From Scotty's Castle to Saline Valley via Racetrack - Death Valley - California

**mir207** · 12-30-2007, 07:20 PM

This is a nice run and a fun mountain decent into the beautiful Saline Valley from Death Valley (The google map). It starts near the northern end of Death Valley, just past Scotty's Castle. You go past Ubehebe Crater, and then on the dirt road to Racetrack. Since Racetrack is marked on the National Park map, you get to dust passed all sorts of vehicles that you don't normally see offroad (high speed desert runner Camry's, tonnes of Dodge trucks gingerly doing 5mph, etc.)

Here's the trailmonkey map of Saline valley marked with my route in red:

The famous Teakettle Junction is one of the first major landmarks:

The Racetrack is well worth a visit all by itself:

The road south of Racetrack is not marked on the NP map, nor on the TrailMonkey map, but showed up with it's name on my Garmin (Ubehebe Road). It's a bit tight and a bit warn (there's a sign saying "no tow service beyond this point" !

) but it is a fine road and with stunning views of Saline Valley:

The Valley floor:

Unfortunately we were running late and it was dark for much of our time in Saline Valley. Next time:

gon2srf · 12-31-2007, 05:37 PM

Nice trip report, thanks for sharing.

1 Bored Clerk · 12-31-2007, 06:08 PM

"A bit tight" appears to be "A bit of an understatement" in a photo near the bottom (photo 13...counting the map). Is it really as tight as it looks?

**w5wi** · 12-31-2007, 06:41 PM

Thanks for sharing! Any flats???? Those rocks in Death Valley love to eat tires!

cheers,

dale

**Woodsman** · 12-31-2007, 07:33 PM

Great pics . . .

I have trail envy.

MIKESCRUISER · 12-31-2007, 08:22 PM

how long did it take you to get up there? i've been trying to go there for the longest. thread lippincott to racetrack playa

**mir207** · 01-12-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

MIKESCRUISER previously said:

how long did it take you to get up there? i've been trying to go there for the longest. thread lippincott to racetrack playa

I did this as part of a two day trip. Day 1: From Glendale up the 210->5->14->Panamint Valley-> South Park and Pleasant Canyon loop -> hotel in Furnace Creek. Day 2: Badwater, artists palette, Titus Canyon, and then this route. Back to 395 and home to Glendale (sun set in Saline Valley).

Quote:

w5wi previously said:

Thanks for sharing! Any flats???? Those rocks in Death Valley love to eat tires!

No flats or anything. The BFG AT's held up just fine. I had them at 35 PSI the whole time.

Quote:

1 Bored Clerk previously said:

"A bit tight" appears to be "A bit of an understatement" in a photo near the bottom (photo 13...counting the map). Is it really as tight as it looks?

There are no points on the trail where I felt "Whoa, the truck won't fit". I have on other trails (I still have nightmares about upper Odessa Canyon - though I keep rerunning it

). I think the photos make it look worse than it is.