Death Valley – Part 2 – Our Favorite Hikes

We finally made it to Death Valley towards the end of our 2021 travels. If you haven’t read part 1 the must see sites post, click HERE to start at the beginning!

Our visit covered a lot and I mean a lot of ground. We did multiple sites, hikes and jeep trails. Breaking up the visit in logical groups seemed to make the most sense for a series of posts.

What We’ll Cover

There was so much we did that I’ll cover the trip in a few posts which will cover:

• The Must See Sites
• Our Favorite Hikes
• The Far Away Sites
• Free Camping and Jeep Trail

The categories are helpful to focus in on how you may want to plan a trip. The Must See Sites is up first and if you only have a day in the park or even just passing through, these are the more popular and logistically closer together so you can see them in your days visit. This post covers hikes that we chose each one offering something unique. Each one made for a pleasant trek and a way to get up close to the diversity this park offers.

Our Favorite Hikes

Mosaic Canyon Hike

Mosaic Canyon Hike is a moderate to difficult 4 mi out and back showcasing slot canyon and mosaic rock formations.  First slot canyon is only 0.5 miles in which can make for a shorter and easier hike.  We enjoyed not only the slots but also the variety of stone including the  white, smooth and slippery stone that I needed to scoot down instead of walk.  Road to trail is near Stovepipe Wells.

Darwin Falls Hike

Darwin Falls is a moderate  2 mile out and back hike ending at a small water fall.  As you get deeper into the canyon vegetation, rocks, stream crossings and rocks made it difficult to proceed.  We ended up not proceeding as I’m not good with rock scrambling.  In the middle of this vast desert and hottest place there’s a source of water enabling life.  This is on the west side of the park near Panamint Springs.

We did not make it to the main falls as the trail required traversing a large set of boulders which I wasn’t quite up to. The walk as you leave the large wash into the shade of the tree lined canyon and got to listen to the water was still quite satisfying.

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge is a 1 mile easy trail showcasing the bridge formation but also great dry waterfalls carved into the cliffs.  Nice walking area that’s easy for everyone but for some reason, I twisted my ankle and hit the ground tearing my favorite hiking pants in the process.  Natural Bridge trail head is along the Badwater Basin road and can easily be done while visiting 2 of our 4 must see sites.

There are many more hikes and visiting the NPS website before hand and the visitor center at Furnace Creek helped us narrow down our choices.  Much will depend on how much time you have and how many areas you can actually get to.  The park is huge and there’s a lot of driving between these specific hikes.

Video

Here’s a 1 minute clip on YouTube: