Darwin Falls - We Explored The Washed Out Canyon

Описание: In March of 2023, Netty and I headed to the Panamint Valley area in California, for a fun star party. While we were there, we headed over to Darwin Falls. Darwin Falls is an 18-foot spring fed waterfall and is part of a cool trail that meanders through a canyon where it is initially in full sun but as you make your way to the falls, you find yourself in lush vegetation, consisting mainly of willow and cottonwood trees.
One of the really neat things we found was how much cooler it was by the trees and water compared to the main trail working our way in – this was a pleasant surprise for being in Death Valley.
This is also an interesting trail as you’ll see the water pipeline that feeds the well know Panamint Springs Resort (PSR), about a mile to the east of the entrance to this location.
One of the things we found amazing was how much damage was caused to this trail from the massive rain storms that occurred about a half year prior to us being here (August 2022). The once beautiful pond that was at the base of the falls no longer exists and the ground was also majorly washed out in many areas where the stream ran through.
The storm damage in this canyon definitely mirrored a lot of the damage that happened throughout Death Valley from the same storms.
The actual road out to the trailhead was actually pretty smooth and easy to travel on but the entrance off the main road (highway 190) can be pretty rutted and washed out. As you’ll see in the video, we were glad we were in our jeep for this. We did also see some people parking at the main road to walk in to the trailhead. Keep in mind if you do this, you’ll be walking for quite a ways in the hot sun.
Be sure to stay hydrated!
We would absolutely love to come back here again to explore further up the dirt road which takes you to a spot called the China Garden Spring. This is a pretty well know spot that has been stocked with either Koi or goldfish at one time.
If you ever get the chance, we definitely recommend coming out here and exploring this canyon and checking out the falls, even with all the rain damage, you won’t be disappointed!

#deathvalley #canyoneering #stormdamage