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.
kid friendly
hiking
nature trips
walking
views
no dogs
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.
Beautiful hike add complexity by going down to the bottom of the crater
Did 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!
I'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!
This 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.
Date 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.
Awesome. This might be the best hike in Death Valley.
Very cool. Pretty interesting hike.
Fairly easy hiking. Amazing views. Otherworldly looking into the volcano.
This 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.
Death 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.
Amazing views, did not go into the crater, just around it. looked too Steep. moderate, but rewarding. it's a long drive to the crater. went in mid September around 1030-1130, pretty warm!
Fun hike to explore a pretty cool crater. It's about 500 feet deep. You can go down the crater to the bottom towards the end of the trail. I chose not to as it's a pretty steep hike back up
Pretty cool feature, don't have to go all the way around if you don't wish to, kinda like walking on sand, can present a challenge
Slide your way down into Ubehebe Crater via right-most trail from the lot, so fun! Hard, slippery trek back up though taking the least-steep trail out. Walking the perimeter isn't hard. It's fairly windy so you don't get hot but its like walking through sand so wear ankle-high boots/shoes if you don't want rocks in your shoes. Nice views
ANGIE Y.
Wow! Great views from short hike up hill, or you can hike around the crater. This is a must-see. It is fascinating and unique.
Interesting area. It had rained a couple days before I got there so the mud at the bottom was moist & the bushes had "greened" some. If your up to it, it's definitely worth going to the bottom.....just keep in mind the walk back up is no joke.
You get better views of the crater on the hike and you come to realize its immense size.
I.m. P.
Very cool trail walking along the rim.
Amazing view! From the parking lot, you can see the vast valley and towering mountains all around you. It's a fascinating site to see! The loop is easy but make your trip there more worth it and exciting by hiking down into the crater. Hiking up is obviously hard because of the steepness and the soft volcanic rocks that you'll be hiking on. It was my favorite thing I did in Death Valley!
Make it a point to hike down into the crater but be warned, hiking out on loose lava rock combined with the steep grade are not for the faint hearted. Difficulty: Demanding. Views from inside the crater: Amazing.
