When Jenny and I stopped by the Death Valley visitor’s center at Furnace Creek, we ask about hikes — what’s the best hike if we’re looking for something not too difficult? The park ranger behind the counter answered quickly: Golden Canyon. (That links to excellent coverage of the trail by Modern Hiker.)

This is probably the most popular hike in Death Valley, as it’s both relatively easy to climb and very accessible just off the main road south of Furnace Creek. Be prepared for a full parking lot, but cars can parallel park along the road with no problem.

Ah, now I see why this is called Golden Canyon. And check out that hiker climbing the golden peaks below:

Another hiker runs up to join him:

The trail winds through the canyon for about a mile. At that point you can either turn around and head back the way you came, or press onwards towards the Red Cathedral (another half-mile ahead or so). A third option is to turn right at the indicated area to do a full loop to Zabriskie Point and then go back to the parking lot from there. Again, this website explains the various trails quite well.

Be careful if it starts to rain — water will cascade down these rifts, resulting in a flash flood.

Check out the strata of these rocks:

We see a glimpse of Red Cathedral in the distance:

Here are views of the golden badlands terrain from which this canyon derives its name:

Now we’re approaching Red Cathedral in all its glory:

Just a bit of scrambling first, but it’s not too bad — we climb over some big rocks and navigate a few tight corners.

My friend Jenny snaps this shot of me peeking out behind the rocks:

And here’s Jenny:

And this view awaits us at the top. We’re so glad we pushed a little beyond the Golden Canyon trail to get up to Red Cathedral for these views.

I continue a tad further along slippery terrain to get this next shot (look at those colors!), then slowly make my way back trying very hard not to slip.

And that is our Death Valley hiking experience. There are many more hikes to do here, but our time is limited. The ranger we spoke with at the visitor’s center also suggested hiking at Sidewinder Canyon, where there are slot canyons.

I’ve got one last Death Valley post coming — I’ve yet to share images of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. Plus we return to the sand dunes for daytime shots. More next week!