Desolation Canyon Trail is a 3.6 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Death Valley, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from November until April.
Death Valley National Park charges a fee to enter. Fees are $30 per vehicle or $25 per motorcycle. If you are entering on foot, horse, or bike the fee is $15 per person. You can also purchase a park specific annual pass for $55.
California Travel and Tourism Commision, P.O. Box 1499 , Sacramento, CA, 95812-1499, Phone: 800-862-2543
Directions from Highway 190: From Highway 190, travel 3.7 miles south on Badwater Road. Turn on to Desolation Canyon Road (not marked, look closely for it) and follow the road to the end of the left fork.
Very gradual incline up until the very end where it got steeper for a little bit! Grand views at the top...make sure you veer right at the end to see them- You could see right down into Artist’s Drive! We practically had the entire trail to ourselves...it was so peaceful!
Beautiful canyon that has the beautiful colors of green hematite. Gorgeous views of the valley below once you get to the top. Has a few places to rock scramble & the ascent to the top is steep.
Did on December 12, 2020 Wow. One of my favorite hikes at DVNP. You drive up a gravel road, no 4x4 required or needed. The parking lot is circular and small. No toilets at this location. You’ll see a brown trail marker near the exit of the parking circle. Enter and keep to your right to enter the canyon wash. You will enter the canyon around +/- 1/4 mile. OMG, the color hues on the canyon walls and the rock scrambling up in several locations and then making it to the top to see the amazing views. Breathtaking. There are many trails at the top allowing you to make this trail longer.
Had some extra time before the sunset for a quicker hike and decided to come here and was super glad I did!! Trail was narrow at some points which gives it an otherworldly feeling. A couple small rock climbs and a few more that you can make your own from the surrounding walls. I didn’t go up the second incline once I was at the top - wanted to catch the sunset elsewhere. But where I did stop was a gorgeous view and a nice place to sit for a few breaths of air after the slight incline of the last 300 feet or so. I would hike this again!
Some really steep parts, mainly at end. Some “rock walls” to “climb” - one about 8 ft but the rest were smaller. But those just made it more fun. Really cool terrain - surreal. We added the hill at the end to get to the viewpoint - great view and so peaceful. Highly recommend.
Awesome hike! Very few people out, I bit of shade during midday but mostly exposed. Some fun little mini rock climbs
Awesome trail and less traveled than the Golden Canyon down the road. It's actually 4 miles round trip if you hike all the way up to the prominence which is totally worth it for the spectacular view. About half way is an 8 foot dry fall that you need to climb. Not easy but doable by most experienced hikers. I got my 70 year old legs up there and my wife too though she was pretty scared going up and even more so coming down. After that there are several rises but with plenty of foot and hand holds so if you can do the 8 footer you can do the rest.
Amazing hike! This one avoids all the crowds of Golden Canyon, but you still get to hike through a colorful canyon and get an incredible view at the end! A couple of scramble spots, nothing too strenuous
Great hike, amazing views at the top. 1 approximately 8 foot wall to climb and 2 other smaller obstacles to climb. My 6 year old and 4 year old managed it with some assistance, but they are experienced hikers.
Awesome views from the top! Took us an hour, forty-five minutes. So glad we ended our DVNP trip with this one!