Death Valley landmark Scotty’s Castle is reopening for limited tours after years of flood repairs

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Scotty’s Castle, a 1920s vacation home for a millionaire couple and the domain of a famous con man, was a top attraction in Death Valley National Park before it closed from a flash flood. After 10 years of repairs, the landmark is offering limited tours.

The castle nestled into a desert hillside tells the perfect Wild West story of a cunning cowboy, a search for gold, a shootout with bandits and friendship. It is a great tale — even if some of it was made up.

“The story of how it came to be in this extremely unlikely place is what makes it so special,” said Abby Wines, acting deputy superintendent of Death Valley National Park.

The National Park Service opened up the grounds for limited flood-recovery tours in the coming months, and its full reopening is eyed for a few years from now.

Around 1.4 million people visit the park located in California and Nevada every year. It is well known as the hottest place in North America and as the driest and lowest place in the continent at 282 feet below sea level.

In its heyday, the castle was “the stage for a massive practical joke on all of America,” Wines said.

Walter Scott, a con man nicknamed “Death Valley Scotty” and a former rider for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, took up gold prospecting, convincing people to invest in a fictional gold mine in Death Valley, where he thought none of his investors would dare to visit.

He struck the mother lode when he met Albert Johnson, who made his money in mines and health insurance. He invested in the mine but traveled to Death Valley to see where his money was going. Scott tried to scare the man off by staging a gunfight with bandits.

Johnson realized it was a scam, but he didn’t mind. He found the dry desert air good for his health, and he enjoyed the adventure, Wines said. He brought his wife, Bessie Johnson, and they became friends with Scott.

Over nine years, they built a vacation home they called Death Valley Ranch. But Scott lived on the grounds until he died, and everyone referred to it as Scotty's Castle. He is buried on top of a hill overlooking the property.

Inspired by the sandstone buildings and red tile roofs of Stanford University, where Bessie Johnson went to school, the castle is decorated with stucco walls, painted tiles and elaborate woodwork. A music room with a player pipe organ, arched ceilings and a stained-glass window served as a space for entertaining guests. Outside, a weather vane of Scott is perched on the roof, and a clock tower overlooks the valley. An incomplete pool shows the point in history when Johnson’s business failed and he couldn’t afford to restart construction.

Visitors stopped by the castle to see Scott and his famed gold mine when Death Valley became a national monument in 1933. Continuing his charade, he would tell visitors he built “his” castle on top of the mine. Servants went into tunnels beneath the castle and banged on pots and pans, creating the illusion of a working mine, Wines said. The Johnsons found the story entertaining.

When it was open, Scotty’s Castle drew 100,000 visitors every year. Guides dressed in period costumes gave tours of the castle, still with its original furnishings.

Interest in the castle remains high; the $35 flood recovery tours scheduled through March are already sold out. The proceeds will go toward completing the restoration, which will cost around $90 million.

Repairs, which involved a lot of utility work, have taken longer than expected because of multiple setbacks, including a fire in 2021 and historic rainfall in recent years.

“I think what most people connect to when they come out here is the story of the friendship between the rich couple, Albert and Bessie Johnson, and Death Valley Scotty, the man who started the relationship by convincing them to give him money for a gold mine that never existed,” Wines said.

Sunlight streams into a building at Scotty's Castle, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A picture of Albert Johnson is on display in a window at Scotty's Castle, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Clouds drift over Scotty's Castle, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Chandeliers and sunlight illuminate a room at Scotty's Castle, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Scotty's Castle is seen Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Not even a point penalty for hindrance slowed Aryna Sabalenka's run to a fourth consecutive Australian Open final.

The top-ranked Sabalenka overpowered Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 Thursday night to move within one victory of a third Australian Open title in four years.

The Belarusian will play the winner of the second semifinal between sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula and fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and was runner-up in Australia to Sabalenka in 2023.

All four players reached the semifinals without dropping a set — in Australia for the first time in 56 years — and Sabalenka and Svitolina were each on 10-match winning streaks to start the season after titles in warmup events.

Sabalenka kept both of her streaks alive. She hit 19 winners and broke Svitolina's serve twice in the first set. She finished with 29 winners to 12 for her Ukrainian rival.

As has become customary for Ukrainians against players from Russia and Belarus, there was no handshakes at the net. There was also no group photo before the match.

Sabalenka is the third woman in the Open era to reach four consecutive singles finals at the Australian Open after Evonne Goolagong and Martina Hingis.

“It’s an incredible achievement but the job’s not done yet,” an emotional Sabalenka said in her on-court TV interview. “I've been watching her game, (Svitolina) was playing incredible. I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure as I could back on her. I’m glad the level was there. I think I played great tennis.”

The only hiccup was the hindrance to start the fourth game. Hindrance is called for a distraction that prevents a player from making a shot, and can include an opponent's loud noise.

Umpire Louise Azemar Engzell deemed Sabalenka made a prolonged grunt after she shanked a forehand. The shot seemed to be going long but landed inside the baseline, giving Svitolina the chance to play on. That's when the umpire intervened.

Sabalenka asked for a video review but the point penalty was upheld when Azemar Engzell confirmed her decision that the grunt was more elongated than usual.

It didn't bother Sabalenka for long. She broke serve in that game and controlled most of the remainder of the match.

Svitolina's only service break was at the start of the second set. But Sabalenka rallied immediately and won the next five games to take the semifinal away.

After reaching her first semifinal in Australia and winning a title in a warmup tournament in New Zealand, Svitolina will return to the top 10 for the first time since she took a maternity break in 2022.

The Auckland title was her first foray back on tour after an early end to the 2025 season for a mental health break. She said the rest and time out prolonged her career.

“Definitely very, very happy with the two weeks here and in New Zealand, as well, winning,” she said. “Gutted to not make it through tonight but it’s very difficult when you’re playing the world No. 1, who is really on fire.”

Svitolina was playing her fourth semifinal at a major — 2019 and 2023 at Wimbledon and the 2019 U.S. Open — but again wasn't able to go to the championship match.

“It was really complicated for me today,” she said, “but, yeah, I just want to take positives from the past weeks, the beginning of the year, and just carry them through for the season.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine plays a forehand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her semifinal match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Aryna Sabalenka, right, of Belarus walks past Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine gestures during her semifinal match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her semifinal match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)