Slit Canyon off Hole in the Wall Road

I had high hopes for Slit Canyon. And to be fair, the first part of the hike was gorgeous with scenery not typically experienced on the more famous trails in Death Valley National Park. However, the canyon itself wasn’t as exciting as I had anticipated. Still, if you want a deserted hike in the “main” part of Death Valley, or you just love slot canyons (or you’re looking to conquer Undertaker Canyon), it’s worthwhile enough – just not as pretty or as long as I’d been led to believe. See the pictures and decide for yourself if my expectations were too high, and it’s actually quite a nice hike!

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 4.6 miles Trail Type: Out & back Elevation Gain: 2,171ft. Pets: No Fees: $30/vehicle

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Brown and black desert mountains against the blue and clouds sky with a shadowy, gravely wash in the foreground — Looking up the wash toward Undertaker Canyon and Slit Canyon

Park near Hole in the Wall on Hole in the Wall Road. How much space there is to park will depend on recent storms. When I visited in November 2023, the only safe place to park was in or near the final campsite (I believe it’s Campsite 6) in Hole in the Wall. Road conditions will vary depending on how recently it has been graded, but 2WD can often make it up as far as Hole in the Wall.

Gravelly desert and brush gives way to yellow and brown badlands and distant dark mountains below blue skies with wispy clouds — Views back down the wash

0.0 Slit Canyon Trailhead (Hole in the Wall) (1,943ft.). The trailhead is not marked, so just head from Hole in the Wall up the wash toward the mountains. Stay left-ish and don’t bother climbing up onto the higher berm in the middle of the wash. Be sure to look back down the wash, as the views to the area around Zabriskie Point and the Black Mountains are quite nice. You can probably see the mouth of Undertaker Canyon on the right, but if you stay sufficiently left (with easier walking when I did it), you won’t pass very close to it. The tread near the mouth of Slit Canyon is rocky, but it quickly becomes smoother once you’re in the canyon. (36.4149280°, -116.7238680°)

Arrows and text marking Slit Canyon on the left and Undertaker Canyon on the right in colorful desert mountains above a gravelly wash — Slit Canyon and Undertaker Canyon, taken from a trajectory on our way back from Undertaker Canyon. A better route to Slit Canyon is to stay left of a large berm in the middle of the wash.

1.1 Mouth of Slit Canyon (2,372ft.). The canyon eventually narrows down to the mouth. For the first quarter mile, the canyon is fairly uninteresting. (36.4292050°, -116.7193460°)

Gray rocks and brown cliffs in a desert canyon — The first impassable dryfall

1.3 First impassable dryfall (2,580ft.). This dryfall wasn’t something we wanted to climb, and even if you got up it, there are two more impassible dryfalls right above this one. To continue up Slit Canyon, backtrack just slightly to a lightly cairned social trail on what would have been the right as you were walking upcanyon. The tread is mostly scree, but it’s not too slippery if you’re careful to follow a good route (aka where others have gone before – there is a light trail). The path drops you back into the canyon above the final dryfall in this section. Take note of this route so you can find it on the way back downcanyon. Walk back downcanyon to see the top of the dryfall, which is impressive. Above this, the canyon is narrower and prettier than the lower part of the canyon with a few small scrambles. (36.4315530°, -116.7215020°)

Brown and gray rocky canyon walls with a narrow canyon in the middle — The Slit slot while hiking over the bypass

1.6 Beginning of The Slit (2,694ft.). Slit Canyon is named for a narrow, straight section of slot, and it begins when you arrive at a chokestone. The chokestone can be scrambled up or around. The Slit, itself, is only about 0.15 miles long and ends at a 10ft. dryfall. I was able to climb this dryfall with some creative scrambling and grippy shoes, but neither of my companions was able to follow me up. The canyon beyond the end of The Slit is a little wider but also a little pretty and definitely has rugged walls. (36.4329390°, -116.7209050°)

A dry waterfall in a rocky desert canyon — One of the dryfalls along the way. My photos of the Slit were both almost non-existent and very poor, so I didn’t share any here.

2.0 Impassible 50ft. Dryfall (2,748ft.). Upward travel ends here in a pretty grotto. I’ve heard that there may be a bypass downcanyon on the left (when traveling upcanyon), but given that I was alone, I didn’t want to try anything too sketchy. Retrace your steps down to the mouth of Slit Canyon, where (if you want) you can go over and also explore Undertaker Canyon. (36.4334600°, -116.7201410°)

Rock layers and a narrow dry waterfall in a desert canyon — The 50ft. dryfall in the grotto of Slit Canyon

3.0 Mouth of Undertaker Canyon (2,361ft.). The mouth is marked by a huge jumble of rocks; these must be negotiated to enter the canyon. I believe I could have gotten through with some Class 4 scrambling, but my intrepid scrambling companion had an injury that kept him from doing much (any?) real scrambling, so we called it a day and walked back down to the van. I hear that if you can get past the rocks (you might need a rope plus rock climbing and chimneying skills), you can hike through a short set of narrows, walk a mile to a wash split, turn right, and go another quarter mile to the high but unique Widowmaker Falls (Death Valley does have interesting names!) (36.4274820°, -116.7168450°)

A jumble of large rocks marking the mouth of Undertaker Canyon — The mouth of Undertaker Canyon… you’d have to clime up or through the jumble of rocks, then I hear there are a few more obstacles above

Round Trip Trail Length: To the end of the Slit is 3.5 miles RT; I ended up hiking about 4.6 miles (actually, I added another mile beyond that when I and my companions missed each other in the wash and we walked in circles looking for one another for what felt like an hour at least).

