Two men were illegally off-roading at Death Valley National Park when their vehicles got stuck in the mud, damaging the protected land, California rangers said.

The truck they hired for help also became lodged in it, officials said.

The two men were off-roading in a Porsche SUV on Dec. 22, the National Park Service said in a Dec. 29 news release.

They were driving for about 2 miles toward a salt flat near Badwater Basin when they became stuck 200 yards away from the road, park officials said.

Park rangers told the men park staff would need to “monitor the extraction” of their vehicle. Instead, the men hired a person in a truck to tow the SUV out of the mud, rangers said.

This truck also got trapped in the mud, officials said. A tow truck helped the truck out of the area a few days later. The men dug holes and laid down traction, which helped them get the Porsche unstuck, officials said.

A few days later, on Dec. 27, a man driving a BMW SUV drove over a parking lot curb and went a half mile “through Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes before getting stuck in sand,” rangers said. The vehicle was towed out the next day.

The three drivers who got stuck in the mud were cited and face “mandatory court appearances,” park officials said.

Off-roading damages fragile ecosystems

Off-roading in Death Valley is prohibited, according to park officials.

It damages fragile plant and animal ecosystems, leaves scarring on the environment, endangers wildlife, disrupts soil and pollutes water sources, officials said.

The national park has 3.2 million acres of wilderness and thousands of miles of paved and dirt roads for drivers to travel on, according to park officials.

If someone drives off-road, they can face a citation up to $5,000 or six months in jail. The visitor will also have to pay the cost of towing.

The national park experienced more than 1,100,000 visitors in 2022.

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