Conditions:Heart of Stone Canyon-20241105055342

Latest:	2 Nov 2024 (11 mos ago)

Reported by:	Brdn.gonzales (47 reports)
Quality:	Good
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	24 hours

Team: 2 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Just to give a little perspective to anyone planning to run this canyon. If you’re coming from the 395, it’ll take about five hours to reach the start of the approach. The last two hours are spent on a washboard road with some gravel and light rock crawling. You will need a 4WD vehicle. Definitely plan for the worst because this area is remote and doesn’t see much traffic. Getting a flat or stuck out there without a spare would be a rough time.

Now that you know what it takes to get there, you’re in for an adventure! The approach is long and it took us around 4 hours with plenty of rolling hills. We had hoped to start before noon and make it a day trip, but since it took longer to reach the trailhead, we brought overnight gear and camped at the canyon entrance instead.

As for the canyon itself, it’s really pretty and stands out from most other Death Valley canyons. Knot chocks, deadmans, and cairn anchors will get you through without issue. Aside from rebuilding a few old anchors, you won’t run into any major challenges.

The hike back, though... that part kind of sucked. Same deal endless rolling hills until you finally spot the car.

All in all, I’m glad we did it, but it’s probably a one-and-done for me. Definitely a big pay-to-play kind of canyon.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
19 Jan 2025	Good	Dry	None	Normal	8 hours	5 people Brand new to Expert	Kristoffer (14 reports)
Comment: Beautiful canyon with several good rappels and a beautiful downclimbs. Extended sections of sculpted granite narrows. Approach was dry, but we did find snow in the canyon. Not enough to get wet feet but plenty to pack some snowballs. We hiked at a good pace but were somewhat slow overall. I failed to remove the safety biner on my fiddlestick on the 100' and had to ascend to fix it, and we got lost briefly on the exit hike. 8 hrs car to car. The last 100' or so of the road is badly rutted. I drove it for fun but it would have definitely been faster to walk. There was also a massive tree that fell across the road and we drug it out the way with one of the trucks. There were an insane number of spikey plants everywhere on the approach and I had to stop repeatedly to pull thorns out of my trail runners. If I do this one again I will wear full height boots for sure.
2 Nov 2024	Good	Dry	None	Normal	24 hours	2 people Beginner to Advanced	Brdn.gonzales (47 reports)
Comment: Just to give a little perspective to anyone planning to run this canyon. If you’re coming from the 395, it’ll take about five hours to reach the start of the approach. The last two hours are spent on a washboard road with some gravel and light rock crawling. You will need a 4WD vehicle. Definitely plan for the worst because this area is remote and doesn’t see much traffic. Getting a flat or stuck out there without a spare would be a rough time. Now that you know what it takes to get there, you’re in for an adventure! The approach is long and it took us around 4 hours with plenty of rolling hills. We had hoped to start before noon and make it a day trip, but since it took longer to reach the trailhead, we brought overnight gear and camped at the canyon entrance instead. As for the canyon itself, it’s really pretty and stands out from most other Death Valley canyons. Knot chocks, deadmans, and cairn anchors will get you through without issue. Aside from rebuilding a few old anchors, you won’t run into any major challenges. The hike back, though... that part kind of sucked. Same deal endless rolling hills until you finally spot the car. All in all, I’m glad we did it, but it’s probably a one-and-done for me. Definitely a big pay-to-play kind of canyon.
29 Apr 2023	Good	Dry			11 hours	2 people Advanced	Abby Wines (50 reports)
Comment: Late April, and there were still snow banks in the canyon in a few places. It was warm on the hike to and from the canyon, but not dangerously so. This is a good late-season canyon. I would not recommend Heart of Stone in the Heart of Winter.
27 Nov 2021	Great	Dry	None	Normal	10 hours	9 people Expert to Intermediate	Dominik (64 reports)
Comment: Tracks posted on main page need to be updated.
13 Feb 2021	Amazing	Dry	None	Normal	8 hours	8 people	Morgan (103 reports)
Comment: Finally made it into this one! Well worth the effort. No snow on the approach, but enough for snowball fights in the upper portion of the canyon. High clearance 4x4 with short wheelbase required to reach the very end of the mine road from which the approach hike starts; otherwise you will have to park at a small clearing about one mile from the end of the road and walk the extra distance.
1 Jan 2021	Ok				7 hours	2 people Advanced to Expert	Logan (60 reports)
Comment: Snow on the approach made for wet feet all day. Easy to lose navigation, 5-6 miles each way over dozens of valleys. Probably the best canyon in DV. For DV great downclimbs. The 4 rappels are nice. Hard to recommend such a short canyon, 1 our 20 minutes, with such a huge approach and exit, 6 hours. If you are going to check out The Racetrack, then this is a good one while you are camped in the area.
31 Dec 2020	Amazing	Dry	None	Special challenges	7 hours	3 people Intermediate to Expert	Sqshemet (85 reports)
Comment: Beautiful, deep, winding limestone narrows follow an incredibly scenic (but not too difficult) hike high in the Cottonwoods. Road was in good condition the whole way. The approach is long, but gorgeous in its own right. While it wasn't very technical, our group found this canyon more than worth the trip. A few inches of snow on the ground made for a cold day. Did six rappels and replaced anchors on four; snowy, slippery rock made downclimbing more hazardous than usual. Tried to contour around on the exit and meet the approach drainage higher up rather than follow the wash as in the track -- bad idea! It would have been much easier to stay low.
16 Dec 2018	Great	Dry	None	Special challenges	7 hours	10 people Beginner to Expert	Adam Haydock (24 reports)
Comment: Excellent Death Valley canyon! We replaced most of the anchors and the drops were a lot of fun. the hike was pretty straightforward. Excellent choice for a limestone canyon in Death Valley.