Many people consider Fall Canyon to be the best canyon in Death Valley. This point was emphasized a few years ago when the First Lady of the United States came to Death Valley for a visit. As her visit would be short, the question was which two places in Death Valley would she be taken to as representative of the park's beauty? The answer was Fall Canyon and Mosaic Canyon. To the surprise of some, I held off on visiting Fall Canyon for over a decade after first coming to the park. In fact, my first visit to Fall Canyon came in late November of 2008. This is because I always wanted to save some of the best sights in the park for future visits. On each trip, I try to choose one or two major sights, and then spend the rest of my time visiting lesser known places. And that's why Fall Canyon was saved for this particular trip. Joining me for this hike were Daria and John Leidel, who had driven in from Marin County the day before. We can assure you after hiking Fall Canyon that it is an extraordinary place, especially the narrows above the dry fall 2 1/2 miles into the canyon. My only complaint would be the amount of people which we encountered while hiking. We returned to hike Fall Canyon in March of 2011, which was 2 1/2 years after our visit. Once again, we enjoyed the great narrows and had an excellent hike. I also managed to find a unique viewpoint of the narrows after a challenging climb, which you will see in my pictures at the bottom. The next time I hiked Fall Canyon was in December of 2011, but it was a hike into the upper canyon to see the 2nd and 3rd dry falls. My plan, which we executed perfectly, was to hike over from Upper Titus Canyon to Upper Fall Canyon via a side canyon which connects the two. You can check out pictures of that trip on my Upper Fall Canyon report. Click on the Google Earth map below for a larger view of our route.
The pictures in this Trip Report are also available for viewing in a slideshow format. Click the button on the left to watch the slideshow. This allows for viewing larger images with an autoplay option and a full screen option. The pictures may also be viewed in the standard Trip Report format by scrolling down below.
The starting point for the Fall Canyon hike is at the Titus Canyon Road parking lot, which is at the mouth of Titus Canyon. Follow this sign and head north along the trail:
We had to follow this trail for almost one mile before we reached the mouth of Fall Canyon:
Finally we came up on a ridge and could look down into the wash of Fall Canyon:
This was our first view into Fall Canyon:
High cliffs rose above the canyon wall off in the distance:
Daria taking a break while John Leidel caught up:
The walls of the canyon started out quite high from the beginning:
And there were many narrow passages to walk through as well:
Towering and colorful rocks were on display in the canyon:
We passed by this canyon wall which had unique designs and ridges cut into it:
Daria climbed up on a red rock outcropping to get her picture:
The cliffs above were so high that it made us feel small walking through, as seen in the next two pictures:
John continuing to progress up the canyon. It was nice to have him along on the hike, as he has been a Death Valley regular for many years now:
There were many stretches where the walls came together briefly to form narrows:
Steve getting his picture in the early part of Fall Canyon:
Check out the ridges and designs in the next two pictures:
A narrow passageway through the shadows and into the light:
Navigating around a boulder which has fallen into the wash:
Very nice lighting in the canyon with shadows being cast along the wall:
Steve feeling overwhelmed by all the beauty which surrounds him in Fall Canyon:
Continuing on in the canyon as we were now more than halfway to the 1st dry fall:
Epic scenery in Fall Canyon continued to impress us:
The wash winds between canyon walls and very colorful rock outcroppings:
Looking high up as the canyon walls have reached an incredible height above us:
This is the bypass for the 18 foot 1st dry fall. Notice the stacked rocks in the picture, which were put there to help give people a boost. From that point, it's straight up and to the left. The bypass looks a little harder than it actually is. While we were there, there was a group of people who were debating whether or not to try it, and a couple who tried to force their dog to climb the bypass. The dog refused and they finally gave up. But our whole group made it:
In fact, our group made extremely quick work of the bypass. In this photo, John is climbing up:
From the top of the bypass, this is the view looking into the canyon below us:
And this is the 18 foot 1st dry fall which we have bypassed, looking down from the top. Some say that Fall Canyon was named after this fall:
We are now heading into the best part of the entire hike, the narrows above the dry fall:
Look at the amazing contrast of colors on the walls as we began going through the narrows:
Steve getting a picture in this absolutely breathtaking place:
High up in the canyon, the sun was creating a brilliant glow on the walls:
Very few places on earth have the beauty which can be found on these rocks:
Continuing to make our way through the narrows, which were changing every step we would take:
Steve and Daria stopping for pictures at one of their favorite places in the narrows:
The next four photos show you more of the beauty contained in these narrows:
A short time later the canyon opened back up again, but we kept on hiking since there was more to see:
While everybody rested, I decided to continue going even farther, as the next two photos reveal:
Soon I entered another section of the narrows, equal in beauty to the ones from a few minutes earlier:
The next three photos show you what I'm talking about. These polished colorful narrows were stunning:
The canyon opened up again, so this is where I stopped and headed back down towards the rest of the group. But there is much more to see in Fall Canyon beyond here:
Notice in this picture how you can see the narrows beginning to rise up and take form:
Walls were smooth to the touch and it was cooler inside the narrows than in the rest of the canyon:
The reflection of the sun off the canyon walls added to the beauty:
John getting his picture taken in a block-like section of canyon and rocks:
Heading back down the narrows in the next two photos:
Steve and Daria getting one final picture together in the first narrows above the dry fall, before heading back to camp for the day:
Steve returning to Fall Canyon in March 2011 pictured here in the narrows above the 1st dry fall:
Zoomed view from my top secret narrows overlook point:
And a full shot showing how gorgeous these narrows are from my secret vantage point:
Senta and Kathy heading through the narrows as I look down upon them. The walls of the Fall Canyon narrows really make them look small:
Three final pictures of Steve during his return hike to Fall Canyon:
And we end with a teaser photo from my Upper Fall Canyon trip report. This shows the 2nd major dry fall of Fall Canyon:
