birdandhike.com logo
Home | Wilderness | Hiking | Death Valley
Lower Mosaic Canyon Trail
Hiking Around Las Vegas, Death Valley National Park
Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon
Hiker at Mosaic Canyon Trailhead sign (view S)

Overview

The Lower Mosaic Canyon Trail is short hike that runs up into the Death Valley Wilderness Area following a gravel wash through a narrow canyon with water-polished walls made of white marble and blue-gray conglomerate rocks. The water-polished conglomerate rocks look like mosaic tiles grouted onto the canyon wall, hence the name of the canyon. After only a few minutes of walking, hikers enter a narrow slot that is only 2-3 feet wide in places, but the canyon generally feels open and airy. The best water-polished marble in the entire canyon is located between 0.21 and 0.27 miles from the trailhead. For details of continuing up this geologically interesting canyon to a pour-over, see the Upper Mosaic Canyon Trail.

Best of the Canyon one-way distance: 0.27 miles. Net elevation gain: 180 ft.

Top of the Lower Narrows one-way distance: 0.56. Net elevation gain: 270 ft.

Link to map.

Mosaic Canyon
Trail rules sign at the trailhead (view S)

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ...this hike is pretty safe, but stay out of the canyon if it is raining or threatens to rain because of flashflood dangers. There are several small scramble-ups in the narrows that are fairly easy to pass, but the rock is water-polished, slick, and covered with dust and gravel, so the risk of slipping is greater than usual (speaking from experience).

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and please try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this is a short hike, so just take what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Mosaic Canyon
Trail starts on high ground adjacent to Mosaic Canyon Wash (view S)

Getting to the Trailhead

Mosaic Canyon is located in Death Valley National Park, about 3.5 hours northwest of Las Vegas.

From town, drive out to Death Valley. From the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (Table 1, Site 0712), drive north on Highway 190 for 24 miles to Stovepipe Wells (Site 0751). Continue west on Highway 190 for another 0.25 miles to Mosaic Canyon Road (Site 0750), a graded dirt road just west of Stovepipe Wells Campground. Turn south (left) onto Mosaic Canyon Road, and drive for 2.3 miles to the end of the road at the edge of the mountains (Site 0749). Park here; this is the Mosaic Canyon Trailhead.

Mosaic Canyon
Trail drops into the wash (view S)

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 2, Waypoint 01), Mosaic Canyon Trail runs south and up the wash towards the mouth of Mosaic Canyon. The trail starts at the top of an enormous alluvial fan that stretches all the way to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, which can be seen in the distance below.

Initially, the wash runs between 15-ft-tall alluvial walls with the dark gray-and-brown cliffs of Tucki Mountain towering above them.

At about 0.09 miles from the trailhead (Wpt. 02), the trail passes the alluvial cliffs and gets into bedrock at the mouth of Mosaic Canyon. At that point, the rock walls at the edge of the wash are white. This is water-polished marble (metamorphosed limestone). The white marble is exposed on the edges of the wash because it is water polished; above the wash, a thick patina of desert varnish darkens the marble.

Mosaic Canyon
Trail runs up the wash for the rest of the hike (view S)

The vegetation in this area is sparse, as usual for this desert, and dominated by creosote bush. Higher up Mosaic Canyon, the vegetation is more diverse and includes pygmy cedar, ephedra, a couple of other shrubs, and many little annuals when there has been enough rain.

Continuing up Mosaic Canyon, at about 0.15 miles out, the trail arrives at the bottom of the Lower Narrows. Here, the east (left) side of the canyon is mostly white, water-polished marble, but the west (right) side is layered: the base layer is marble, but that is overlain by a cobbly conglomerate, which in turn is overlain by more-recent, finer-grained conglomerate alluvial materials.

Scrambling up the winding narrows, the rock is water-sculpted and water-polished, and there are many examples of the marble-and-conglomerate mosaic in the walls of the canyon. Here, long ago, the bedrock was crushed into small pieces, perhaps as a result of earthquake activity or maybe it was just gravel in the bottom of the wash, and then dissolved limestone filled in the spaces around the rubble and solidified to form solid rock (much like concrete with gravel mixed in).

Mosaic Canyon
Conglomerate cliffs at canyon mouth (view S)

Later, the wash cut down through the rock, exposing the mosaic appearance. There are places along the edge of the wash where either the infilling process was not complete or the infill material has eroded away, revealing the 3-dimensional nature of the original rubble.

At about 0.24 miles out, the trail passes the remains of iron stairs (Wpt. 03) that were built to bypass an obstacle that no longer exists. It is interesting to see the old-time workmanship demonstrated here.

