- Where
- Racetrack Valley, north-western
Death Valley National Park, California - Coordinates
- 36.68° N
117.56° W - The playa
- About 2.8 mi by 1.3 mi
at 3,714 ft - Stones
- Up to about 700 lb (320 kg)
- Explained
- December 2013, by thin ice
(Norris et al., PLOS ONE, 2014) - Getting there
- 26 miles of rough dirt road
from Ubehebe Crater; high clearance - Best visited
- October to April (the cooler months)
- Advisory
- United States
(no State Department level)
Mile after mile of rattling road past spiky trees with their arms up, and then a lakebed so flat and so pale that it looked ironed, cracked into neat little tiles. Out on it, stones sat at the ends of long grooves, as if each had been dragged there by a patient friend and left. I looked about for the friend for some time. Nobody came. I stepped carefully anyway.
The short answer
Racetrack Playa, the Racetrack, is a dry lake in the Racetrack Valley, a small closed basin between the Cottonwood Mountains and the Nelson Range in the north-west of Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California. It lies at 3,714 feet, is about 2.8 miles long and 1.3 miles wide, and is so level that its north end is only about 1.5 inches higher than its south, Wikipedia records. It is famous for its sailing stones: rocks that move across the playa and leave tracks behind them, some weighing up to about 700 pounds (320 kg), the Park Service says. The road there begins near Ubehebe Crater and runs 26 miles to the Grandstand, a rock outcrop that rises from the north end of the playa; the Park Service warns that it usually needs four-wheel drive, high clearance and good tyres.
Why it's worth knowing
A puzzle for decades. The geologists Jim McAllister and Allen Agnew published the first report of the moving rocks in 1948. Others blamed strong winds on wet mud, dust devils, slick films of algae or thick ice; in 1968 Bob Sharp and Dwight Carey labelled thirty stones with fresh tracks, gave each a name and tracked them for seven years, and even fenced one into a corral of steel rods to test the ice idea. It slipped out between the rods in its first winter, Wikipedia records. Nobody had seen a stone move.
Solved by luck and patience. In winter 2011, with the Park Service’s permission, a team led by Richard Norris of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography set up a weather station, time-lapse cameras and fifteen rocks fitted with GPS, brought in from outside because the park would not let them use its own stones. In December 2013 Norris and his cousin James Norris arrived to find the playa covered by a pond no more than 3 inches deep. On 21 December the overnight ice broke up just before noon, and light winds of about 10 miles an hour pushed sheets of ice less than a quarter of an inch thick against the rocks, which slid a few inches a second, the Park Service records from their paper in PLOS ONE of August 2014. Over two and a half months they logged five movement events, some involving hundreds of rocks.
Not every question closed. The team had not seen the largest boulders move, Norris said, and Ralph Lorenz, a co-author, noted that the stones may move only about one millionth of the time; the last suspected movement before 2013 was in 2006. Lorenz and Brian Jackson have since reported, from published accounts, an apparent decline in movements since the 1970s, which they link to fewer cold nights, the Park Service and Wikipedia record.
The field notes
The Grandstand
At the north end of the playa, the Grandstand is a large island of dark quartz monzonite rising from the flat mud; the Park Service suggests a short walk out to it from the parking area. The moving rocks lie about two miles further south, where the Park Service suggests walking at least half a mile towards the south-east corner for the best views of rocks and tracks. Above the playa to the west, Ubehebe Peak rises to 5,678 feet.
Tiles of mud
When dry, the playa is covered in firm mud polygons a few inches across, formed in sets of cracks meeting at 120 degrees. Rain in winter and summer brings a thin wash of water that lays down new mud; a few days after rain, small mud curls known as “corn flakes” form on the surface. Annual precipitation is only 3 to 4 inches, Wikipedia records.
Stolen stones and tyre tracks
In May 2013 park officials investigated the theft of several rocks. In August 2016 someone drove illegally across the playa, leaving about 10 miles of tyre tracks; in March 2018 volunteers cleaned them up with garden tools and 750 gallons of water, Wikipedia records. The Park Service asks visitors never to move or remove a rock, never to drive on the playa and to keep off it when wet, because muddy footprints scar it for years.
Tracks left by stones moved on melting ice, 20 December 2013, as filmed by the team that solved the puzzle (PLOS ONE, 2014).
Photograph: R. D. Norris, J. M. Norris, R. D. Lorenz, J. Ray and B. Jackson · CC BY 1.0
The Grandstand's dark boulders at the edge of the cracked playa.
Photograph: Daniel Mayer · Death Valley NP - Racetrack Playa - Grandstand - closeup · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped
- Carry a spare tyre, then another, a full tank and twice the water you think, and tell someone where you have gone.
