Canyoneering Route Description
Darwin Falls Canyon - 3B II
Death Valley National Park, California.
03-27-10, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 5.5 hours) Time
includes walking shuttle portion of driving route.
04-24-11, 6 people, 1Day (Travel time in route 3.8 hours) Start from
lower trailhead walking shortcut route.
Loop Route on foot from Lower Trailhead
Time Required - 4 to 6 hours
Distance - 3.3 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 110 feet.
Elevation Range for loop option on foot - 3450 - 2500 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle -
None
Permit Required - No
Top Down from China Garden using a Shuttle Vehicle.
Time Required - 3 to 4.5 hours
Distance - 2.1 miles Total, 0.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 110 feet.
Elevation Range for shuttle option - 3120 - 2500 Feet
Shuttle Required - Yes 4.7 Miles Vehicle -
High Clearance or 4WD depending on road conditions
Permit Required - No
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 110 feet and 30 feet of one inch webbing for sling placement.
Wet suits are recommended unless you go in the hot part of the
summer. Spring and fall will require wet suits if you want to stay
comfortable.
ATTENTION!!
Death Valley is considering a new permit system in response to the impact of the growing popularity of Canyoneering.
Lets continue to show the park just how respectful we can be to our environment.
Specific issues the park is concerned about:
1. Anchors: Bolting is Illegal in Death Valley National Park! Do Not Add Bolts. Natural anchor options are abundant.
Recent illegal bolts have popped up in Helios and Rainbow Canyons.
2. Poop: Dig a cathole at least 6 inches deep and 200 yards from any water source or campsite. Pack out all toilet paper.
3. Collecting fire wood is illegal, just don't do it!
Other basics:
Avoid walking in water when possible (Willow Canyon, etc).
Hike on durable surfaces and previously worn paths (avoid trampling vegetation or fragile soil crusts).
Pack out all trash including organic material (including seed shells, apple cores, orange peels, etc).
More info can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/backcamp.htm
Lets keep this wonderful resource pristine so that we may continue to enjoy the canyons with limited regulations!
Darwin Falls is what should be classified as an oasis in the desert
route. The route is short and sweet but is full of flowing water
and green vegetation year round. This is in stark contrast to
everything else around it.
The hike up to the lower falls from the bottom is a very popular
hike. That hike allows visitors to see a small portion of the
Darwin Falls Canyon. If visiting Death Valley and you want a short
hike with some good stuff to go see, that would be it.
Another oasis is the China Garden Spring near the top of the Darwin
Falls Canyon. China Garden is another natural spring that runs year
round creating a small green spot in the desert complete with trees,
grasses and a small pond. China Garden is at the top of the Darwin
Falls Canyon route and is where the approach drive ends.
China Garden is a great spot to do lunch and look over the greenery
and check out some mining buildings nearby.
Darwin Falls can be done with or without a shuttle. For the
shuttle version drive a high clearance vehicle 4.7 miles up to China
Garden an leave the entry vehicle. After completing the route drive
another vehicle back up to get the first one.
The other option
is to do Darwin Falls as a loop route by taking a 2 mile hiking
route around to the top. If doing the hiking route you will
not pass by China Garden. If China Garden is something you
would like to see but are doing the hike route you can take a side
trip of about 1.6 miles round trip to go up and look the area over.
I prefer this route as a loop route on foot to avoid the hassles
involved with a shuttle vehicle. The total route is short and
adding 1.2 more miles of hiking is worth while.
To get to the Trailhead
On foot:
If you plan to do the entire route on foot, drive to the lower
trailhead for Darwin Falls (tDarwinFalls) and park.
By Shuttle:
If you plan to drive up to China Garden and do the shuttle
option for this route, drive to the lower trailhead for Darwin
Falls and drop a your exit vehicle. Then drive the shuttle
vehicle up to China Garden to start the route.
To get to the Lower Trailhead:
From Panamint Springs (lPanamintSpngs) and drive west on highway
190 about 1.0 mile to the turn of for a dirt road heading west (extDarwinFalls).
