During our February 2015 visit to Death Valley, we headed north one day to see Ubehebe Crater and Scotty's Castle. We drove over 55 miles from our lodging in Furnace Creek to Ubehebe Crater. We headed west on CA 190 before turning north on Scotty’s Castle Road and then turning left onto Ubehebe Crater Road. The route climbs from about 200 feet below sea level at Furnace Creek to 100 feet above sea level at the southern end of Scotty's Castle Road. Scotty's Castle road then climbs another 2200 feet in 33½ miles. Ubehebe Crater Road then dips from 2300 feet down to nearly 2000 feet before climbing up to 2600 feet in six miles.
Tours are available for bicyclists and their bicycles to be transported from Furnace Creek to Ubehebe Crater before they pedal over 55 miles back to Furnace Creek.
There are several interesting sights along CA 190 that I'll save for another post. Below are some of the sights along the other two roads.
Scotty's Castle Road
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| Kit Fox Hills |
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| Cottonwood Mountains with Tin Mountain on the right |
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| Mesquite Dunes and Cottonwood Mountains |
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| Tucki Mountain (6726') |
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| Striped hills below the Grapevine Mountains |
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| Another view of the colorful hills |
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| Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) |
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| Alluvial fans of the Grapevine Mountains to the east |
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| Looking west at the alluvial fan of Dry Bone Canyon in the Cottonwood Mountains |
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| Tucki Mountain (6726’), Pinto Peak (7510’), and Towne Peak (7287’) |
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| Grapevine Mountains |
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| Alluvial fans merging into a bajada below the Cottonwood Mountains |
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| Erosional channels in the alluvial fan |
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| Vegetation covers the alluvial fan below the Grapevine Mountains |
Ubehebe Crater Road
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| Last Chance Range |
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| Snow dusted Tin Mountain |
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| Tin Mountain alluvial fan with Dry Mountain in the background |
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| Colorful hills above Grapevine Springs |
An entrance fee of $20 admits all the passengers of a single vehicle for seven days. Other options include an annual Death Valley National Park Pass for $40, an Interagency Annual Pass providing access to most national park, national forest and BLM fee areas for $80 and a lifetime Interagency Senior Pass for those age 62 and older for $10.
The park website is http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm.
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