Hike Slit Canyon Death Valley National Park, CA

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Dec 12, 2017 — The hike to Slit Canyon begins at Hole-in-the-Rock, a split in a long ridge, accessible by any car. The turnoff onto Hole-in-the-Rock Road is located at 36.4047573,-116.7828029.

I headed through the gap and ascended the alluvial fan leading to Slit Canyon's mouth. Aside from your typical Death Valley canyon obstacles like boulder hopping and Class 2/3 baby dryfalls, there are also a couple of impassable dry falls with side trails to get around them. The "slit" in Slit Canyon is just a particularly narrow section, short but cool. The canyon widens a bit before the third set of narrows, and then widens further and doesn't seem to narrow up again after the third set, which is where I turned around. Really, Slit Canyon's most interesting bit ends after the second section of narrows, but after that it's pretty and remote and maybe worth going farther for some.

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Parked here, at the Hole-in-the-Rock

Heading into the Slit Canyon mouth.

Getting closer through the alluvial fan.

Looking back at Hole-in-the-Rock from Slit Canyon's mouth.

Entering Slit Canyon.

First dry fall, there's a Class 2 route up and around on the right.

Looking down from the spot to avoid the first dryfall.

First narrows, above the dryfall.

I assume this is the slit part of Slit Canyon.

The canyon begins to open for a bit.

Approaching a 40 foot dryfall. The Class 2+ route to avoid it goes to the left, up that slope.

Closeup of the falls.

Looking down the way I came on the alternate route to avoid the dryfall.

Second section of narrows, above the dryfall.

Looking down the dryfall.

Relatively narrow for some time.

Canyon opens up for a while.

Entering narrows section 3.

Looking back toward the third narrows.

Slit Canyon opens up significantly after this point.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!