What to Bring to King of the Hammers?
Events
- Sponsor
- OPTIMA Batteries
- Location
- Johnson Valley, CA
The King of the Hammers, powered by OPTIMA Batteries is definitely a "must-see" event for any motorsports enthusiast. We like to say it's a race like no other in a place like no other. However, because of those unique attributes, it typically requires a little more thought and planning than a typical motorsports outing. First of all, it's in the middle of the Mojave desert, making it only convenient to two things- dust and rocks. Don't bring anything you really care about, especially if you don't want it to get dirty.
What to Drive to King of the Hammers
While Hammertown is located on a (usually) dry lake bed, you can (typically) drive just about any type of vehicle there and as you can see from the gallery below, we've seen a little bit of everything. However, sometimes somewhat normal-looking cars are driven to Hammertown to participate in a Gambler 500 race and usually don't leave under their own power. If you want to go anywhere much beyond Hammertown, you'll probably want to bring some kind of vehicle that is more capable of being driven in an offroad environment. There may be some vendors willing to rent UTVs, but expect to pay a premium on the lake bed. If you don't have access to such a vehicle, bring comfortable shoes that are designed for use in rugged terrain.
What to Wear to King of the Hammers
You'll also want to dress accordingly. The closest town to find weather information on your phone is probably Landers, California. As this blog is being written in early-December, the forecasted high temperature there over the next ten days is 68° and the forecasted low is 34°. It may end up being warmer or colder by 10-20 degrees during the King of the Hammers in late-January and early-February. You may strip down to a sweatshirt or t-shirt during the day and bundle up with a hat and gloves at night.
It doesn't rain often at King of the Hammers, but when it does, it creates a mess. It is often windy though, so dressing in layers and wearing a windbreaker are a good idea. Once thousands of vehicles (not including everything racing) start driving around, the dust usually kicks up quite a bit, so lots of folks wear masks or gaiters and some wear goggles, especially if they are driving around in open vehicles, like UTVs, motorcycles or ATVs. If you have a powersports vehicle, you can bring it and use it, but everyone in the vehicle will need to be wearing a helmet of some kind and law enforcement does routinely patrol and enforce those rules.
What to Eat at King of the Hammers
You don't have to bring any food to eat or anything to drink to King of the Hammers, because there are plenty of vendors selling all kinds of food and drinks. However, you are driving out into the desert, so bringing some food and water along is probably a good idea. We're also not aware of any vendors who are open 24 hours a day either and it's possible you'll find yourself staying out there late into the night and getting hungry. If you have room for a cooler, fill it and bring it.
Where to Stay at King of the Hammers
Because the King of the Hammers is in the middle of the desert and it's such a long drive to get there from anywhere else, most folks make a trip out of it and don't just stay for the day. If that's the case for you, you'll need somewhere to stay. Since there are no permanent structures on the lake bed, you'll need to bring your own or drive back to somewhere like Victorville and grab a hotel room or AirBnB.
You can tent camp at King of the Hammers and some people do, but we have to believe they have warm sleeping bags, because it does get cold at night. It can get (or stay) loud after dark too, so bring some earplugs if you're a light sleeper. A lot of folks bring RVs and if you don't own one, there are places that will rent them to you, some even knowing you're going to bring them out into the desert, where they will likely get caked with dust inside and out.
What Else to Bring to King of the Hammers
You won't find much cell phone reception at King of the Hammers, but your cell phone will be looking for it and eating up your battery life as it searches and competes for bandwidth with thousands of other reception-starved phones. You may want to bring a spare battery pack to keep your phone topped off for those rare moments when you find a two-bar bush.
Because King of the Hammers takes place in the desert, there are no trees, so if you want to build a campfire (responsibly) to stay warm, you'll probably want to bring some firewood. There may be a few folks out there selling firewood, but expect to pay a premium on the lake bed.
Likewise, there are no gas stations anywhere near King of the Hammers. You'll have no trouble getting in and out of Johnson Valley on one tank of gas (YMMV), but if you plan on doing some extra driving in the desert, be sure to bring enough fuel. If you bring an EV, be sure to get friendly with the OPTIMA crew, as we typically have chargers on site.
Everyone in attendance at King of the Hammers is also a guest of the Bureau of Land Management and there are more than a few folks, who would rather not see any humans or vehicles of any kind being driven on public lands. Please don't give anyone a reason not to have this event next year. Bring empty bags for garbage, use them and tread lightly! See more of King of the Hammers here.
When is King of the Hammers and Why Won't You Tell us the Date?
This blog describes what to bring to the King of the Hammers and that information is relatively-constant, but the dates change every year. If you're serious enough about attending, you'll probably buy tickets, which will force you to find out the dates.
