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Canyoneering Route Description

Willow Canyon - 3B III
Death Valley National Park, California.

Pictures 04-19-09

Quick Facts

04-19-09, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 7 hours)

Distance - 4.6 miles Total, 1.5 miles Technical
Rappels - 11 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet.
Elevation Range - 2640 to -246 Feet
Shuttle Required -Yes 56.5 Miles Vehicle - 4WD Permit Required - No.

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the technical mileage or the gear used list is determined.

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 90 feet and 50 feet of 1” webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Willow Canyon is a treat that contrasts with other canyons in the Black Mountains of Death Valley.  It is one of the few with flowing water.  There is more vegetation than the other canyons and a few water falls to rappel down to keep it fun and cool.  You will only get wet up to your knees with some possible splashing up to waist high.  

The park service has been working to eradicate tamarisk in the canyon.  It had grown in very dense and made travel down canyon a maddening bushwhacking experience.  A large portion of the tamarisk was cut out as of April, 2009.  

Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking

To get to the Trailhead

From the Bad Water parking lot, drive south on highway 178 approximately 48.1 miles to a turn off on the left (north west) to a dirt road (ExtFrnCk-178).  The turn off will have a sign saying Furnace Creek Wash Road (on some maps this is labeled as Greenwater Valley Road).  As a side note: shortly before reaching the turn off will be another turn off with the same name to the right (south), note this is not the one you want.   

After turning left onto the dirt road drive north west 10.6 miles to a junction with another dirt road (ExtTwrdGoldVly) and turn left onto the this dirt road.  Drive another 2.5 miles to a fork in the road (ExtGoldValley1) and continue left.  Drive another 5.2 miles to another fork (ExtGoldValley2) and continue right.  Drive another 3.0 miles to another fork (ExtGoldValley3) and continue right.  Drive another 1.7 miles to where the road dead ends at the trailhead for Willow Canyon (tWillowCreek).

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

From the Bad Water parking lot, drive south on highway 178 approximately 14.6 miles to a turn off (extWillowPkBt) on the left (east).  Turn left (east) then drive 0.2 miles to where the road ends at a tee.  Park the exit vehicle anywhere along the tee (pkWillowBt).

Maps

Map showing the drive in to the trailhead.

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Map showing entire route.

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GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:

From the trailhead (tWillowCreek) follow the trail LDC and start up a small hill and stay on canyon left to bypass the first of a few spring and the dense vegetation areas.

About 0.2 from the trailhead the trail drops to the wash then quickly starts back up the left side again to bypass more vegetation (wWillowRP-01).  The trail drops back to the wash about 600 feet later.

Another 0.3 miles the trail bypasses more vegetation and another spring by going high up on the right side of the canyon (wWillowRP-02) then dropping back down to the wash.

The trail is easy to follow and either bypasses or travels through a few more springs and vegetation patches.  There are also a couple of wide open areas along the way.  If you happen to be there when the flowers are in bloom you will get quite a show in these wide open areas as the flowers are absolutely everywhere.

At about 0.9 mile from the trailhead is the first down climb (yWillowTp).  The down climb is very easy and drops down a small water fall about 8 feet tall.  This is the spot I chose to call the top of the technical section.

The Canyon / Technical Section:
After the down climb (yWillowTp) there is another short section of open canyon then a couple more down climbs along the way with more wide open spaces between.

Rap 1 (dWillowR1) is about 0.1 miles down canyon of the drop in.  To get down to the anchor for Rap 1 you will need to down climb about 10 feet RDC.  Rap 1 is anchored from the trunk of a large tamarisk tree.  The tamarisk has been cut down by the park service so it is no longer living.  The trunk was very secure at the time we went through but an alternate anchor may need to be found as the trunk withers away over time and becomes untrustworthy.  Rap 1 drop about 35 feet down a trickling fall over 2 stages of 15 feet and 20 feet.

After rap 1 the trail continues down canyon on the right as it skirts the edges of more vegetation.  Along the way there was a lot of dead tamarisk that had been cut back and left in the canyon.

About 400 feet down canyon of rap 1 is a drop of about 15 feet (wWillowRP-03).  The drop is bypassed by traversing around high LDC along a steeply sloped wall.  After the drop, the canyon starts to take on a more narrow look with the water flowing in a defined stream down the middle.

After going over a few more slopes of rock you soon come to another drop that needs to be down climbed.  This drop is over 2 stages of about 6 feet each.  The first stage is over grown with thick tamarisk preventing access.  The drop can be down climbed by traversing another steeply sloped wall LDC or a tricky down climb right next to the drop RDC.  If the tamarisk is cut back in this area the drop would be much easier to navigate by going right down each of the 6 foot drops.

