Ubehebe and Little Hebe Crater Trail is a 2.2 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Death Valley, California that offers scenic views and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, and nature trips and is best used from October until April.
Death Valley National Park charges a fee to enter. Fees are $30 per vehicle or $25 per motorcycle. If you are entering on foot, horse, or bike the fee is $15 per person. You can also purchase a park specific annual pass for $55. A hike at the north end of Death Valley who's name is Shoshone for "big basket in the rock." There are wonderful panoramas of the crater from different perspectives. The crater is estimated to be 2,000 years old. The whole area has many craters from its active volcanic period. When you are on the south side of Ubehebe, look south and you'll see Little Ubehebe Crater also called Little Hebe. Little Hebe is a very well defined, almost perfect circle, and is quite interesting to see.
Ubehebe Crater is about 5 miles north of the northernmost entrance to Death Valley National Park. It is not too far from Scotty's Castle so if you make the trip to see the castle, stop by Ubehebe for some glorious geology. If you're hiking to the bottom of the crater, I recommend hiking boots/shoes. You can do it in sneakers, but you're going to have a shoe full of gravel. It finds a way of getting into almost all shoes. If you're doing the base and the rim, do the hike to the bottom and back first when you're freshest. After coming back up that 500 feet, you'll think the rest is a breeze. This is a desert and a brutal location, so I'd recommend this hike only in cooler months. Make sure you have plenty of water. There is no cell phone coverage in this area. There are no bathrooms at the crater.
January 3, 2021Fun little hike with excellent views, which you can make longer with some side trails (with drop-offs on both sides that aren’t scary)
January 1, 2021Very well maintained dirt/volcanic rock trail. Steep in some areas. Be wary of wind gusts.
December 27, 2020December 27, 2020December 25, 2020December 25, 2020
November 27, 2020November 27, 2020Awesome trail, great views and a killer workout! Make sure you take plenty of water and sunscreen. Feel free to follow me on my Instagram account for more dope hiking adventures! @sertanusanmaz
November 5, 2020This place is out of this world. Hiked it at sunset so that was neat, sunrise may have been better though in hindsight. I recorded the full hike in 4k here for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0fs1l7DuJQ&list=PLmZertFtUJJhyNH3OsKA7GLmt4fB7c8uR&index=13
November 4, 2020October 27, 2020So beautiful. Easily one of the coolest sights in DVNP.
March 10, 2020Nice break from other sections of the park. Feels more like being on mars and is nice and quiet. The crater is much much larger than you think and it is not worth going to the bottom. Lovely little stroll around a big ole hole. Do this one relatively early
February 22, 2020This was by far one of my favorite spots in Death Valley. The pictures do not do this crater justice. It is immense! The hike around the rim of the crater is pretty easy.
February 22, 2020Loved this trail. It’s an easy loop up top and a fun but steep climb down and back up.
January 22, 2020We hiked the loop around the rim with a side jaunt to Little Hebe then went down the big crater. Tough slog back up - use the longer less steep trail. Beautiful!
January 12, 2020Beautiful hike add complexity by going down to the bottom of the crater
January 10, 2020I hiked this trail in January 2020. The trail offers remarkable views of the broad volcanic field that surrounds the Ubehebe and Little Hebe Craters. Hiking into and out of the crater was a pleasurable experience itself.
January 2, 2020Did not hike around the rim as we did not have much time, so we just climbed down to the bottom and climbed back up. The climb down was relatively easy. Very steep to climb up, and it was more difficult with loose gravel. The crater itself is very beautiful, and unique (just like every other spot in the beautiful National Park). There was a beautiful small pond at the bottom of the crater from the rain. You need to drive for an hour to get here, but it's definitely worth it!
December 12, 2019I've had the pleasure of doing this one a few times -- once it was very windy, second time a little later in the day so I felt rushed to get it done, and then today I was able to start just after daybreak on a very calm, cool morning. I prefer going CCW around Little Hebe / Ubehebe and back to parking lot. You do a little more climbing early that way, and can save your eyes for the spectacular views. If you want to snag the Ubehebe low-point then by all means have at it, it's much more strenuous then hiking around the craters though! Easy and flat enough for anyone to do (assuming you don't go down Ubehebe), you'll see the foot trail gives the rim a wide berth, be advised!
April 12, 2019This area is about one hour from Furnace Creek Campground. Unfortunately we had scary winds the night before in the campground so when we got here we were not really up for much hiking. Plus it was pretty windy still when we got to the craters so I wasn't comfortable hiking along the rim. I would say it's worth a visit if you're looking to get out of the more popular area. I also got a cracked windshield on the way back so that kind of put a damper on things as well. One thing that stood out were the wild flowers growing in the crater! TIPS: 1. Be prepared for an hour long drive at least. 2. No shade this is a crater so bring plenty of water, sun screen, or a hat.
March 7, 2019Date hiked: (3/7/19) I spent 5 days in the park and I would say this is a must do hike in DV. Scotty's castle is closed and it is very far north from Furnace Creek so this area is a nice break from the more touristy sections of the park -- that is, only if you get here relatively early. I finished this hike at 11:00 am and a tour bus parked and people started pouring out. I did the hike in 1.5 hours. The crater itself is awesome. It's not every day that you get to say you are standing at the base of a once active volcano. This trail should only be considered easy if you don't hike to the base of the crater. The hike out of the base is the steepest hike I've ever done (and I've been on some extremely hard hikes in the country) not to mention that it's basically like hiking in sand.
March 1, 2019Awesome. This might be the best hike in Death Valley.
February 21, 2019Very cool. Pretty interesting hike.
January 5, 2019Fairly easy hiking. Amazing views. Otherworldly looking into the volcano.
December 31, 2018This hike will have ya sayin ooohbabybaaaby even tho it’s pronounced yuubeebee and little heebee just a tip. It’s dope, honestly the highlight is little hebe once you get up on the ridge a bit away from it. You can see the full crater shape and it’s just gorgeous. The larger crater is a giant hole in the ground. Hike down and back up if you hate yourself. Scotty’s Castle is closed atm so I’d only do this one if you’ve already seen all the big hits in the park since it’ll take you 2 hours round trip of driving to get to it. If you have a serious 4x4 there’s the racetrack up there, but I wasn’t even tryna see if my crappy Outback could make it over those crazy Death Valley roads.
May 12, 2018Best hike we did so far in Death Valley. The crater itself is huge and the smaller once are pretty too. The hike is easy and we were alone there. Less crowded than other park sections. Highly recommend.
November 19, 2017Death Valley NP is so diverse and this hike is a great example of how to experience its diversity. We hiked around Ubehebe and Little Hebe but also ventured off the trail at various points. It's easy to make your way back to the trail and not get lost. It's also fun to see folks driving out to The Racetrack. I highly recommend wearing gaiters because the soil is mostly very small rocks.
