Death Valley National Park - Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail

One of the most popular trails in Death Valley National Park is the Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail. The trailhead is located just off Badwater Road two miles south of its junction with CA 190 in the Furnace Creek area. The parking area is paved, but is often completely full. We hiked the trail and explored a side canyon on our February 2015 trip to southern California. The one-mile long trail does not have a single path, but consists of the entire canyon floor. An interpretive brochure is available online that matches up with signed markers along the way. Unfortunately, we could only find markers 3, 6 and 10. Near marker 10 a sign marks the location of the Gower Gulch Loop that also returns to the paved trailhead. Continuing up the main canyon from marker 10 leads to the Red Cathedral. The park service has deemed this two-mile round-trip hike to be easy. I would agree except for the section beyond marker 10 where the trail goes under boulders and requires some rock scrambling in the area where an iron ladder used to exist. On our way to the Red Cathedral, we chose to explore a long side canyon to lengthen our hike to 4.4 miles. If you want more solitude, take the Gower Gulch Loop back to the parking area for a four mile hike.

Topographic map with GPS hiking route

USGS aerial photo with GPS hiking route overlay

Paved parking area

Looking across Middle Basin at the Panamint Mountains

The Black Mountains have sedimentary origins

Entering the canyon

Asphalt remnant from old road washed out in 1976

More asphalt and multi-hued rocks

Erosion channel in the canyon floor

Looking back at the rock walls of the aptly named Golden Canyon

Erosion has undercut rocks on both sides of the canyon

Fantastically colored sedimentary rocks inclined at 45 degrees

All of these features were created by flash floods

Red rocks line part of the canyon

Near vertical cliffs of golden mudstone

The main trail follows this canyon to the right

We chose to explore this canyon to the left

Narrow slot canyons line the main canyon

Some of the rock is a conglomerate that resembles concrete

Golden and red rocks

These three peaks remind us of the Patriarchs in Zion National Park

Another side canyon leads to red rock spires

The canyon widens out for a distance

Heading in to the badlands

Erosion has mixed the red and golden hues

Even though this is a side canyon, someone left directions

Beautiful end of the canyon, but not the Red Cathedral

The Panamint Mountains were visible while hiking back down the side canyon

Caltha-leaf Phacelia (Phacelia calthifolia)

Gravel Ghost (Atrichoseris platyphylla)

480' peak south of the intersection of the two canyons

Some of the rocks look like polished marble

The sedimentary nature of the rocks is revealed again

Looking back at the side canyon

Another side canyon into the badlands

Continuing on the main trail

The trail weave between giant rock outcroppings

More of the badlands

Gower Gulch Loop trail

Can you see the face in the hills?

Rugged expanse of rock

Nature's paint-by-numbers

More of the golden mudstone lines the canyon floor

Multi-colored hills

Manly Beacon (800' elevation)

Red Cathedral from a distance

The trail goes under the fallen rocks

The trail continues through the slot canyon

Another climb through the narrow slot leads to the Red Cathedral

The slot canyon opens up to reveal the Red Cathedral

Part of the cathedral fell to the base long ago

Looking up the face of Red Cathedral

An entrance fee of $20 admits all the passengers of a single vehicle for seven days. Other options include an annual Death Valley National Park Pass for $40, an Interagency Annual Pass providing access to most national park, national forest and BLM fee areas for $80 and a lifetime Interagency Senior Pass for those age 62 and older for $10.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm.