RHH's photos with the keyword: panamint springs

Darwin Falls is in a narrow canyon near Panamint Springs. In the floods of 2023 the road to the trailhead for the falls was washed out, turning a short hike of two miles into a much longer hike of seven miles. We decided to do the hike anyway and arrived at the falls to find that area much changed by the flooding. In 2018 when we were at the falls there was a large pool at the base of the falls which is now gone and the trees near the falls were also gone. The hike to the falls has become more of a scramble as well. The inset photo from 2018 shows the falls as they were and the second inset shows the washed-out road.

This was the road to the trail head to Darwin Falls in Death Valley National Park. The floods of 2022 and 2023 washed out much of the road. We hiked to the falls, but the hike is now seven miles instead of two miles.

The Panamint Valley is on the west side of Death Valley National Park and its northern end lies within the park boundaries. This view looks southwest with the mountains of the Nelson Range in the distance.

Leaving Death Valley and heading west we went through Towne Pass and just before dropping down into the Panamint Valley with the town of Panamint Springs on the other side of the valley, we stopped and took this photo. Towne Pass is nearly 5000 feet (1500 meters) and in a very short distance the road drops to 2000 feet (620 meters). Just beyond Panamint Springs was our next destination, the road to the Darwin Falls trailhead. The snow-covered peaks in the distance are the Sierra Nevadas, the highest peak Olancha Peak, on the other side of the Grapevine Mountains.

This an the following photo were taken in Panamint Valley on the west side of Death Valley National Park. Once again, the Sierra Nevadas are visible in the distance.

This was the view from the Cottonwood Mountains as we drove west. The valley is the Panamint Valley and the town is Panamint Springs where we stopped to hike to Darwin Falls. This is all still part of Death Valley National Park, but the mountains in the distance, the Sierra Nevadas are not.