- Watch one move. (Waited all afternoon. Moved to a cold winter morning, with a flask and more patience.)
- Keep off the playa when it is wet, and walk lightly when it is not.
- Leave every rock where it stopped. It is not finished.
- Drive only on the road, and never, ever onto the playa.
A sailing stone and its track. Somewhere on the southern part of the playa lies a rock, broken from the surrounding mountains, at the end of a shallow groove in the mud that may run for hundreds of feet, straight, curved or doubling back. Each track was cut on a winter’s day when a thin sheet of ice, floating on a pond only inches deep, was pushed by a light wind into the rock and carried it slowly forward. When the water dried, the groove stayed. Rocks may sit for a decade or more without moving.
Tally, in the marginA rock trailing a groove like a snail’s, which is a ridiculous thing for a rock to have. It was a long while until it dawned on me that the groove was the interesting part, and the rock had merely signed it.
Getting there
How to get there. By road, and only in the right vehicle. From the park’s North Highway, the Racetrack road begins near Ubehebe Crater: 20 miles to Teakettle Junction, then 6 more to the Grandstand. The Park Service warns that the road is rough and remote, that four-wheel drive, high clearance and heavy-duty tyres are usually required, that standard rental vehicles are not recommended and often get flat tyres, and that the drive from Furnace Creek takes at least three and a half hours each way.
When to go. The cooler months, from autumn to spring, avoid the extreme summer heat; the Park Service urges extreme caution on this road in summer. Check the Park Service’s road-status page before going: on 7 October 2026 its list of closed roads (updated 28 September) did not include the Racetrack road, but listed the Hunter Mountain road, the back way in from the south, as closed. A forum report of December 2025 described access as from the north only (indexed). Storms can close the road at any time.
What to arrange ahead. The right vehicle, a good spare tyre, plenty of fuel, water and food, because there is no cell coverage; the Park Service says not to attempt the trip without plenty of fuel and water. The park entrance pass is $30 per private vehicle for seven days; the park takes no cash. The Park Service also points to Bonnie Claire Playa, on Bureau of Land Management land beside Highway 72 near the park boundary, as an easier place to see sliding-stone tracks.
Safety. The State Department’s travel advisories cover other countries, so none applies here; the hazards are the park’s own. Death Valley is the hottest, driest and lowest of the national parks, Wikipedia records. On the Racetrack road, the Park Service says, be prepared to spend the night if your vehicle breaks down. Driving off the established roads is prohibited.
Mark this place
Common questions
Where is Racetrack Playa?
Racetrack Playa is a dry lake in the Racetrack Valley, in the north-west of Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California. It is reached by a rough dirt road that starts near Ubehebe Crater and runs 26 miles to the Grandstand, at the playa’s north end.
How do the rocks move on Racetrack Playa?
The rocks of Racetrack Playa are pushed by thin sheets of ice. In December 2013 a team led by Richard Norris watched a shallow pond on the playa freeze overnight and break up in the sun; light winds drove ice panels less than a quarter of an inch thick into the rocks, which slid a few inches a second (PLOS ONE, 2014).
How big are the sailing stones of Death Valley?
The sailing stones of Racetrack Playa range from small pebbles to rocks of up to about 700 pounds (320 kg), the National Park Service says. Their tracks can run for hundreds of feet across the playa.
Can you drive a normal car to Racetrack Playa?
The National Park Service does not recommend it. The road to Racetrack Playa usually needs four-wheel drive, high clearance and heavy-duty tyres; standard rental vehicles are not recommended and often get flat tyres, and there is no cell coverage.
Is the road to Racetrack Playa open?
On 7 October 2026 the National Park Service’s list of closed Death Valley roads, updated 28 September 2026, did not include the Racetrack road, but the Hunter Mountain road, a southern route, was closed. Road conditions change after storms; check the park’s road-status page first.
When did scientists first see the Racetrack rocks move?
Richard and James Norris first saw rocks move on Racetrack Playa in December 2013, after setting up cameras, a weather station and GPS-tagged rocks in 2011. On 21 December 2013 they watched ice break up and push rocks across the playa.
Is it illegal to take a rock from Racetrack Playa?
Yes. The National Park Service prohibits moving or removing any rock at Racetrack Playa, and driving on the playa or anywhere off established roads. Park officials investigated thefts of rocks in 2013, and in 2016 someone left about 10 miles of illegal tyre tracks.
What is the Grandstand at Racetrack Playa?
The Grandstand is a large outcrop of dark quartz monzonite rising from the north end of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park, at the end of the 26-mile road from Ubehebe Crater. The moving rocks are about two miles further south.