Turn left (west) onto the dirt road and follow it for about 2.4
miles where you will find a large turn out on the right (north
west) side of the road. This turn out is large enough for 15 or
20 cars and is the lower trailhead for Darwin Falls (tDarwinFalls). You may
find a large number of cars parked here depending on the time of
year. Darwin Falls is a popular hike up the canyon to the lower
falls.
To drive up to China Garden:
From
the lower trailhead for Darwin Falls (tDarwinFalls) continue
south down the dirt road.
0.4 miles from the lower trailhead the dirt road will cross over
a wash (wDarwinDP-01).
0.3 miles farther there will be a turn junction in the road
(wDarwinDP-02). Stay left (south) at this turn off.
0.2 miles farther there will be a fork in the road
(wDarwinDP-03), stay right to stay on the main road.
0.6 miles farther there will be another fork in the road
(wDarwinDP-04), stay right to stay on the main road.
0.1 miles farther there will be a fork with two roads coming in
from the left (wDarwinDP-05). Stay right to stay on the main
road.
0.4 miles farther there will be another fork in the road
(wDarwinDP-06), stay right to stay on the main road.
0.6 miles farther the road tops out then begins to start
descending (wDarwinDP-07).
0.2 farther down there will be a fork with two roads joining in
from the left (wDarwinDP-08). Stay right to stay on the main
road. The road switch backs here turning from south east to
north west.
0.8 miles farther the road drops down into the Darwin Wash
(wDarwinDP-09). Turn right (north west) and follow the road
Down Stream in Darwin Wash. There are a couple other small
roads here that form a turn out. Just continue north west down
the main road.
1.0 miles farther will be the end of the drive at China Garden (pkChinaGarden).
There is a spring here with a small patch of trees and lush
vegetation. It feels like an oasis in the desert. There is a
lot of room for parking here. Also of interest are some old
mine buildings to snoop around.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
If doing this route as a loop on foot no exit vehicle will be
needed.
If you are doing the shuttle option you will first need to drop
a vehicle at the lower trailhead for Darwin Falls as the exit
vehicle before driving up to China Garden.
GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom. For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the
Glossary page.
Click the links for maps of the route.
Map of the
entire route and drive into the route.
Map of the
approaches and canyon.
The Approach via China Garden if you drove up:
When you reach China Garden at the end of the drive to the upper
start for Darwin Falls (pkChinaGarden) take a moment to enjoy the
pond, trees and other vegetation there. This makes a great spot to
have lunch. Also of note in the area are some old mining buildings
to look around at.
From China Garden (pkChinaGarden), turn east and follow the road
farther down into Darwin Wash.
About 800 feet from China Garden will be a gate (wDarwinRP-01).
This gate prevents vehicular travel farther down the canyon.
The wash will wind around a couple corners before reaching a section
of large bushes, trees and grass about 0.5 miles after the gate.
There is a small pond and a lot of vegetation. There are also some
paths leading into the dense vegetation. If you follow these paths
into the vegetation, you will soon find the bushwhacking to be
horrendous. The water and vegetation continue down canyon from here
on.
When you get close to the spring, stay RDC up out of the
vegetation. A trail starts along the RDC side of the canyon
(wDarwinRP-02).
In about 400 feet the trail will cross over a drainage
(wDarwinRP-03). The trail will continue east along the right
(south) side of the wash and stay pretty high up out of the wash and
avoid the very dense vegetation below.
About 350 feet after crossing the shallow drainage, the trail will
meet a much deeper drainage (wDarwinRP-04). Follow about 150 feet
down this deeper, steeper drainage and drop down into Darwin Wash in
the now very dense, lush and wet vegetation (yDarwinFallsTp).
This area is so lush and green it is very difficult to imagine it
exists in the middle of the desert. This is not one little patch of
green with some trickling water. It is a whole lot of green that is
almost jungle and swamp like in nature.
The Approach via the lower trailhead if you do this as a
loop route on foot :
From the lower trailhead (tDarwinFalls) walk the road south.
About 0.4 miles from the trailhead the road will cross over a small
wash (wDarwinDP-01).
Another 0.3 miles south down the road will be a side road on the
right (west) side (wDarwinDP-02). Turn right (west) at this
side road and walk about 200 feet to find the start of a trail on
the right (north) starting up the side of a hill (wDarwinRP-91).
