Golden Canyon, Red Cathedral and Gower Gulch

Golden Canyon is the most popular hike in Death Valley.

Golden Canyon, Red Cathedral and Gower Gulch detail:

Loop

Distance: 5.3 miles

Elevation: 850 feet

Time: 2:45

Ease: moderate

Parking: at start of Golden Canyon

Park at the trailhead for Golden Canyon. It's located on Badwater Road, 2 mile south of Ca190.

Walk 1 mile to the turn off for Red Cathedral. The Golden Canyon trail is flat and easy.

The canyons are not as high as Titus Canyon.

Borax between layers of rock

View of Manly Beacon

Beyond Golden Canyon, the Red Cathedral hike is more strenuous than the main canyon. It is 0.5 miles in each direction.

You'll need to squeeze between rocks and climb over some rocks to reach the base of the Red Cathedral.

Base of the Red Cathedral.

You can climb to the top to get a view of the surrounding canyon but the trail is tough. It's not recommended if you have a fear of heights. Hiking poles may be helpful on this portion of the trail.

After returning from Red Cathedral, turn left.

It's a steep climb to the base of Manly Beacon.

View from the base of Manly Beacon.

When we reached the Badlands Junction, it was getting late so we didn’t go to Zabriskie Point. We turned right at the junction and hiked 0.3 miles to Gower Gulch.

Gower Gulch is a flat 2.2 miles back to the parking lot.

In the distance, you can see mine openings.

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