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Teakettle Junction
Hiking Around Las Vegas, Death Valley National Park
Teakettle Junction
Teakettle Junction
March 2003

Overview

Teakettle Junction is one of those odd cultural sites in the desert that acts as a strong vortex sucking people from all over the world to the remote intersection of two dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. Well, not really in the middle of nowhere, it is located deep in the heart of Death Valley National Park and surrounded by the Death Valley Wilderness Area. How it got the name probably is lost to history, but now people bring new and old teakettles to adorn the sign. Some people write messages on the kettles, but far more write on paper and place their message inside the kettles. I'm sure the messages bring good luck, at least to the teakettles, because this is the sort of thing the National Park Service normally would discourage -- but they don't!

Link to map.

Watch Out

This area is safe, but watch for people driving too fast on "Racetrack" road. Ensure that your spare tire is in good condition, and bring plenty of water. For details of issues associated with the journey, see the Racetrack Road webpage.

Getting to Teakettle Junction

Teakettle Junction is located along Racetrack Road in the north end of Death Valley National Park, about 5 hours northwest of Las Vegas.

From town, drive out to Death Valley. From the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (Table 1, Site 0712), drive north about 50 miles to the Grapevine Ranger Station. Continue north for 0.2 miles, then turn left onto Ubehebe Crater Road and drive northwest for 5.7 miles to Racetrack Road (Site 0756). Turn right onto Racetrack Road and drive 19.5 miles to Teakettle Junction (Site 0757), which has a well-adorned road sign. For details of the journey, see the Racetrack Road webpage.

Teakettle Junction
February 2011
Teakettle Junction
February 2011
Teakettle Junction
Inspecting the kettles (February 2011)
Teakettle Junction
Self-portrait in teakettle (February 2011)
Teakettle Junction
Field trip for a photography class (March 2008)
Teakettle Junction
Photography class (Lesson #1: don't shoot towards sun (March 2008)
Teakettle Junction
Field trip for a photography class (March 2008)
Teakettle Junction
Field trip for a photography class (March 2008)
Teakettle Junction
February 2008
Teakettle Junction
February 2008
Teakettle Junction
February 2008
Teakettle Junction
February 2008
Teakettle Junction
December 2002
Teakettle Junction
December 2002

Table 1. Highway Coordinates Based on GPS Data (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download Highway GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.

Site # Location Latitude (N) Longitude (W) Easting Northing Elevation (ft) Verified
0712 Furnace Creek Visitor Center 36.46159 116.86574 512030 4034954 -186 Yes
0756 Ubehebe Crater Rd at Racetrack Rd 37.01291 117.45699 459345 4096199 2,515 Yes
0757 Racetrack Rd at Teakettle Junction 36.76008 117.54142 451674 4068192 4,143 Yes

Happy Hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240324

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