The trail will travers and climb up the side of the hill going
mostly north for about 700 feet before hooking left to the west
(wDarwinRP-92) to continue climbing.
About 0.2 miles up the trail after it turned west will be a fork
(wDarwinRP-93). The forks join back together in about 200 feet
but the better trail is to the right.
About 0.2 miles after the fork the trail gets to a saddle on a ridge
(wDarwinRP-94). There is a fork here. Stay to the right
to continue toward Darwin Falls.
About 0.25 miles farther up the trail will be another saddle
(wDarwinRP-95). From this saddle you can look northwest down a
large drainage and see the green trees and dense vegetation at the
top of Darwin Falls Canyon. It is all down hill from here.
From the saddle (wDarwinRP-95) you will see many trails in the
surrounding area of the large drainage leading down to Darwin Falls.
Turn right and follow down a trail on the north side of the drainage
leading down to the floor of the drainage.
About 0.2 miles down from the saddle the trail will drop down to the
floor of the large drainage (wDarwinRP-96).
After dropping down to the floor of the drainage, follow down the
drainage about 500 feet to where the drainage meets the Darwin Falls
Canyon (yDarwinFallsTp). Optionally you can follow one of a
few trails on the side of the drainage to make travel easier.
Note:
If you want to see China Garden you can take a side trip of about
1.6 miles round trip up canyon to go check it out.
The Canyon / Technical Section:
After dropping down into the main Darwin Falls Wash (yDarwinFallsTp),
you are ready for the real treat of the day. Continue down canyon
navigating vegetation, flowing water and ledges.
A little over 300 feet down canyon will be a drop in the water
course of about 8 feet with a pool at the bottom (wDarwinRP-05). Do
not drop down into this pool or you will be greeted with waist deep
water with a bottom full of very soft mud that will make travel
almost impossible. Instead bypass the drop by going across some
rock ledges RDC. One of the drops along these ledges is a bit
dangerous since the rock is VERY slippery when wet!
After getting around the bypass of the pool, climb RDC higher up
onto a ledge system at the top of the gray rock and below the
brownish red rock of the canyon walls higher up. The top of the
gray rock is a wide open ledge with a lot of sree and larger rock
debris.
About 400 feet down canyon along the ledge at the top of the gray
rock will be the top of a large 2 stage water fall (wDarwinRP-06).
From the water fall continue down canyon along the ledge where the
rock and hill side take on the brownish red color and the slope up
the canyon wall is a gentler. There will be a faint path to follow
but you will need to look close to keep on track.
About 175 feet from the top of the water fall is a down climb that
will lead you down to the canyon floor again (wDarwinRP-07). This
down climb is about 50 feet and is done by dropping down about 3
stages. The top of the down climb is not obvious and you may find
yourself looking around for it. Don’t count on the cairn always
being there.
Once back down on the canyon floor, make your way down canyon about
500 feet to the top of rap 1. A short distance before reaching rap
1 there is a trail on the LDC side of the canyon.
Rap 1 (dDarwinR1) is anchored from a cotton wood tree about 15 feet
back from the drop. Rap 1 drops about 110 feet down along a water
fall to a pool below. Crossing the pool at the bottom of the rap is
easiest by hugging the RDC wall where it is shallowest. You can
stand at the bottom of rap 1 and crossing the pool is only about
chest high if you hug the right wall.
Rap 1 looks good from the top then gets better as you drop down over
the edge. You are rappelling next to and partially into a water
fall, passing a hanging garden on the way down and have a good view
of pools and rock down canyon.
Down canyon of rap 1, the canyon turns right where there is another
drop in the canyon. Bypass this drop by climbing up and over a
ledge system LDC then down a scree slope on the other side back to
the canyon floor.
Rap 2 (dDarwinR2) is about 450 feet down canyon of rap 1. Rap 2 is
anchored in the middle of some vegetation by a small tree and drops
a total of about 50 feet. Rappel half way down rap 2, then traverse
to rappeler’s right then walk down alongside a water fall to a
pool. You can stand at the bottom of the rappel. Walking across
the pool is about waist deep.
