“Punctuated with idyllic waterfalls and irrigated by a ovely perennial creek, the deep narrows of Darwin Canyon are among the most lush and beautiful in the park. The short walk to the lower waterfall is a wonderful illustration of the miracle of water in the desert. The challenging climb through the serene upper narrows to China Garden Spring is a gem for the experienced hiker.” — Michel Digonnet.
Location: Death Valley National Park
Notes: The hike entailed less than 200 ft elevation gain. The spike in the elevation profile is due to noise. It seems that GPS reception was poor inside the canyon.
Large-sized Google Map
» Official State Parks Map: A decent map that shows major roads, attractions and visitor centers.
» Death Valley Backcountry Roads: Official State Parks Map showing backcountry roads
» Hiking Death Valley: A Guide to Its Natural Wonders and Mining Past (542 pages, 2004) by Michel Digonnet: This book is the Bible for Death Valley hikes. Most hikes in Death Valley are cross-country, marked by cairns. This book describes dozens of such routes with maps and elevation profiles.
| Dist (mi) | Elev (ft) | |
| Parking (gate) | 0.0 miles | 2540 ft |
| 1st waterfall | 1.1 miles | 2760 ft |
| 2nd and 3rd waterfall | 1.2 miles | ~ 2790 ft |
| 4th waterfall (60 ft) | 1.3 miles | ~ 2820 ft |
| 5th waterfall | 1.4 miles | ~ 2890 ft |
| 6th and 7th waterfall | 1.45 miles | ~ 2900 ft |
| 8th waterfall | 1.55 miles | 2970 ft |
| 9th waterfall | 1.6 miles | 2990 ft |
| Spring head | 1.9 miles | 3060 ft |
| China Garden Spring | 2.6 miles | 3150 ft |
The table above is borrowed from the book Hiking Death Valley: A Guide to Its Natural Wonders and Mining Past (542 pages, 2004) by Michel Digonnet, a Stanford Professor who has extensively hiked in Death Valley over the last thirty years.
Like most visitors, we returned from the first waterfall. The route described in Digonnet's book is out-and-back. Apparently, it is possible to make a cross-country loop: check out this 5.2 mile EveryTrail trip.
Location: Along Old Toll Rd, close to Panamint Springs in Death Valley, CA . No street address. Parking area is not visible in Google Maps.
Directions: From Hwy 190 in Death Valley, very close to Panamint Springs, turn onto Old Toll Rd (see Google Map). The road is unmarked but going west along Hwy 190, there is a sign saying 'Darwin Falls' pointing towards this road. In Dec 2011, I was able to drive in a Toyota Camry, so 4 wheel-drive was not necessary. In 2.4 miles, there is a parking lot with a trail head for Darwin Falls. Old Toll Rd continues beyond the parking lot but there's a sign saying that 4WD is necessary thereafter.
Google Maps:
Parking Fees: None (last visited: Dec 2011)
Capacity: About 10 cars can be parked at the trail head.
Latitude: 36.327953 Longitude: -117.514486
First waterfall is 18 ft tall. Like most visitors, we turned back from this point.
During this hike, we were obsessed with climbing trees and taking pictures.
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