Walking Wild & Free

Mosaic Canyon 1

Mosaic Canyon

Photo credit Marc Smith, CC BY. View at https://flic.kr/p/95tv1c

Mosaic Canyon 2

Photo credit Jerome Bon, CC BY. View at https://flic.kr/p/f1EvJz

Mosaic Canyon 3

Photo credit Jerome Bon, CC BY. View at https://flic.kr/p/f1UMtC

Mosaic Canyon 4

Photo credit Jerome Bon, CC BY. View at https://flic.kr/p/f1Etea

Mosaic Canyon 5

Photo credit Leonard S Jacobs, CC BY-ND. View at https://flic.kr/p/isWWqP

Mosaic Canyon 6

Photo credit Nick Doty, CC BY. View at https://flic.kr/p/EbESDk

Explore a beautiful desert canyon with slots, small dryfalls, and highly polished walls with multiple narrows and small scrambles.

Total Distance: 3.6 miles out & back	Elevation Gain: 1,483ft. (932ft. to 2,009ft.)
Difficulty: Moderately Strenuous	0-5 Mile Difficulty: Very Strenuous
View Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0	Author’s Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0
Visitor Rating: (Click to rate) [Total: 0 Average: 0]	Visitor Difficulty Rating: (Click to rate) [Total: 0 Average: 0]
Pets: No	Horses: No
Best Seasons: November-April	Special Permits: None
Water Availability: None	Overnight Options: None
Trailhead Amenities: None	Crowd Factor: Moderate
Trailhead Access: 1.2
Uses:	Trail Surface:
Features:	Hazards:

Mile-by-Mile: Mosaic Canyon

0.0 Mosaic Canyon Trailhead (932ft.). Follow the trail up the wash to where the lower canyon/first narrows end. (36.571824°, -117.144272°)

0.5 Wash widens (1,186ft.). This is the end of the first narrows. Continue up the gravelly wash. Occasional social trails may climb the sides of the canyon; ignore them unless they are useful as bypasses for difficult dryfalls. (36.568116°, -117.139835°)

1.0 Enter second narrows (1,417ft.). These are not as narrow as the first set, though they are more challenging to ascend. (36.565213°, -117.133417°)

1.25 Boulders in the wash (1,606ft.). Many hikers turn around here. However, it is possible to scramble/squeeze through the boulders on the left (east) side or find a bypass route to access the upper part of the second narrows (which are much narrower and more beautiful than the lower section you just walked through). (36.561790, -117.132627)

1.4 20ft. Dryfall (1,680ft.). Climbing the dryfall is possible but not recommended. If you want to continue upcanyon, hike back down the canyon about 200ft. to a bypass on the southwest canyon wall (located at approximately 36.560666°, -117.132280°; on left as you’re walking downcanyon). Follow the bypass up a side-wash, then east up a small hill and back down into Mosaic Canyon above the 20ft. dryfall. Do not take the social trail that looks like a bypass along the canyon rim. (36.560620°, -117.132022°)

1.5 Return to the main wash (1,707ft.). Continue upcanyon. It soon enters the Third Narrows – several small dryfalls pose fun challenges. (36.560422°, -117.131137°)

1.8 25ft. Dryfall (2,009ft.). Casual upcanyon travel ends here. Retrace your steps downcanyon unless you love scrambling and want additional adventures. (36.558205°, -117.128325°)

History & More

Most of the walls of Mosaic Canyon are made up of either Noonday Dolomite (the highly-polished walls) or Mosaic Canyon Breccia (colorful rocks trapped in a natural cement-like mud/rock that looks like a mosaic pavement). The gravel on the bottom of the wash is picked up in flash floods and scours the walls, revealing the breccia and polishing the dolomite.

It’s likely that Mosaic Canyon received its name from the breccia, the pebbles of which would have reminded early visitors of a mosaic pavement.

Mosaic Canyon is a child’s paradise when it comes to hiking. The smooth dryfalls make great slides and exploring around every bend is both fun and exciting.

The one problem with sliding the dryfalls is that while they’re quite smooth, they’re still somewhat rough on the seats of shorts and jeans!

The first narrows in Mosaic Canyon are both the most beautiful and the most popular. Crowds thin considerably in the second narrows.

Download Trail Map

Coming soon!

Driving Directions

The access road is along CA-190 0.4 miles west of Stovepipe Wells and 9 miles east of the Emigrant Canyon Road. Turn onto the 2WD-friendly, dirt access road for 2.3 miles to the parking area at the end of the road.