We could update this blog every year when the new dates are announced, but this event takes place in the harsh environment of the Mojave desert. Even with all the amenities provided in Hammertown, people are still venturing into the desert and there are plenty of opportunities for someone to get into dangerous situations. If you can't navigate the Internet well enough to figure out when the King of the Hammers dates are each year, we have serious concerns that you might not be able to navigate the Mojave desert safely. We hope you figure it out and we hope to see you in Hammertown!
What to Drive to King of the Hammers
While Hammertown is located on a (usually) dry lake bed, you can (typically) drive just about any type of vehicle there and as you can see from the gallery below, we've seen a little bit of everything. However, sometimes somewhat normal-looking cars are driven to Hammertown to participate in a Gambler 500 race and usually don't leave under their own power. If you want to go anywhere much beyond Hammertown, you'll probably want to bring some kind of vehicle that is more capable of being driven in an offroad environment. There may be some vendors willing to rent UTVs, but expect to pay a premium on the lake bed. If you don't have access to such a vehicle, bring comfortable shoes that are designed for use in rugged terrain.
What to Wear to King of the Hammers
You'll also want to dress accordingly. The closest town to find weather information on your phone is probably Landers, California. As this blog is being written in early-December, the forecasted high temperature there over the next ten days is 68° and the forecasted low is 34°. It may end up being warmer or colder by 10-20 degrees during the King of the Hammers in late-January and early-February. You may strip down to a sweatshirt or t-shirt during the day and bundle up with a hat and gloves at night.
It doesn't rain often at King of the Hammers, but when it does, it creates a mess. It is often windy though, so dressing in layers and wearing a windbreaker are a good idea. Once thousands of vehicles (not including everything racing) start driving around, the dust usually kicks up quite a bit, so lots of folks wear masks or gaiters and some wear goggles, especially if they are driving around in open vehicles, like UTVs, motorcycles or ATVs. If you have a powersports vehicle, you can bring it and use it, but everyone in the vehicle will need to be wearing a helmet of some kind and law enforcement does routinely patrol and enforce those rules.
What to Eat at King of the Hammers
You don't have to bring any food to eat or anything to drink to King of the Hammers, because there are plenty of vendors selling all kinds of food and drinks. However, you are driving out into the desert, so bringing some food and water along is probably a good idea. We're also not aware of any vendors who are open 24 hours a day either and it's possible you'll find yourself staying out there late into the night and getting hungry. If you have room for a cooler, fill it and bring it.
Where to Stay at King of the Hammers
Because the King of the Hammers is in the middle of the desert and it's such a long drive to get there from anywhere else, most folks make a trip out of it and don't just stay for the day. If that's the case for you, you'll need somewhere to stay. Since there are no permanent structures on the lake bed, you'll need to bring your own or drive back to somewhere like Victorville and grab a hotel room or AirBnB.
You can tent camp at King of the Hammers and some people do, but we have to believe they have warm sleeping bags, because it does get cold at night. It can get (or stay) loud after dark too, so bring some earplugs if you're a light sleeper. A lot of folks bring RVs and if you don't own one, there are places that will rent them to you, some even knowing you're going to bring them out into the desert, where they will likely get caked with dust inside and out.
What Else to Bring to King of the Hammers
You won't find much cell phone reception at King of the Hammers, but your cell phone will be looking for it and eating up your battery life as it searches and competes for bandwidth with thousands of other reception-starved phones. You may want to bring a spare battery pack to keep your phone topped off for those rare moments when you find a two-bar bush.
Because King of the Hammers takes place in the desert, there are no trees, so if you want to build a campfire (responsibly) to stay warm, you'll probably want to bring some firewood. There may be a few folks out there selling firewood, but expect to pay a premium on the lake bed.
Likewise, there are no gas stations anywhere near King of the Hammers. You'll have no trouble getting in and out of Johnson Valley on one tank of gas (YMMV), but if you plan on doing some extra driving in the desert, be sure to bring enough fuel. If you bring an EV, be sure to get friendly with the OPTIMA crew, as we typically have chargers on site.
Everyone in attendance at King of the Hammers is also a guest of the Bureau of Land Management and there are more than a few folks, who would rather not see any humans or vehicles of any kind being driven on public lands. Please don't give anyone a reason not to have this event next year. Bring empty bags for garbage, use them and tread lightly! See more of King of the Hammers here.
When is King of the Hammers and Why Won't You Tell us the Date?
This blog describes what to bring to the King of the Hammers and that information is relatively-constant, but the dates change every year. If you're serious enough about attending, you'll probably buy tickets, which will force you to find out the dates.
We could update this blog every year when the new dates are announced, but this event takes place in the harsh environment of the Mojave desert. Even with all the amenities provided in Hammertown, people are still venturing into the desert and there are plenty of opportunities for someone to get into dangerous situations. If you can't navigate the Internet well enough to figure out when the King of the Hammers dates are each year, we have serious concerns that you might not be able to navigate the Mojave desert safely. We hope you figure it out and we hope to see you in Hammertown!