The water fall at the base of rap 2 is a scenic treat. It drops in
one fall line that then splits over a rock into 2 separate fall
lines of equal strength. There are green algae growing and some
grasses as well which add to the color. The bottom of rappel 2 is
where you are likely to meet hikers who have come up from the
bottom. This is the end of the easy part of the Darwin Falls Trail
if you are coming up from the bottom.
Down canyon of rap 2 follow the well worn trails down canyon.
Almost 500 feet down canyon you might find a survey marker up on
some concrete LDC (yDarwinFallsBt) which is where I have marked the
bottom of the canyon.
The Exit:
After the bottom of the canyon by the Survey Marker (yDarwinFallsBt),
follow the trails and wash down canyon about 0.9 miles to the lower
trailhead for Darwin Falls (tDarwinFalls) to complete the route.
About 1200 feet before reaching the trailhead will be a gate. On
the way out of the canyon look at the pipe running along the canyon
floor LDC. It has a series of patches and props that make you
wonder how they keep it running.
Downloadable GPX files
available at
BG-Gear Store
(easier than manual entry and a great way to support
Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.
Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE
manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format.
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.
Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
| Darwin 1 - Drive into lower trailhead |
- lPanamintSpngs
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.33989
W -117.46858
Elev: 1,924 Feet
The small town of Panamint Springs. There is a camp ground, gas station and a bar / restaurant.
- extDarwinFalls
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.33998
W -117.48007
Elev: NaN Feet
Exit off of highway 190 to a dirt road leading toward Darwin Falls.
- tDarwinFalls
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32776
W -117.51473
Elev: 2,500 Feet
Lower trailhead for the Darwin Falls hike and the bottom exit trailhead after doing the Darwin Falls canyon route. Large turn out for 15 or 20 cars.
|
| Darwin 2 - Drive to Upper Trailhead |
- tDarwinFalls
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32776
W -117.51473
Elev: 2,500 Feet
Lower trailhead for the Darwin Falls hike and the bottom exit trailhead after doing the Darwin Falls canyon route. Large turn out for 15 or 20 cars.
- wDarwinDP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32280
W -117.51086
Elev: NaN Feet
The road crosses a wash here.
- wDarwinDP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31874
W -117.51204
Elev: NaN Feet
Junction in the road. Stay left (south) on the main road if driving in. Turn right on the side road if doing the loop route on foot.
- wDarwinDP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31688
W -117.51050
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork in the road. Stay right on the main road.
- wDarwinDP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.30962
W -117.51191
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork in the road by some old mine buildings. Stay right on the main road.
- wDarwinDP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.30808
W -117.51192
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork where two roads go off to the left. Stay right on the main raod.
- wDarwinDP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.30479
W -117.51526
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork in the road. Stay right on the main road.
- wDarwinDP-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.29907
W -117.51940
Elev: 3,770 Feet
The dirt road into Darwin Falls tops out here.
- wDarwinDP-08
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.29671
W -117.51841
Elev: NaN Feet
Fork with two roads to the left. Stay right on the main road. The road switch backs here turning from south east to north west.
- wDarwinDP-09
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.30333
W -117.52385
Elev: NaN Feet
In Darwin Wash. Turn right north west to follow Down Stream. There area a couple roads here that form a turn out. Continue to follow the main road down stream in the wash to the north west.
- pkChinaGarden
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31415
W -117.53196
Elev: 3,150 Feet
Parking here at China Garden. There is a year round spring here that has a lot of very green vegetation. It truly is an oasis in the desert. Also near by are some old mining buildings to go check out.
|
| Darwin 3 - Approach from Upper Trailhead |
- pkChinaGarden
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31415
W -117.53196
Elev: 3,150 Feet
Parking here at China Garden. There is a year round spring here that has a lot of very green vegetation. It truly is an oasis in the desert. Also near by are some old mining buildings to go check out.
- wDarwinRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31528
W -117.53043
Elev: NaN Feet
Gate in the road that stops vehicular travel.
- wDarwinRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31677
W -117.52693
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail starts approximately here RDC to skirt around the vegetation caused by a spring.
- wDarwinRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31702
W -117.52578
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail crosses a drainage here. Continue south across the drainage and stay on the trail up out of the main wash.
- wDarwinRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31729
W -117.52471
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail in from the China Garden meets a steep drainage here. Follow down the drainage into Darwin Wash.
- yDarwinFallsTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31769
W -117.52499
Elev: 3,040 Feet
Top entry for Darwin Falls. This is where a steep drainage drops into the main Darwin Wash in the midst of deep, dense, lush, wet vegetation.
|
| Darwin 4 - Approach from Lower Trailhead |
- tDarwinFalls
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32776
W -117.51473
Elev: 2,500 Feet
Lower trailhead for the Darwin Falls hike and the bottom exit trailhead after doing the Darwin Falls canyon route. Large turn out for 15 or 20 cars.
- wDarwinDP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32280
W -117.51086
Elev: NaN Feet
The road crosses a wash here.
- wDarwinDP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31874
W -117.51204
Elev: NaN Feet
Junction in the road. Stay left (south) on the main road if driving in. Turn right on the side road if doing the loop route on foot.
- wDarwinRP-91
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31837
W -117.51253
Elev: 2,870 Feet
Trail starting up from the road and heading north up a hill.
- wDarwinRP-92
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31980
W -117.51320
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail hooks around to the west.
- wDarwinRP-93
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31750
W -117.51545
Elev: 3,235 Feet
Trail forks. Either fork will go to the same place but the right fork is the best trail to follow.
- wDarwinRP-94
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31632
W -117.51766
Elev: 3,460 Feet
Trail gets up to a saddle on the ridge. The trail forks here. Stay to the right to continue toward Darwin Falls.
- wDarwinRP-95
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31593
W -117.52133
Elev: 3,400 Feet
Trail hits another saddle. From this saddle you can look northwest down a large drainage to see the green trees and dense vegetation near the top of the canyon.
- wDarwinRP-96
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31643
W -117.52395
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail drops down to the floor of the large wash leading down to Darwin Falls Canyon.
- wDarwinRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31729
W -117.52471
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail in from the China Garden meets a steep drainage here. Follow down the drainage into Darwin Wash.
- yDarwinFallsTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31769
W -117.52499
Elev: 3,040 Feet
Top entry for Darwin Falls. This is where a steep drainage drops into the main Darwin Wash in the midst of deep, dense, lush, wet vegetation.
|
| Darwin 5 - The Canyon and Exit |
- yDarwinFallsTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31769
W -117.52499
Elev: 3,040 Feet
Top entry for Darwin Falls. This is where a steep drainage drops into the main Darwin Wash in the midst of deep, dense, lush, wet vegetation.
- wDarwinRP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31838
W -117.52494
Elev: NaN Feet
8 foot drop in the water course with a pool at the bottom. Bypass RDC along ledges gray rock that is VERY slick when wet. This drop can be bypassed by climbing up and around RDC before getting to the drop.
- wDarwinRP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31916
W -117.52571
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of a tall water fall. At this point you are still up on the wide open ledge at the top of the gray rock.
- wDarwinRP-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.31961
W -117.52559
Elev: NaN Feet
Cairn by a down climb leading back down to the main wash.
- dDarwinR1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32079
W -117.52520
Elev: 2,840 Feet
Rap 1 - Darwin. Anchored from a cotton wood tree about 15 feet back and drops a total of about 110 feet along a water fall with a hanging garden on the way down to a pool at the bottom.
- dDarwinR2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32074
W -117.52391
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 2 - Darwin Falls. Anchored from a small tree and drops about 50 feet to a pool. Half way down the rappel traverse to rappeller's right and walk down along the side of a water fall to the pool below.
- yDarwinFallsBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32076
W -117.52231
Elev: 2,700 Feet
Bottom exit of Darwin Falls. There is a Survey Marker here LDC.
- tDarwinFalls
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.32776
W -117.51473
Elev: 2,500 Feet
Lower trailhead for the Darwin Falls hike and the bottom exit trailhead after doing the Darwin Falls canyon route. Large turn out for 15 or 20 cars.
|