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Titus Canyon

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ArnyZona
ArnyZona
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5 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Titus Canyon Road Gives Bumpy Death Valley Intro

  • December 29, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Carmen from Fairfax, Virginia
Titus Canyon Road Gives Bumpy Death Valley Intro

I’m not sure if we’re adventurers or just crazy, but when we looked up a route into Death Valley from Las Vegas, we saw a "short cut" into the Northern part of Death Valley called Titus Canyon Road. We read about this "short cut" on several tour company Web sites that operate out of Las Vegas, and they described it as a unique experience with spectacular scenery that cuts through a canyon pass.

Well, they mis-described it, and I’m not even sure I can do it justice myself, but I’ll give it a try.

We left Las Vegas, headed North on the I-95, made a quick stop-over in the very small town of Beatty, and then turned left on the 374. Now, normal people would’ve continued on the 374 into Death Valley, but not us. We turned right onto Titus Canyon Road. We did stop for a moment as our 4x4 vehicle (I wouldn’t take this road in a car if I was you) began to shake us around like a blender. We considered whether we should back up and take the paved route – but then, what would life be without a few off-road adventures? So, after taking our photo with the Death Valley National Park sign, we headed off down the VERY rough road.

Now, when I think "short cut" I think it will take us less time to reach our destination. That’s not the case here. This short cut may be shorter in distance, but takes focused driving and lots of pausing for potholes. It winds up – and then down – the mountains into the canyon.

However, the highlight of this path is reaching the canyon floor. The road is one-way, thank goodness, so you don’t have to worry about coming face-first up against an oncoming vehicle. So you can drive the road, which is flanked by the canyon walls, with more enjoyment for the scenery. It’s like something out of a James Bond movie – perhaps a good motorcycle chase that ends with the bad guys careening out of control into the sheer rock slopes. It was perhaps one of the coolest drives I’d ever been on, despite the mauling that the road had heaped on me.

At the end of the canyon, there is a parking lot, where people can drive from the other direction and park to walk into the canyon. So you may have to keep an eye out for pedestrians near the end of your journey. After the parking lot, another mile or so dumps you out onto the 190, which runs North and South through Death Valley and is – oh yeah – paved! Your butt never felt so relieved to see asphalt. Get it? Ass-phalt? 

So, if you have a 4x4, a strong constitution and a hearty sense of adventure, this is a very interesting way to enter into Death Valley.

From journal Death Valley Adventure Day

Titus Canyon

  • March 7, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Linda Hoernke from St. George, Utah
Titus Canyon

We drove west of Beatty into Titus Canyon. The dirt road went 26 miles and snaked up a steep hillside. The walls on either side extended vertically letting the sun drop down into the center of the canyon. This is where we saw big horn sheep climbing up the side of the cliffs. We dropped down into a deep, narrow gorge where the walls of the canyon lifted above us. Reached the ghost own of Leadville and hiked about the ruins. This town only lasted a year before the residents moved on. We reentered the gorge and the walls of the canyon came closer around us, rising higher than before. Glad this was a one way road… no where to back up if a car was coming the other way. The canyon walls date back half a billion years and we found petroglyphs left behind from the Timbisha tribes that once lived here.

From journal Day Trips into Death Valley

4WD drive through Titus Canyon

  • March 4, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by ArnyZona from Venlo, Netherlands
4WD drive through Titus Canyon

This is a great driving tour. The whole route is one-way, so be sure to bring lots of water and a spare tire! You start a flat gravel road, just outside of Rhyolite (coming from Furnace Creek). After half an hour, you start climbing and drive over some really beautiful mountain passes. The road is really narrow and very steep sometimes. About halfway, you reach a little mining ghost town called leadfield.

Get out of the car here and walk around; this is like a time machine!

After the ghost town, the road descends into a narrow canyon. At times, the canyon walls are as high as 100 meters. A great place. At the end of the tour, you can hike on foot through another narrow canyon.

This is really one of the most beautiful parts of the Death Valley National Park!

From journal Death Valley, hot as hell but more beautifull than

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