Three yellow flowers with blurry green and brown leaves in the background — Yellow cups (a type of evening primrose) in the wash

Elevation Gain: 2,171ft. (1,885ft. to 2,774ft.)

Facilities: Primitive camping along Hole in the Wall Road; permit required.

Fees: $30/vehicle, valid 7 days. America the Beautiful National Parks & Federal Public Lands Passes and Death Valley Annual Passes are accepted.

Yellow badlands and brown canyon walls above a gravelly and brushy wash and below blue skies with clouds — Heading for the mouth of Slit Canyon (in the center of the photo)

Trail Notes: Up to the first dryfall, it’s really a walk in the park. Up to the end of the Slit, there’s nothing more difficult than a Class 2 scramble (if you do it right). However, you should be willing and able to wayfind and not get lost in the desert. Undertaker Canyon has a series of about 5 obstacles in the rock scramble, so don’t think it’s easy! If you want more theoretical information about Undertaker Canyon, I have a post here.

Rocks in the wash of a desert canyon with blue skies and clouds — The rocky beginning of Slit Canyon

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

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

Overall Rating:

Yellow wildflowers among rocks in a desert canyon — Brittlebush below the first dryfall

GPS Coordinates for Slit Canyon and Undertaker Canyon

Slit TH: 36.4149280°, -116.7238680° (36°24.89568′, -116°43.43208′ / 36°24’53.7408″, -116°43’25.9248″) (1,943ft.) (0.0)

Mouth of Slit Canyon: 36.4292050°, -116.7193460° (36°25.75230′, -116°43.16076′ / 36°25’45.1380″, -116°43’09.6456″) (2,372ft.) (2.04) (Note: All mileages are approximately 1.0 miles less than written)

A bush on a rock and another bush in the wash of a colorful desert canyon — Slit Canyon above the bypass

First dryfall: 36.4315530°, -116.7215020° (36°25.89318′, -116°43.29012′ / 36°25’53.5908″, -116°43’17.4072″) (2,580ft.) (2.30)

Begin slit: 36.4329390°, -116.7209050° (36°25.97634′, -116°43.25430′ / 36°25’58.5804″, -116°43’15.2580″) (2,694ft.) (2.60)

A small brown bird on a brown branch in front of brown rocks — A hummingbird in The Slit

End of slit: 36.4332540°, -116.7209540° (36°25.99524′, -116°43.25724′ / 36°25’59.7144″, -116°43’15.4344″) (2,724ft.) (2.75)

Dryfall: 36.4334600°, -116.7201410° (36°26.00760′, -116°43.20846′ / 36°26’00.4560″, -116°43’12.5076″) (2,748ft.) (3.05)

Rocky cliffs and a mountain in a desert canyon — Slit Canyon above The Slit

Trail up below first dryfall: 36.4309520°, -116.7213980° (36°25.85712′, -116°43.28388′ / 36°25’51.4272″, -116°43’17.0328″) (2,467ft.) (3.65)

Mouth of Undertaker Canyon: 36.4274820°, -116.7168450° (36°25.64892′, -116°43.01070′ / 36°25’38.9352″, -116°43’00.6420″) (2,361ft.) (4.06)

End: 36.4148630°, -116.7238290° (36°24.89178′, -116°43.42974′ / 36°24’53.5068″, -116°43’25.7844″) (1,925ft.) (5.66)

Brown cliff walls in a desert canyon — Approaching the grotto above The Slit. I hear the hillside on the left offers a bypass, but I didn’t try it.

The gpx file for Slit 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.

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Boulders and cliff walls — Trying to climb through boulders in Undertaker Canyon. I had to go both over and under boulders to even get this far.

Getting to the Slit Canyon Trailhead

You can follow the directions here for Hole in the Wall Road up to the Hole in the Wall.

Or from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, drive 6.7 miles on CA-190 East (toward Las Vegas). Turn left on the Hole in the Wall Road and drive 3.6 miles to the hole in the wall. Park out of the way of traffic.

Distant mountains and cliffs across a desert plain — Hole in the Wall and the Black Mountains from partway up into Undertaker Canyon – you can see how far I ascended before I gave it up and went back to the van!

The Hole in the Wall Road is also 23.5 miles west of Death Valley Junction and 0.9 miles west of the exit for 20 Mule Team Scenic Drive (and 0.7 miles east of the entrance for 20 Mule Team Scenic Drive).

Visual route map and elevation profile for my trek to Slit Canyon and Undertaker Canyon. Note how I went along the yellow badlands to get to Slit Canyon, but I came straight back down the wash from Undertaker Canyon.

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