Rap 2 (dWillowR2-3) is about 0.6 miles down canyon of rap 1.  Rap 2 is anchored from a tamarisk at the top of the rap and drops about 35 feet down a water fall.  Rap 2 can be climbed around RDC if desired.

Rap 3 is right at the bottom of rap 2.  Rap 3 is anchored from a large but dead tamarisk tree.  We backed up the anchor with meat for all but the last person down to be safe.  In the future this anchor should be moved to a “live” tree or some other anchor.  Rap 3 drops about 30 feet over 2 stages of about 15 feet each along a chute with flowing water.

After rap 3 there are a few easy down climbs alongside some waterfalls.  One of these down climbs may have an anchor set for a rap on a tamarisk tree.  Not sure why this anchor was in place as the down climb offers little challenge.

Rap 4 (dWillowR4-5) is about 350 feet down canyon of rap3.  Rap 4 is anchored from a set of bolts RDC.  One of the bolts looks like it has been bent a little and is beginning to rust.  The rap starts down a gentle slope then quickly goes vertical and drops about 80 feet alongside a trickling water fall.  At the bottom of Rap 4 is a large ledge big enough for a very large group.

Rap 5 starts from the ledge at the bottom of rap 4.  Rap 5 is anchored from a tamarisk tree and drops about 70 feet along the lower portion of the trickling water fall.  Rap 5 is slightly sloped most of the way down.

The combination of Rap 4 and Rap 5 is what I believe is labeled as one rap 170 feet long in Chris Brennen’s route description for Willow Canyon.  I chose to label this as two separate rappels since there is plenty of room at the top of rap 5 and there are plenty of natural anchor options (tamarisk tree, large rock / boulder that can be slung and plenty of rocks to build a cairn anchor with).  Treating this as two separate rappels also eliminates the need for two 200 foot ropes.  A single 200 foot rope can be used for the entire canyon instead.

Shortly after rap 5 is a 10 foot water fall down to a small but deep pool.  Traverse the wall LDC to bypass this drop.  After that there are a few more pools to climb around that require little effort to bypass.

Rap 6 (dWillowR6-7) is about 0.2 miles after rap 5.  Rap 6 is anchored from a set of bolts LDC.  The top of Rap 6 looks down climbable but quickly goes vertical as it drops about 60 feet down a water fall to a large ledge.

Rap 7 is right at the bottom of rap 6 and is anchored by a set of bolts RDC.  Rap 7 drops about 70 feet down a wall next to the lower part of the water fall.

Rap 8 (dWillowR8-9) is about 250 feet down canyon from rap 7 with a small pool to climb around to get to the top of Rap 8.  Rap 8 is anchored from a set of bolts LDC.  Rap 8 drops about 60 feet over 2 stages down a water fall with a pool at the top of the second stage.  From the top of the rappel it looks as though you need to drop into the pool at the top of the second stage and get wet to well over your waist.  Looks can be deceiving.  As you get down to the second stage you discover it is easy to walk around the pool and continue on down the second stage.  Looking back at Rap 8 from the bottom has a ghostly look to it with the white stains surrounding the green algae on the walls.

Rap 9 is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 8.  Rap 9 is anchored LDC from a set of bolts and drops about 45 feet down 2 stages (15 feet and 30 feet) along a water fall.  The pool at the top of the second stage is about knee deep as is the pool at the bottom of stage 2.  If you want to stay out of the pools you can do so by staying LDC as you rappel.

After rap 9 is a short down climb around a 15 foot water fall.  Climb around the water fall by traversing the wall LDC.  After the down climb the canyon offers some open wash to walk along as it winds between the high walls.

Rap 10 (dWillowR10) is about 650 feet down canyon of rap 9.  Rap 10 is anchored from a set of bolts LDC.  Rap 10 drops down a sloped water way about 70 feet with a knee deep pool at the bottom.

After rap 10 are a few more easy down climbs around some short waterfalls.  The canyon stays pretty flat bottomed for a way offering the feeling you are almost out.

Rap 11 (dWillowR11) is about 900 feet after rap 10.  Rap 11 is the last rappel of the canyon and is anchored from a set of blots RDC.  Rap 11 drops travels about 90 feet along a sloped water course.

After rap 11 the canyon begins to open up.  About  500 feet down canyon of rap 11 it becomes obvious you are done with the technical section (yWillowBt).

The Exit:
After finishing up with the technical stuff (yWillowBt), follow the canyon until it opens up to the wide open spaces of the valley floor.  Follow the left side and contour around it until you can see the vehicle.  The vehicle (pkWillowBt) will be about 2 miles from the last rappel.

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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