Cottonwood-Marble Canyon (Death Valley)
Death Valley National Park · near Stovepipe Wells / Furnace Creek · California Desert
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 26 miles
- Elevation gain
- 3,000 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day
- Best season
- November–March only (lethal heat otherwise)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Free Death Valley NP backcountry permit (voluntary registration, strongly encouraged, via the visitor center or online). The Cottonwood-Marble Canyon loop is the park's classic backpack. There is essentially no water — springs are unreliable and must be confirmed. High-clearance vehicle needed to reach the trailhead.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Backpacking the largest park in the lower 48 · Slot-canyon narrows · Cottonwood springs oasis · Crushing desert silence & dark skies
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 2–3
- Resupply
- None — and essentially no reliable water. Cache or carry every drop. This is the defining, life-or-death constraint.
- Intl tip
- Confirm the Cottonwood Spring status with the ranger station before you go — if it's dry, the trip becomes a much larger water carry or a no-go. Nighttime winter temperatures can drop below freezing even as afternoons are warm; the desert's swing is enormous. The trailhead road requires real clearance; don't attempt it in a low sedan.
The guide
Backpacking in Death Valley is desert mountaineering of a particular, serious kind — the challenge is not elevation or mileage …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cottonwood-Marble Canyon (Death Valley) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.5, -117.35