The Waterfall in Lower Monarch Canyon

Hiking up one of the more difficult parts of the canyon just below Monarch Falls

I’ve had my eye on Lower Monarch Canyon ever since I first read about it back c.2021. A perennial waterfall in the desert reached via a desert walk and hiking up a canyon? Yes, please! The Monarch Canyon Waterfall in Death Valley National Park is definitely under the radar, and it’s not exactly an easy trek, but it makes a great adventurous day hike after you’ve seen the more popular hikes and routes within the park.

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 7.2 miles Trail Type: Out & back Elevation Gain: 1,057ft. Pets: No Fees: $30/vehicle

A desert landscape with small bushes, rocks, and gravel with mountains int he distance — Looking across the desert, it seems flat… but it’s not!

Before I go further, let me explain why hiking to Lower Monarch Canyon is difficult. You’ll park along the Beatty Cutoff Road, then walk across the trailless desert, crossing multiple deep-ish washes, skirting desert plants, and walking on rocks that are (mostly) stable. Then, once you drop into the Monarch Canyon Wash, you’ll follow the wash upstream over unstable rocks, enter the Black Mountains, scramble several small dryfalls (mild Class 3), and finally arrive at the trickle of the lower falls. From here, Class 3 scrambling is required to get up to the middle (and much more impressive) part of Monarch Falls.

Cliffs bound a desert wash with taller mountain cliffs beyond — Cliffs in Monarch Canyon

I hope I’ve scared you, because while it’s a very worthwhile hike, it’s not easy! Good footwear is a must, quite a bit of off-trail experience in the desert is a plus, a strong desire for adventure is useful, and the willingness to turn around if it doesn’t work out the way you planned is vital.

In desert mountains, a rusty bucket sails atop a wooden post — A bucket on a post in the wash is a reminder of the mining town that once flourished here. Corkscrew Peak pokes its head over the nearby hills.

Now that I’ve convinced you not to hike Lower Monarch Canyon, let’s get down to the details about why you should go! The hike begins along the Beatty Cutoff Road a short distance south of Hell’s Gate. There is no parking area. We chose a likely spot (I’m 90% certain we weren’t the first people to start from here), parked the van out of the way of traffic, crossed the road, and headed off across the desert toward the Black Mountains (east and a bit south).

Dry mountains rise out of a desert plain dotted with greasebushes. Arrows point to Monarch Canyon and the Pink Hills. — The view from near where I started hiking (complete with a few arrows for easier wayfinding)

You can see Monarch Canyon from where we parked, but it’s not necessarily obvious that it’s the right canyon until you get closer to the mountains. While hiking cross-country, you’ll want to stray to the right (south). It will be more direct to stray north, but the terrain to the north includes multiple small but deep washes. I came back too far north, and it was no fun at all to go down and up, down and up, down and up, rinse and repeat 20 times or so! Staying south will minimize both the number of washes and the depth of the washes, making your hike much easier.

A desert plain descends to salt flats bordered by distant blue mountains — Looking south toward Badwater and the main part of Death Valley

As you’re hiking, keep your eyes open for some low pink hills below a major canyon in the Black Mountains. You’re striking generally for the right end of these pink hills. Also, be sure to look north toward Corkscrew Peak (not a landmark, but impressive).

A desert plain dotted with greasebushes ends at colorful desert mountains — Views north toward Corkscrew Peak

After about 1.25 miles, you’ll reach the right end of the pink hills. Just on the other side of these hills is a major wash; drop into the wash and turn left to walk upstream. This is the Monarch Canyon Wash.

A gravely desert wash is dotted with small bushes and ends at dry mountains — Monarch Wash – Monarch Canyon is to the right of center

The wash is wide, and the rocks underfoot tend to be loose, so take care. Stay generally right (south), as you’ll want to take the right fork of the canyon about mile 1.8. About 0.4 miles before this, pass a post on a hill with a bucket on top of the post on the right side of the hill. Be sure to look back at the Death Valley Buttes, as they’re especially nice (and massive!) in the morning (sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the Buttes).

