Bad Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3A III (v3a1 III) Raps:11, max ↨200ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle: Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 3 Jan 2026
"Lower rap count made this a good choice on a day with afternoon rain forecast. Fresh anchors on all the necessary raps. We ghosted one approach rap/do |
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| Best season: | Nov-Mar (avg for this region)
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36.2301, -116.7490
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Introduction[edit]
This is a good canyon. It gets its name from the fact that it exits at Badwater Basin. There aren't as many rappels as some others that start from Dantes View; there is kind of a lot of walking. But the 15-or-so rappels are nice and the downclimbing makes this a very worthwhile descent. For a shorter version, do the newly (2026) verified bottom-up sneak approach and drop into Bad Canyon right where the lower rappels start (this is probably not recommended for most groups due to exposed, loose, 3rd class terrain, and loose rocks that are difficult to avoid dislodging on rappels).
Approach[edit]
There are 3 approaches: 1) the long way down from Dante's View. 2) the long way up the ridge South of Bad Canyon 3) the sneak approach climbing the ridge or the North side (loose and exposed). Pick your poison! :)
For the sneak approach, park at Bad Water Basin parking lot, head south up the alluvial fan to 36.22607, -116.77092, climb the rocky band to the climber's left of the gravel / scree slope to 36.22552, -116.77016, head up easy terrain to the 784 summit at 36.22829, -116.76200, head down slightly to the broad saddle, continue up the small gully to small saddle at 36.22618, -116.75659, head up left of the rock band climbing a shallow chimney, head up but generally traverse right (when easy to do so), continue to 36.22618, -116.75659 where you can see down into the canyon with R1 visible ~1000 feet up canyon. From here you need to decide how to rappel to the canyon floor. On 21DEC2025 we chose to rappel off a large "black" tower of rock several hundred feet North of 36.22618, -116.75659 (previous coordinate) which is on the steep slope facing the canyon (not on the ridge proper itself). Rappelling 150 feet off this tower, put us about 300 feet down canyon of R1. Getting to this tower requires traversing steep terrain facing the canyon, so be careful! There are many option here, included doing multiple rappels to reduce exposure. Do be careful knocking rock down almost everything small is loose; people at the bottom need to move well away from the rope drop before the next person starts moving up top.
Descent[edit]
Waypoints in the KML map contain detailed descriptions of all the rappels (courtesy of Bluugnome.com).
Exit[edit]
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
BluuGnome.com : Bad Canyon- Chris Brennen's Adventure Hikes (Southwest) : Bad Canyon
- Super Amazing Map : Bad Canyon
Trip reports and media[edit]
Hike-up from bottom with 4000'+ ascent Report:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=scott.swaney&set=a.10164445779132930
https://youtu.be/WXx-juGXcyA?si=3_5EzEJ0suJ_X64c
Background[edit]
First canyoneering descent by Mark Duttweiler, John Perry, Randi Poer, Scott Smith, Bob Greer, Ted Wring and Chris Brennen on Nov.15, 2003.