It’s the hottest place on Earth — that’s Death Valley National Park’s claim to fame, and people often visit to experience the unusual desertscapes created by extreme heat and dryness. Two months after Tropical Storm Hilary dropped an unprecedented amount of rain over the park, though, the gates have reopened and visitors are reporting some very different reasons to visit: ponds within sand dunes and a stunning temporary lake in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America.

“It’s such a unique time to be in the park,” Dawn Marie Dunlap, a travel and lifestyle blogger based in Southern California, told SFGATE. “The temporary lake currently filling Badwater Basin reflects Telescope Peak perfectly during the day, and at night you can see the Milky Way reflected in the water. It’s a magical experience (as long as you pack your patience) because the road work definitely makes you slow down and enjoy the views.”

Although large swaths of the park remain closed — and efforts to repair road damage from flash floods are ongoing — many of the park’s most popular attractions are once again accessible now that Death Valley has reopened. These include Zabriskie Point, the Mosaic Canyon Trail, Artists Drive and Dantes View Road. But the stars of the show have been Badwater Basin’s temporary lake and the breathtaking but ephemeral ponds at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, where visitors have snapped some glorious pictures.

Photographer Craig McGowan captured one of the ponds in the late afternoon as the setting sun cast a red glow on distant cliffs in the backdrop. McGowan felt lucky to have stumbled on such a rare and lovely scene, and he advised followers on Instagram to go now. “You should visit as soon as you can,” McGowan wrote. “As far as I can tell, visitor numbers are low and the present conditions are relatively unique.”

Park spokesperson Abby Wines echoed that sentiment. She was unsure how many of the ponds in the dunes, if any, still exist. But the shallow lake at Badwater Basin remains, she told SFGATE, and will likely be visible for another couple of weeks. Although some orange and yellow wildflowers have gone into bloom out of “seasonal confusion” in remote areas of the park, Wines emphasized that those will be tough for visitors to find.

“The Badwater puddle is a reason to come,” she told SFGATE. “That is beautiful.”