Titus Canyon is a hike in the Grapevine Mountains in Death Valley National Park.   It is an easier hike into a deep canyon with impressive rock features along the route.

The lower/west entrance to Titus Canyon is found by turning off the Scotty’s Castle Road 15 miles north of Highway 190.   The side road is signed and the gravel road is a slow 2.6 mile climb to a parking area.   The trail is really a road bed that can be driven down for 27 miles with a high-clearance vehicle.   The hiking route follows the wash/road up the canyon through narrowest section of the canyon for 4 miles.   The walls of the canyon rise steeply on both sides for the entire length of the hike.

The narrowest part of the canyon was at the start.   As we hiked up the canyon, we could spot blocks and layers of limestone and dolomite

The hiking surface is just the gravels of the wash, making progress easy up and down.

At about 0.7 miles  the walls look like polished mosaics of breccia, limestone, and calcite.

After an hour of hiking we found a place to climb up into the hills for a view of the area.

mosaics in the canyon walls	conglomerate half-hoodoos
exposed layers

We turned around and followed the wash back, enjoying the narrows and the banded cliffs

folded layers

Titus Canyon was a easy hike for a warm February day, a welcome respite from the northern winters.   This is a recommended hike in the Death Valley area.

the Narrows