King of the Hammers The Off-Road Event That Built a Culture

Evan Walsh . April 14, 2025 . Events

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A Culture Piece

Once a year, 100,000+ people from all over the world flock to a lakebed in the Southern California desert for an event that has changed industry, racing, and offroad culture. Often a culture will dictate and control it’s events, but in the case of The King of The Hammers, a single event has created a culture of its own and influenced the industry around it.

Back in 2007 Dave Cole had a dream and with the help of Jeff Knoll, they invited roughly 50 of their rock crawling competitor friends out to Johnson Valley California for a “race”. 12 guys showed up and 18 years later, we have one of the largest offroad events and races in the world with classes of offroad vehicles specifically designed and built to tackle the tough terrain and rock sections of this now notorious racecourse.

I personally have been attending King of The Hammers the past 7 years and have been absolutely stoked to see how it has grown and created its own culture within the offroad market. Where else can you see vehicles that are both good at going fast through the desert while also tackling some of the roughest rock crawling trails in the country? Where else can you see people from all walks of life enjoy each other and relate through an offroad event? This event was built for anyone and everyone. Not to mention Johnson Valley is a mecca for offroad enthusiasts of all types so in my opinion Dave and Jeff couldn’t have chosen a better spot to start a revolution in offroad culture and racing. Additional activations and attractions have naturally built themselves into the event such as the infamous Ultra3 three-wheeler race, backdoor shootout, and the nightly party’s going on at the famous Chocolate Thunder trail where enthusiasts gather to cheer each other on and attempt to conquer the big rocks while also being a little risky in their efforts. As a spectator, you can climb up into the rocks, crack a cold one and watch the madness unfold in real time.

By now, most people in the offroad world know what King of The Hammers is, and it has attracted anyone and everyone to come and attend. You don’t have to have anything fancy to be a part of the event either. As you navigate the sea of campers and motorhomes, you will see all walks of life, from the guy with a tent and a truck, to the Family with a million-dollar motorhome and all the toys. You will also see some vehicles that are a bit out of the ordinary as this event is unique enough to even attract the kooks and their one-off builds. It attracts families, couples, newbies, veterans, foreigners and even people who have no interest in off roading or car culture in general. That’s the influence this event has not only on car culture, but American Culture overall. People like to call it the Burning Man of offroad, and I couldn’t agree more. My wife and I use it to escape from the everyday mondain of ordinary life and give ourselves a break to meet new friends, rekindle with old ones and have one hell of a time. I always tell people that you should experience this event at least once, as it’s one of the most unique and fun things you can do off pavement. You’re going to have a good time, see some cool stuff, and meet some very interesting people. King of The Hammers is good for the soul, and it’s even better for car culture. I hope it never dies, and I will be attending every year until it does.

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