A dry, gravely desert wash splits in two with dry desert mountains beyond — The wash split

After the wash junction, the wash begins to narrow and the cliffs begin to rise around the riverbed as it becomes a classic Death Valley canyon. This is where things get fun. After about 1.2 miles of winding upcanyon, rocks mark the first easy scramble. Then the twisting wash traverses two chokestones at miles 3.35 and 3.3. Again, these were fairly easy to traverse, but they can require up to light Class 3 scrambling, and you may need to scout around to find the easiest route. There are also some pretty layers in the rocks.

A hiker ascends a white rock in a dry desert canyon — An easy climb up into the depths of Monarch Canyon

And then, finally, just above the second choke stone, you’ll come to the first falls! Exactly where you’ll find water will depend on the season; I was hiking in mid-March, so there was a fair amount of water. It still wasn’t gushing, but the water descended a short distance below the lower falls, which can be dry by fall. I also found some melon plants on the left side of the lower falls; I figured they were planted by the native inhabitants long ago, but as they’re native to Asia, I’m thinking they may be a bit more modern.

Yellow gourd-like fruit hangs from vines on a tan desert rock — Bitter Apple Fruit (Colocynthis) near the Lower Falls

I scrambled up the left side of the Lower Falls. This is perfectly workable, but it’s a little bit of a sketchy Class 3 scramble. For an easier route, backtrack downcanyon for a short distance and climb the rocky shelves on the right side (if you’re looking upcanyon). Again, this is a scramble, but it’s easier than trying to climb near the falls.

Water has carved out a small pool in tan rocks — A pool at the Lower Falls

Once on the upper shelf, you can walk up to the pool at the base of the Middle Falls. This is the one very long drop, and it’s quite impressive.

A waterfall trickles down a desert canyon between yellow and white rocks to end in a brush-rimed pool — The Middle Falls

I decided to climb up the left side of the Middle Falls to get a better view. I can’t say I recommend it, as the rock is crumbly, but it’s a solid Class 3 or Class 3+ scramble about halfway up where a break in the rocks allows for a great view both down to the pool below and up toward the Upper Falls (I believe the Upper Falls is still out of view, but you still get to see more than while standing below!)

A trickle of water descends a rocky canyon — Looking higher toward the Upper Falls after scrambling up beside the Middle Falls

From there, I made the mistake of trying to climb higher to the next viewpoint. Just don’t! The rock is crumbly, it’s incredibly steep, and I found myself on a Class 4+ scramble. It wasn’t fun at all to come back down, and I was greatly relieved when I made it back to the break in the rock.

Looking down a rocky cliff to a dark green pool at the bottom of the cliff — Looking down on where you should stop (beside the gold rock on the right side of the photo) from my percarious perch higher on the rock wall

When you’re finished exploring, hike back downcanyon and generally retract your steps to the Beatty Cutoff. In the evening, we tried to get to the top of the falls from Upper Monarch Canyon (which is another story since it’s accessed from a completely different place). Besides failing daylight, we never did figure out how to get to the top of the falls. So I don’t recommend trying unless you’re really looking for a scrambling adventure, and definitely not from below!

A small trickle of water descends into a green pool between rocky cliffs — Looking down the Middle Falls to the pool below

Round Trip Trail Length: 7.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 1,057ft. (1,883ft. to 2,743ft.)

Facilities: None

Fees: $30/vehicle to enter Death Valley National Park; America the Beautiful National Parks & Federal Lands passes and Death Valley Annual Passes are accepted.

A desert plain scattered with small bushes and two small hills in the distance — The Death Valley Buttes while hiking across the desert plain

Trail Notes: While I’ve already stated why this hike is difficult, it’s not much worse than many other off-trail hikes in Death Valley. I wouldn’t call this canyoneering, since you don’t need ropes, but you will be scrambling some (wear good shoes!) Be sure to take plenty of water with you, as the water in the stream is non-potable. The waterfall is not good for swimming (it may even be illegal), and the pools are disgusting, so don’t plan on a dip before you head back to the road. Looking at the Death Valley Buttes from this vantage point, you might wonder why anyone would try climbing them due to their sheer size. However, I’ve done it (albeit many years ago), and while it’s a climb, it’s not as bad as it looks from here!

A rusty bucket sits on top of a wooden post atop a pile of rocks beside a greasebush — Looking up at the pail on the post in Monarch Wash

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this?

