Kayaking in Death Valley

What to do when freak rainstorms briefly revive a long-dead lake in the hottest, driest place in the U.S.?

By Alicia A. Caldwell | Photographs by Mikayla Whitmore for The Wall Street Journal
March 1, 2024
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Paddle it while you can, says Patrick Donnelly, a 41-year-old field biologist, who lives in the nearby town of Shoshone. After a lake photo he posted went viral, he has become an unofficial guide to some of the thousands of tourists now rushing to experience the new waterfront destination of Death Valley.

The valley’s new, very temporary, very shallow body of water is called Lake Manly, named for a 19th-century explorer who once rescued westward immigrants stranded there. It's about 6 miles long, 3 miles wide and 1 foot deep, according to the park service.

The Ice Age lake re-emerged in late August for the first time since 2005. Earlier this month, a pair of massive rainstorms known as atmospheric rivers dropped three-quarters of the 2.25 inches of rain Death Valley typically receives in an entire year in about three days.

The lake’s estimated 6 billion gallons of brackish water sits atop Badwater Basin, a normally arid salt flat that is the lowest spot in North America.

A salt-covered bottle at Badwater Basin

If you like this month’s version of Lake Manly, well, you should have seen it 180,000 years ago, when it may have been as deep as 600 feet, researchers estimate.

The current iteration still has enough water for a tranquil afternoon aboard most anything that floats. Spotted have been paddleboards, kayaks and an inflatable unicorn.

Ty ONeil/Associated Press

For much of the year, signs in Death Valley National Park warn tourists of extreme heat, up to a sizzling 129 degrees last summer. Now, a noteworthy new sign asks visitors to try not to venture into environmentally sensitive areas while enjoying the lake.

John Locher/Associated Press

In the park, Dante’s View provides a place to see the lake.

On recent weekdays, as many as a dozen kayaks could be spotted on the lake, some traveling in pairs, others gliding along the waveless surface in solitude.

Ronda Churchill/Reuters

Paddling in Death Valley is a "once-in-a-lifetime chance" and kind of "hilarious," visitors said.

Ronda Churchill/Reuters
“Everything is ephemeral out here. It is like there’s this fleeting nature in the desert and you just want to see it all and absorb it all before it goes away.”

—Patrick Donnelly. He expects the lake may be navigable for only a few more days or weeks as it evaporates.

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Photo editor: Allison Pasek

Produced by: Siemond Chan

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