Small Joshua trees along Racetrack Road

Drive #22: Racetrack Road (Ubehebe Crater to Homestake Camp)

Date Driven: 12/28/11

Length: 29.4 miles

My Drive Time: 3 hours 5 minutes (includes stops)

Start: By Ubehebe Crater where dirt Racetrack Road begins, N37º 00.772′ W117º 27.482′

End: Homestake Camp, N36º 38.261′ W117º 34.438′

GPS Track: GPX or KMZ format. (right click -> Save As)

Source(s): Racetrack Road is popular and thoroughly-documented. It’s Tour 13 in California Desert Byways; Trail D51 in Backcountry Adventures Southern California; Parts are in both Excursion #15 and 28 in Death Valley SUV Trails; and it’s Trip Route NW-2 in The Explorer’s Guide to Death Valley National Park. It is also shown on the National Geographic map of Death Valley, and most (but not all) of Racetrack Road is shown on this NPS PDF map.

Summary: We started this Drive from inside Death Valley NP, after completing Drive #19: Titus Canyon. Starting by Ubehebe Crater, almost 30 miles of brain-scrambling washboard road brought us past legendary landmarks such as Teakettle Junction and The Racetrack before we reached Homestake Camp.

Description: On its northern end, dirt Racetrack Road begins off the paved road that makes a loop by Ubehebe Crater. The NPS describes the road this way: “The road to Racetrack Valley begins near Ubehebe Crater. Normally it is recommended for high-clearance vehicles as it can be rough and washboard. Off-road driving is prohibited as the desert is very fragile and vehicle tracks can remain for years.”

Ubehebe Crater

The rangers in the park also seem to discourage anyone from driving it. Between its sharp rocks (which also make up the berms on either side of the road in many places) and the heavy washboarding, Racetrack Road has a reputation for breaking vehicles. Despite that, we saw everything from generic rental cars to big-dollar custom Jeeps driving Racetrack Road, which meant that there was a lot of two-way traffic.

When we drove it, the washboard was both severe and relentless. Every so often it would stop for a few seconds, just long enough for me to think “Oh my god, I hope that was the end of it,” which is of course when it started right up again. We made it to camp fine but the next day when we drove up the reverse direction, the positive battery cable was vibrated right off its post, causing a brief panic as I suddenly dealt with a dead vehicle. Fortunately, the problem was quickly spotted and corrected and we had no further issues on the road.

The low sun highlights the washboard on Racetrack Road

I do know a guy whose battery cable completely broke from the terminal clamp after enduring this road and some others in Death Valley. There are also a lot of stories of folks getting flat tires from the sharp rocks on Racetrack Road. It’s wise to be well-prepared before subjecting your vehicle to this area.

But enough on the rigors of this road. The scenery here is quite beautiful, including a small Joshua Tree forest. Of course there is the famous and mysterious Racetrack, where rocks slide across the playa when no one is looking. We also stopped at Teakettle Junction, a remote travel landmark that has drawn me since I first read of it many years ago. It was also one of the few places in the park where we inexplicably had 3G data reception on our AT&T cellular devices.

Backcountry travelers from around the globe have been leaving teakettles here for many years. When we were there, teakettles and signatures from Russia, England and Japan were just a few of the many hanging from the sign.

Near the southern end of the road, we camped overnight at Homestake Camp, a primitive campground area featuring a battered and unwelcoming porta-potty and a few cleared camp ares. There were a few other vehicles there that night, but it still felt quite far from civilization. By sheer coincidence, we ended up camping next to the guy whose description of this very campground had led me to seek it out. Small world! Just after dusk, we were also visited by a desert kitfox, which was a neat experience.

Homestake Camp

Dinner prep at Homestake Camp

The desert temperatures dropped sharply overnight, from a daytime high in the 70s down to about 27ºF! After some campfire time, we quickly retreated to our warm sleeping bags in the tent, which we supplemented with blankets to stay extra cozy.

This area was filled with wonders for the family and I, on a trip that we’ll never forget.

Here’s the blog post and the associated photo gallery from that day in Death Valley, including this Drive. These are the same ones associated with Drive #19: Titus Canyon. There’s another blog post and more photos of Homestake Camp, The Racetrack, Ubehebe Crater, etc. are included in the next day’s photo gallery as well, as we backtracked up Racetrack Road.

Allison examines some of the mysterious Racetrack rocks

Disclaimer – This information is provided from the best of my recollection and is necessarily subjective. GPS data is from a personal device inside my vehicle, so coordinates will not be exact. Typos are possible. Use of any of this information is at your own risk and responsibility – period. Conditions change (especially in winter), vehicles and driver skills vary, etc. and I have no control over these things. Don’t let anything written here override your own personal common sense or safety.