Overall Rating:

A desert canyon filled with sparse brush winds into the dry mountains — Hiking up Monarch Canyon after the wash split

GPS Coordinates for Lower Monarch Canyon

TH: 36.7140210°, -116.9746880° (36°42.84126′, -116°58.48128′ / 36°42’50.4756″, -116°58’28.8768″) (1,988ft.) (0.0)

Enter wash: 36.7138060°, -116.9547700° (36°42.82836′, -116°57.28620′ / 36°42’49.7016″, -116°57’17.1720″) (1,956ft.) (1.25)

A lizard with gray, gold, and brown coloring is speckled with light blue dots — A western side-blotched lizard

Post with a bucket on top: 36.7154060°, -116.9515350° (36°42.92436′, -116°57.09210′ / 36°42’55.4616″, -116°57’05.5260″) (2,026ft.) (1.47)

Wash junction: 36.7158570°, -116.9451250° (36°42.95142′, -116°56.70750′ / 36°42’57.0852″, -116°56’42.4500″) (2,139ft.) (1.87)

A desert canyon with a few sparse bushes winds toward a cliff and into the mountains — Continuing up Monarch Canyon

Rocks: 36.7197010°, -116.9288880° (36°43.18206′, -116°55.73328′ / 36°43’10.9236″, -116°55’43.9968″) (2,540ft.) (3.05)

Choke stone: 36.7194190°, -116.9269540° (36°43.16514′, -116°55.61724′ / 36°43’09.9084″, -116°55’37.0344″) (2,625ft.) (3.24)

A hiker has successfully traversed several boulders in a desert canyon with towering cliffs above — The first small scramble

Choke stone: 36.7199770°, -116.9265700° (36°43.19862′, -116°55.59420′ / 36°43’11.9172″, -116°55’35.6520″) (2,655ft.) (3.29)

Falls: 36.7202000°, -116.9258370° (36°43.21200′, -116°55.55022′ / 36°43’12.7200″, -116°55’33.0132″) (2,715ft.) (3.34)

A hiker walks up a steep white ramp of rocks in a desert canyon — A bigger climb

Falls: 36.7200420°, -116.9254450° (36°43.20252′, -116°55.52670′ / 36°43’12.1512″, -116°55’31.6020″) (2,805ft.) (3.40)

Half up: 36.7199630°, -116.9251930° (36°43.19778′, -116°55.51158′ / 36°43’11.8668″, -116°55’30.6948″) (2,877ft.) (3.44)

Layers of gray, black, and gold rock are curved in folds — Pretty striped and folded layers of rock – there is quite a bit of this type of thing in Monarch Canyon

Dyrfall: 36.7191080°, -116.9278540° (36°43.14648′, -116°55.67124′ / 36°43’08.7888″, -116°55’40.2744″) (2,558ft.) (3.99)

Dryfall: 36.7190670°, -116.9284820° (36°43.14402′, -116°55.70892′ / 36°43’08.6412″, -116°55’42.5352″) (2,557ft.) (4.05)

A bush stands beside a dark water channel in a desert canyon — A narrow channel carved out of the rock below the Lower Falls

End of hill: 36.7134010°, -116.9551120° (36°42.80406′, -116°57.30672′ / 36°42’48.2436″, -116°57’18.4032″) (1,938ft.) (5.94)

End: 36.7140550°, -116.9746850° (36°42.84330′, -116°58.48110′ / 36°42’50.5980″, -116°58’28.8660″) (1,990ft.) (7.18)

Green algae grows in a small pool in which is reflected the top of the canyon and the sky — Reflections in the (rather disgusting) pool below Middle Falls

The gpx file for Lower Monarch Canyon can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

Download GPX File size: 180.3 KB Downloaded 0 times

(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website. Thanks!)

Rocks sit in the gravel of a desert wash with the striped and rugged mountains beyond — Looking back while hiking down Monarch Canyon – in the center of the photo, you may be able to see a couple of pieces of pipe that once carried water from Monarch Falls down to the mining town that was planted on the plain outside the canyon mouth

Getting to the Lower Monarch Canyon Trailhead

From Furnace Creek Visitor Center, drive toward Stovepipe Wells on CA-190W. After 10.6 miles, turn right onto the Beatty Cutoff Road. About 9.3 miles later, pull over to the side of the road in a place where you can safely get out of the way of traffic. This area is about 0.7 miles south of Hell’s Gate.