Shortly, the canyon jogs right (west) and the route ascends a pour-over cascade (Wpt. 04) where it is easier to stay to the right all the way through as the canyon bends back to the east. For hikers not going to Upper Mosaic Canyon, this is a good place to stop because this is the end of the best of the Lower Narrows.

Some hikers might want to continue another 0.28 miles through an interesting narrow-ish canyon to where Mosaic Canyon widens abruptly (Wpt. 05). This truly is the end of the best of the Lower Narrows.

Rest here in the narrows and relax for a spell, then follow your footprints back down through the narrows to the trailhead (Wpt. 01).

Mosaic Canyon
Entering the narrows (view S)
Mosaic Canyon
Starting up the narrows (view S)
Mosaic Canyon
The walls of the canyon become interesting (view S)
Mosaic Canyon
Beginning of water-polished narrows (view S)
Mosaic Canyon
Interesting geology
Mosaic Canyon
Details of the mosaic texture in the canyon wall
Mosaic Canyon
Wall formed of polished white marble and polished conglomerate
Mosaic Canyon
Wall formed of polished conglomerate rock
Lower Mosaic Canyon
Wall formed of polished white marble and polished conglomerate
Mosaic Canyon
A patch of mosaic in the marble wall
Mosaic Canyon
Approaching old stairs and handrail used for a bypass (view S)
Mosaic Canyon
Old stairs (missing) and handrail used for a bypass (view S)
Lower Mosaic Canyon
Historic metal steps and handrail on the side of the canyon
Mosaic Canyon
They don't build this like this anymore
Lower Mosaic Canyon
Larger rocks embedded in the rock wall
Lower Mosaic Canyon
Interesting geology
Mosaic Canyon
Another large rock embedded in the conglomerate rock wall
Mosaic Canyon
The canyon becomes quite narrow (view S)
Mosaic Canyon
The step-up here is quite slippery
Mosaic Canyon
The canyon bends to the right (view SW)
Mosaic Canyon
Even a boulder embedded in the conglomerate rock wall
Mosaic Canyon
The canyon jogs to the right (view SW)
Mosaic Canyon
Slippery, polished rock to scramble up
Mosaic Canyon
Above slippery scramble-up, canyon jogs back to the left (view SE)
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon
Winding up through the canyon (view SE)
Mosaic Canyon
Last of the polished white marble (view SE)
Mosaic Canyon
Layered red cliffs border the gravel wash (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
The trail enters another narrow section (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
Winding up through the narrow section (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
Continuing through the narrow section (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
Upper end of this narrow section (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
Approaching the end of this narrow section (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
Exiting this narrow section into a wider canyon (view E)
Mosaic Canyon
Entering the wide canyon (view E)

Descending the Lower Mosaic Canyon Trail

Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon
Nice polished narrows (view N)
Mosaic Canyon
Approaching the tight jog in the canyon (view N)
Mosaic Canyon
Tight jog in the canyon (view NE)
Mosaic Canyon
Some hikers like to sit and slide down the polished marble
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon
Approaching the trailhead (view N)
Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon Trail returning to the trailhead (view N)

Table 1. Highway Coordinates (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download Highway GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.

Site # Location Latitude (N) Longitude (W) Easting Northing Elevation (ft) Verified
0712 Furnace Creek Visitor Center 36.46159 116.86574 512030 4034954 -186 Yes
0749 Mosaic Canyon Parking 36.57194 117.14349 487161 4047195 942 Yes
0750 Hwy 190 at Mosaic Canyon Rd 36.60457 117.14758 486801 4050816 32 Yes
0751 Hwy 190 at Stovepipe Wells 36.60654 117.14594 486948 4051034 0 Yes

Table 2. Hiking Coordinates Based on GPS Data (NAD27, UTM Zone 11S). Download Hiking GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.

Wpt. Location UTM Easting UTM Northing Elevation (ft) Point-to-Point Distance (mi) Cumulative Distance (mi)
01 Mosaic Canyon Trailhead 487170 4047185 942 0.00 0.00
02 Bottom of First Narrows 487209 4047057 1,033 0.09 0.09
03 Old Stairs 487241 4046841 1,118 0.15 0.24
04 Top of First Narrows 487212 4046784 1,122 0.04 0.28
05 Canyon Abruptly Widens 487567 4046771 1,213 0.28 0.56
01 Mosaic Canyon Trailhead 487170 4047185 942 0.56 1.12

Happy Hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240324

Death Valley Hiking Around Las Vegas Glossary Copyright, Conditions, Disclaimer Home
Google Ads