Red Amphitheater is a hike that I first wrote a report about after hiking in the area on October 20, 2007. However, I never felt good about the report, because the hike didn't really go anywhere or see anything interesting. We had started by driving up through Hole In the Wall and parking just past it. We then hiked the final 2 1/2 miles of the 4WD road and walked into the area marked on maps as "Red Amphitheater". However, maps and online resources don't really reveal the actual location of where Red Amphitheater can be found. Instead, they just kind of generalize by writing the words over a large area. Because of this confusion, we found our hike to be disappointing and we actually all decided to never return to the area again. I remember clearly one of my friends that day saying that our hike had just been a walk through a random stretch of desert with nothing to see. That was a bit of an exaggeration, as we did have nice views of Schwaub Peak during the day and we did find some interesting fossils. But we never did find an area that would qualify as Red Amphitheater. A couple of years later, a regular Death Valley hiker named Chris ended up figuring out where the real Red Amphitheater was. Thus, over four years after our initial hike through the area, we returned to hike there again on December 6, 2011 using the directions he provided. For our updated hike, I charted out a new route which would start at Hwy 190, instead of at Hole In the Wall. The hike would start just inside the eastern park entrance on Hwy 190 at a major bend in the road. This bend is just prior to reaching the turnoff for Dante's View Rd. The Death Valley National Park photo-op sign can be seen from where we parked. Our hike followed the wash up to the left of the base of Pyramid Peak, cut through a small side canyon, attained a ridge, and ultimately dropped down into the Red Amphitheater hiking area. We passed by a rock formation which I had long ago named Strange Place and marked on my map as something neat to check out. Strange Place is interesting because it kind of looks like a triangular shaped rock hut with an entrance cave leading inside. We got some nice pictures of Strange Place and then we proceeded a ways further until we turned up Red Amphitheater Canyon. After winding up the canyon and passing through a fun bouldering section, we arrived at the base of Red Amphitheater. Red Amp is an area of very pretty red cliffs and rock slides. The hike to Red Amp from Hwy 190 is about 5 miles each way. There's nothing really challenging about it. It's just a nice, easy, family friendly hike. This report has been completely revised and contains no elements of my original report. The Google Earth route map below can be enlarged by clicking on it.
Parking at a major bend in the road along Hwy 190 just inside the eastern entrance to the park:
Heading up a wide wash. The only other time I've wandered around this area was when we were looking for wildflowers many years ago:
Interesting formations with a very dramatic view of Pyramid Peak in the distance:
Soon we turned off to the left into a smaller side canyon. This is the view looking back of the Black Mountains:
Pyramid Peak and to the right of it an incredible look at Pyramid Canyon with its narrows and steep elevation gain:
Looking straight up at the top of Pyramid Peak from far below:
Continuing to work our way up the ridge above the side canyon wash:
Tobin just about reaching the top of the ridge:
A stunning view of Schwaub Peak comes into view at the top of the ridge:
Once on top of the ridge, we encountered a long flat area that made walking really easy for quite some time:
We looked off to our left and could see a nice view of Hole In the Wall:
If you look closely here, you can see the faint sheep trail we started following:
Red Amphitheater is actually on the other side of the flat red topped ridge in the distance:
Panoramic view into the Red Amphitheater hiking area (click to enlarge):
A closer look at that flat red topped ridge in the distance:
From the ridge, we needed to drop back down to the wash on the other side. Here we are heading down right above Strange Place:
At the back of Strange Place, which is just an informal name I long ago gave to this rock formation:
Three views of Strange Place, a triangular shaped rock formation with a cave like entrance:
After checking out Strange Place, we continued on towards the next side canyon to the right far in the distance:
Once again an outstanding view of Schwaub Peak:
Tobin approaching the entrance to Red Amphitheater Canyon:
From the mouth, this canyon looks steep and intimidating. But it's not really that bad:
The wash starts out as a gentle climb with few obstacles to slow you down:
Gradually, the wash becomes littered with boulders along the way:
After a while, the boulders get so large that some of them have to be easily climbed to get through:
A majestic peak above the wash of Red Amp Canyon:
Our first view of Red Amphitheater up ahead:
Getting even closer as the canyon narrowed down:
We could see that the red colors, cliffs, and shale up ahead looked to be very scenic:
Final bend before reaching our destination:
The next three pictures show some close-ups of Red Amphitheater and the colorful red rock and cliffs found there:
Panoramic of Red Amphitheater taken from the wash looking up (click to enlarge):
Panoramic of Red Amphitheater taken from the opposite hillside (click to enlarge):
Two pictures of some interesting rocks with bubble like shapes found on the surface:
Three final pictures of Red Amp before heading back:
In the distance, we are heading towards Strange Place (the triangular shaped rock) and the ridge above it: