the racetrack
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the racetrack印象
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If you go to Death Valley, you need to see the Racetrack. It IS a bit far and the road is washboard the entire way, but it is pretty darn neat once you get to your destination. The advice is to have a high clearance vehicle, and we did drive in a Jeep, but that washboard was crummy even for us. The rocks are located on the far end of the playa, so make sure to continue past the first parking area to the second. Bring your lunch and take some time to take it all in. It is truly amazing.
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Excellent rocks formation and wonders. The race track is an amazing of how the wind, rain, and heat affects the rocks in Death Valley. One of the many wonders of the Death Valley ...
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Death Valley is one of my top favorite national parks and we come back here whenever we can fit it in. People expecting to see lots of wildlife, deep forest and gurgling mountains brooks will be disappointed, but the geology of the place is astounding, the vast and wide open space of the tranquil valley, the stark beauty of the painted rocks along the foot hills as if someone had draped a whole bunch of rainbows along them. There is so much to see once you get off the two major roads running east-west and north-south respectively. You need time though as the valley is vast and getting to some of the major attractions takes some driving. We stayed for three nights on this visit to have more time to explore, and it was so worth it. We should have had a few more days – oh well, next time.The rich – pardon the pun – mining history of the valley and the surrounding areas has left many interesting and intriguing testaments to bygone days. The whole valley has a truly numinous atmosphere of timeless quality.The Racetrack /Playa is a world famous phenomenon, but it takes a bit of getting to. You need to drive up north on Scotty’s Castle Rd – off 190 some miles north of Furnace Creek Ranch, off where 190 turns from north to west to Stovepipe Wells. Where Scotty’s Castle Rd turns east – right – to the eponymous castle, turn left onto – yes, well, Ubehebe Rd. to the eponymous craters, and from there you drive another 27miles or so on an unpaved dirt road. It’s not a bad road for that, easy to navigate, and you do NOT need 4WD, not even very high clearance. However, there are some patches with sharp rocks. Low spoilers and itty-bitty tires will not do well on this! The road takes you behind the ridge bordering the main valley, then climb over a ridge full of somewhat scraggly Joshua trees. Turn right at Teakettle Junction and then soon later get your first sight of the ‘playa’ below - thus named since the large oval – also called the racetrack – is one of the flattest possible surfaces on earth: a dry lake bed, caked a very light beige, almost white, the surface only broken by the ‘grandstand’ a set of jagged, dark rocks rearing up near the northern end. You can park close to it and walk out to it. People are asked kindly not walk out on the playa on the rare occasion when it is muddy since footprints will last for years – and yes, of course, there ARE such footprints, which is a shame. Most of the ‘wandering’ rocks are nearer the southern end of the playa, where you find another parking lot. The rocks and their tracks carved into the mud are a sight to see, but frankly not quite as spectacular as I expected. Their major interest is the scientific uncertainty as to how exactly they get moved. Strong wind coinciding with a wet underground is the accepted theory, but they don’t all move in the same direction … This is a very special place, but be aware it takes some getting there. We own a Jeep Wrangler and spend endless hours driving off the pavement back home in Arizona, sometimes on really rough and rugged so-called tracks, so this was a veritable highway for us, but we passed all the others going in the same direction floundering along. Many folks don’t seem to know that you fare much better over washboarded dirt roads at a higher speed, say between 25 to 30 mph, than at a crawling speed. On the way back we met up with a guy we had passed ages ago on the way out and he asked as a bit desperately if there was another way out. Well, yes, over Hunter Mountain, but that would be infinitely worse and not recommendable in the winter anyway. If you don’t have much time for Death Valley, maybe concentrate on the easier access attractions, of which there are myriad.
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The racetrack is the setting for one of the most unique natural phenomena in the world. If you are reading this review, you probably already know about it. Here is the short version:Once every several years the right conditions occur. They were only documented very recently: a strong rain followed by a freeze creates a sheet of ice a couple of inches thick in this otherwise dry lake bed. When that happens, rocks (some as heavy as 70 pounds) get temporarily trapped in the ice. As the ice starts melting the next day, even a relatively light wind can move it and drag the rocks along. The rocks can "travel" 100's of feet. When the ice melts the tracks carved by the rocks in the lake bed are left.The site has another appeal: It is extremely remote and quite high. This makes for spectacular night skies for any amateur astronomer or astrophotographer. Access requires a 4 wheel drive vehicle you need to drive a 27 mile rocky dirt road beyond the Ubehebe Crater
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This was one of my favorite stops on our trip to Death Valley. It is a bumpy road out. We had a truck so had no worries, though they warn that the rough rocks can cause flat tires. The playa was dry and that was Important because you can't walk on it when its wet. You leave footprints for decades. But following the paths left by the rocks that had been pushed across the dry lake was very interesting. seeing the shifting paths in the dirt. and you could tell some were older than others. They just figured out how the rocks move. We were there 1 year to the day after the scientists actually some some move. It was fun.
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The road to the racetrack is long and bumpy, and not for just any vehicle. Be prepared for 27 miles of rough, narrow road and unreliable cell service. The drive is worth it however, as the playa is beautiful and amazing to see with your own eyes. It is fascinating to find these rocks and think of the natural phenomenon that causes them to move. Awesome place. One of my absolute favorite places in Death Valley.
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From Ubehebe Crater, a very rough road takes 1.5 hours to reach the Racetrack, an amazing salt lakebed (1000 feet deep sludge beneath) where rocks tumbling from nearby mountain are driven by occasional ice sheets & strong winds across the lake. You see their "tracks", even reversing course. It's too bad the Park Service can't keep a ranger on site, as people mess with the rocks and tramp heedlessly over the beautiful natural salt tesserae when damp. But worth the trip, silent and mystical in feeling.
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Make sure you are equipped for this trip. We saw several folks get flat tires, so be prepared with and air-compressor, a spare, and flat repair kits. Bring water and anything else you might need - this is a very remote part of the park. They have recently graded the road from Ubehebe to Teakettle junction. So the washboarding is minimal compared to years past. There is a lot of traffic on this road now - you will most likely not have racetrack to yourself. We passed at least 10 cars going in, Teakettle junction had no room to park and all the parking areas at the racetrack were full. On the way out (after dark) we saw 10 cars going in, so even at night, you will have a crowd. Overall, though, it is still worth the trip. There has been a rock moving event out there since I last visited in 2012, so there are lots of good tracks and fewer missing rocks and vandalism. In 2012 it was hard to find a track with a rock that hadn't been taken, and that also wasn't surrounded by footprints. Most of that has been washed away now. There are even a few nice trails right near the parking area if you don't want to make the hike out to the main field.
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An extraordinary Zen experience conducive to reflection, humility and silence. The perception of time is marked by the geological clock in millions of years and space is defined by the flatness of the sedimentary plane and the vaulting curvature of the sky.
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This is one of those places that you have to see to believe. Although you won't actually see the rocks move, you CAN see the path they have taken which makes for some really cool pictures. Figure about 2 hours to make the 26 mile journey in on a road which is major washboard from beginning to end. If you can average 12 to 15 miles an hour, you're doing well. I don't suggest you take your sports car here, however there are Jeep rentals available in the area. If you're visiting here from Spring though Fall, pack some water as it can get extremely hot and if you break down for some reason, you'll need all the water you can pack. Given the very rough road in and out, this is still one of the top things to see in the park.