Several of the areas we had wanted to check out last time we were at Death Valley in December 2011 have a 4-wheel drive vehicle requirement.  Since our time then was limited, we vowed to visit those sites when we went back.  This time we merged those excursions into a one-day trip and rented a Jeep from Farabee’s Jeep Rentals in Furnace Creek. We think there is no better way to experience the beauty and wildness of Death Valley than driving a Jeep through the backcountry.

Steve all set to go through the canyon.

Death Valley is massive (remember – the largest national park outside of Alaska) with 95% of its area protected in roadless wilderness.  Yet there are ample miles of paved and dirt roads for exploration.  Of the 31 opportunities for backcountry roads we chose two – Titus Canyon and the Racetrack Playa.  We took a fairly typical one-day trip and wanted to share our experience as it might be helpful if you’re interested in going there.

Here we go, lets go !

First off, the Jeep was fairly new and in excellent condition.  The cost amounted to about $300 for the day, which included refilling the 3/4 tank of gas.  Although Farabee’s states there is a 200-mile limit, they are somewhat flexible with that and also allow you to return the Jeep well after their closing time of 5:00pm.  You also receive a GPS tracker in case something happens requiring assistance.

Our device to call for help, fortunately we didn’t need it

Our plan was to visit Beatty, NV, then the ghost town of Ryolite just down the road from there.  Next, we would catch the 26-mile gravel road near Ryolite and drive over the mountains and through Titus Canyon.  At that point we would exit into the northwest end of the valley and head out the grueling 28-mile road to the Racetrack Playa where the “moving rocks” mysteriously slide across the desert floor.  We had to see that!

Our impressions of the trip:

1)  Beatty – A small town in Nevada on highway 374 near the  state border.  We didn’t feel it was worth visiting in a 4-wheel drive rental when we could have done it in our car.  However, their gas prices were a dollar cheaper than in Death Valley 🙂  Too bad we didn’t need gas yet!

Amargosa Valley

Let’s go to Nevada (for a while)

2)  Rhyolite – A beat-up ghost town near Beatty, also not requiring 4-wheel drive access.  However, the beginning of the road to Titus Canyon is near both Beatty and Rhyolite so at least they were not far out of the way (10 miles total).

Glass House in Rhyolite

What’s left of a bank

3)  Titus Canyon – FANTASTIC!  Although you can hike in a ways from the canyon mouth at the Death Valley west end, you would miss most of the awesome beauty of the colorful rock deposits and backcountry section.  We drove on the one-way road east-to-west over 27 miles of rough, steep, narrow roads with drop-offs.  It took us two hours to navigate, including several stops for photo ops.  The highest point on the road was at Red Pass (5250′ elevation), and the view at the top was breathtaking.  The pictures don’t do justice, you have to be there to really appreciate it.  This excursion by itself is worth renting a vehicle for!

Narrow switchback road with drop offs	Narrow Canyon
Multi-colored rocks	View from top looking down
Look, the rocks are ready to fall…	Leadfield Ghost Town

4) Ubehebe Crater – 4-wheel drive not required but this attraction is on the way to Racetrack Playa and we stopped for a quick lunch.  It is a huge crater measuring a half mile wide and 500 feet deep with orange hue fanglomerates.

UbeHebe Crater

4)  Racetrack Playa – Factor in almost 2 hours of driving down a brutal gravel road, then 2 hours back, not to mention tons of dust!   Probably worth it to go “once in a lifetime”.  I wish those rocks would slide a little closer to civilization!  So you wonder why is this place  called Racetrack Playa and how could rocks move by themselves?

Racetrack Playa

Theories abound, so we had to investigate for ourselves.  What we saw when we arrived is a very large, very dry lakebed with a beige-colored floor.  There are rocks of various shapes and sizes strewn all over the place.  Indeed, as we walked around we noted tracks of these moving rocks along the lakebed.  They have moved across the almost perfectly level surface leaving trails as records of their movements.  A lot of theories have been suggested to explain the mystery of these movements, one of which is that a rare combination of rain and wind conditions enable the rocks to move – some as far as 1,500 ft.  Nobody has ever seen it happen.  How cool is that?   The name “Racetrack”  is due to the moving rocks perhaps competing to go somewhere.

This rock has moved 50 ft	Racing Rocks, note their tracks
The road to Racetrack Playa – be ready for a long and very bumpy ride	Teakettle Junction

This is a very full day of driving and exploring.  We picked up the Jeep right at 8:00am when they opened, and didn’t get our tired bodies back there until 7:00pm.  Definitely a fun experience, though!