 2026 temporarily closed Saline Valley Warm Springs Campground, in a remote corner of Death Valley. No reopening date yet.
By Jocelyn Pion,
Bad news for anyone dreaming of Death Valley's most remote hot springs. Saline Valley Warm Springs Campground, tucked deep in the park's backcountry, is closed for now. The cause is a fire that broke out on September 15, 2026. Park officials are calling it a temporary closure, with no reopening date announced so far.
If you were planning to pitch a tent out there in the coming weeks, that plan's on hold until further notice. This isn't your typical campground. You reach it by long, unpaved roads that are hard on a vehicle, and the spot draws a small crowd of regulars who come for the warm-water pools out in the middle of the desert. In other words, improvising a backup once you're on site isn't easy.
Our advice for now is simple. Don't head toward this area without checking whether it's open right before you drive out. In a park as vast and as barren as Death Valley, a zone can stay closed long after a fire is out, while crews secure the site and control access. Conditions change fast, and official information always beats whatever's floating around the forums.
There's some good news, though. This closure stays very localized. It affects only this one campground, not the whole park, which keeps its major sites open. If you're planning a trip, the rest of your itinerary still holds up, from the Mesquite Flat dunes to the lowest point in North America at Badwater.
To build a solid itinerary despite this hiccup, lean on the Death Valley park guide, where we break down the areas worth seeing and the logistics on the ground. And if Death Valley is just one stop on a bigger trip, take a look at our road trip itinerary that runs through this park to fill in the rest of your days.