Hiking the Grotto Canyon Trail in Death Valley National Park: Updated 2025
Distance: 2.2 miles / 3.5 km
The Grotto Canyon Trail in Death Valley National Park is one of the more advanced day hikes in the park, due entirely to a number of Class 3/ 4 scrambles required to navigate up the narrow, windy canyon.
However, following the historic Death Valley floods that occurred in August 2022, Grotto Canyon is now more of an advanced trail than ever because of one 'new' and quite significant rockfall caused by the floodwaters right at the beginning of the hike.
That said, I didn’t feel comfortable making the required moves as a solo hiker when I first encountered the rockfall—especially since I knew there was no chance of seeing another hiker on any given day due to the washed-out road.
I will be back to complete the canyon in the future, but I hope this serves as a reminder for everyone to make smart decisions!
If you’re experience on the Grotto Canyon Trail is different from mine, please leave a comment below!
Grotto Canyon Trailhead Parking
As a result of the August 2022 floods, parking for the Grotto Canyon Trail is located just outside of Grotto Canyon Road, alongside of Highway 190.
This information will change when the road is repaired.
Google Maps Directions: Grotto Canyon Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Death Valley
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Death Valley National Park.
Walking to the Trailhead
Following this historic 2022 flods, Grotto Canyon is now only accessible by hiking from Highway 190, as the road to access the canyon is washed out.
For this reason, I decided to begin the hike well before sunrise to avoid the exposure on the long road.
This is where the road washed out.
Hiking the Grotto Canyon Trail
As far as I could tell, the original trailhead used to here at the federal wilderness boundary.
From the boundary, it’s only about 0.25 miles (0.4 km) of hiking to reach the Grotto.
The Grotto
This is the entrance for the Grotto, and it’s a small tight section that I imagine will get very busy once the road reopens.
That is, unless the Park Service does something about the rock that fell or installs a ladder. However, wilderness areas are designed to be preserved in their natural condition, so I doubt that would happen.
Grotto Canyon Rockfall
Following the August 2022 floods, this large boulder fell, making this second climb significantly more difficult.
Whenever the road is fixed, I have to imagine that this climb will be the end of the hike for most people, which might make the Grotto much more crowded because it’s so short and narrow.
On a different note, know that this photo does a pretty bad job at showing how challenging and awkward this climb is, which is why I chose to save it for another day when I come back with friends.
I’m 6’ 4”, and getting up on that first ledge from the rock on the ground is a small challenge on its own. From there, the only way up is through the gap to the left of the boulder, which is much more challenging than it looks.
If I was with friends, one of us would have to lay flat somehow on the upper ledge beneath the boulder and then contort our body from the ledge to get through the gap without falling. Trust me, it’s much more difficult than it looks, and it’s not something that I could have done with a backpack on.
I didn’t want to leave it behind nor put myself in that awkward position 10-15 ft. (3-4.6 m) above the ground without support, so truly hiking further wasn’t worth it for me.
