Scotty's Castle (also known as Death Valley Ranch) is a two-story Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style villa located in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, California, US. Scotty's Castle is named for gold prospector Walter E. Scott, although Scott never owned it, nor is it an actual castle.

The ranch is located about north of Stovepipe Wells, California, via California State Route 190 to Scotty's Castle Road, or about a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Scotty's Castle was severely damaged by flooding in October 2015, and a fire in 2021 that destroyed the historic garage/workshop that was used as the visitor center. These caused Scotty's Castle to be temporarily closed to the public and remains closed through at least 2026.

Walter Scott, who was taken care of by the Gospel Foundation after Johnson's death, died in 1954 and was buried on the hill overlooking Scotty's Castle.

Water and electricity

The springs of Grapevine Canyon provided the water supply for the ranch and were used to generate electricity. The springs, located about higher than the villa, generated enough water flow and pressure to turn a Pelton wheel, which ran the generator that furnished the villa's electricity. The power was regulated and backed up by the large bank of nickel–iron batteries in the house's tunnels. The springs provided enough water to meet all the needs of the ranch, with enough left for other uses.

A water fountain was constructed in the Great Hall, where water dripped down a rock face creating evaporative cooling and into a catch basin for recirculation. A 1930s solar water heater, much larger than today's solar water heaters, is near the main house, and a large stock of railroad ties salvaged from the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad is in the area.

2015 flood damage

On October 18, 2015, the Death Valley area was hit by a significant rain storm, receiving nearly of rain as the storm stalled over the Grapevine Canyon area for five hours. Flash flooding struck Scotty's Castle, leaving mud and debris stacked along the perimeter of the structures, up to high inside the visitor center, and the access road to the property was destroyed. The flood caused the property to be closed for an extended period of time while repairs to the property are carried out and a new access road is built. The NPS has stated that the castle itself is not likely to re-open to the public until 2023,

2021 outbuildings fire

A fire on April 22, 2021, destroyed the historic garage/workshop dating from 1922 that was used as the visitor center, along with another historic outbuilding on the property. Upon investigation, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that the fire started inside the Visitor Center. However, investigators were not able to conclusively determine the cause of the fire. While the main castle building was unscathed, this delayed the property rehabilitation efforts and pushed back the public reopening until 2023. The National Park Service intends to rebuild the garage/workshop.

Tours

In person

As a results of the 2015 flood damage and 2021 outbuildings fire, the castle and grounds are closed to the public except for specifically Flood Recovery ticketed tours.

Approximately 100,000 people tour the villa each year. The Johnsons' original furnishings and clothing can still be seen today. The National Park Service gives guided tours of Scotty's Castle for a fee. Park rangers dress in 1930s style clothes to help take the visitor back in time. During the tour, guests are treated to the sounds of a 1,121-pipe Welte theater organ.

An underground mystery tour is also available for those wishing to see the inner workings of the building. One-quarter mile of tunnels run under the building, where visitors can visit the powerhouse and see thousands of tiles that were to be used for the never-finished swimming pool. The tunnels also contain hundreds of nickel-iron battery cells, used to regulate power and provide backup power. The main house tour is ADA accessible, but the underground tour is not.

Virtual reality

Scotty's Castle can be toured in 3D virtual reality from a computer, smartphone, or with VR goggles on the Death Valley Conservancy Website - the result of a collaboration between the Death Valley Conservancy and the National Park Service.

See also

  • Death Valley National Park

References

  • National Park Service page on Scotty's Castle
  • Interior and exterior photo tours of Scotty's Castle
  • Death Valley Conservancy page on Scotty's Castle