Activities - 4x4 Trails

Racetrack     Eureka Dunes     Saratoga Springs Warm Springs Canyon      Cottonwood & Marble Canyons

There are numerous four-wheel drive roads for the backcountry road enthusiast throughout our area. Roads range from fairly easy to extremely challenging. Before heading down an unfamiliar four-wheel drive road, get an accurate map to make sure the road is still open and to find out how difficult the road is to navigate. This information can be obtained at the Park Service Visitor Center and in SUV guidebooks available at the Visitor Center bookstores and the Shoshone museum bookstore. The Racetrack      The Racetrack is one of the most mysterious places in Death Valley. Located 28 miles off of the Ubehebe Crater road on a washboard gravel road that requires high clearance and occasionally 4wd, this area is famous for the moving rocks. While various theories have been put forth over the years as to how these rocks manage to move from the surrounding hills across the playa, no one has ever seen them do it. The most accepted theory is that it happens during a combination of a rain-dampened playa and high winds when the rocks are literally blown across the slippery surface. The best viewing place is two miles south of the grandstand, the large island outcrop seen in the middle of the Racetrack. Please do not walk on the playa when it is wet as your footprints will leave permanent marks on the fragile playa and be sure to leave the rocks for others to enjoy.

Eureka Dunes      These are the 700 foot tall dunes located in the northern end of the park via the Big Pine road. It's a 44 mile trip from the start of the road near Ubehebe Crater. These dunes are only 3 miles long and 1 mile wide but are the tallest sand dunes in California. The sand on these dunes is quite musical--when the sand is completely dry and starts to avalanche down you may hear the sound of a bass note coming from the dune. There are 5 species of endemic beetles and 3 plants whose entire range is on this isolated world of sand. The road to the dunes requires high clearance but is easy to navigate. There are other roads in the vicinity, however, that are far more difficult and are not recommended for one travelling alone.

Saratoga Springs      This road is off of hwy. 127 south of Shoshone and takes you to a scenic area where there are pupfish, excellent birding locations, hiking opportunities, and mining history. The turnoff is 26.2 miles from Shoshone south on 127. High clearance is recommended for this route. Along the way you will have to pass an Amargosa River crossing.

Warm Springs Canyon      This popular four-wheel drive road comes off of the West Side road, which runs parallel to the Badwater road. High clearance is required for the first 10 miles to the Warm Springs talc mine but four wheel drive is needed beyond that point. This road leads into Butte Valley which has many spectacular views, including Striped Butte. The road gets much rougher going over Mengel Pass but you can spend an enjoyable day just going as far as the Geologists Cabin and back.

Cottonwood & Marble Canyons      These scenic canyons are located by Stovepipe Wells Village. If you take the road from the airstrip for eight miles you will come to Cottonwood Canyon wash. High clearance is needed for the first eight miles but four wheel drive is needed after that when the road drops into the rocky wash. The Cottonwood Canyon road ends 19 miles from 190 and the Marble Canyon road ends 13 miles from the highway. Hikers into Marble Canyon from the roads end will enjoy narrow canyon walls and petroglyphs. Cottonwood, as its name implies, has a stream and cottonwood trees with wonderful side canyons for hiking.