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Sidewinder Canyon Road
Hiking Around Las Vegas, Death Valley National Park
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Badwater Road (view S with Sidewinder Canyon in the distance)

Overview

Sidewinder Canyon Road is a short spur off Badwater Road that leads to the Sidewinder Canyon Trailhead, which serves Sidewinder Canyon and Willow Canyon. The road is unpaved, but parts of the parking area are paved because it is used by the road maintenance crew to store gravel and other road repair materials. As such, they tend to keep this road in reasonably good shape and suitable for sedans.

Link to Road Map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about driving in the desert, ...the road is short and pretty safe, but stay out of the area if it is raining or threatens to rain because of flash flood dangers. When out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this hike is fairly long and remote, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials. Don't block the gravel piles at the trailhead in case the road crew needs to work there.

Sidewinder Canyon Road
Badwater Road approaching Sidewinder Canyon Road (view S)

Getting to the Trailhead

This road is located in Death Valley National Park, about 3.5 hours northwest of Las Vegas. From town, drive out to Death Valley. From the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (Table 1, Site 0712), drive south on Highway 190 for about 1.25 miles to the Badwater (Highway 178) turnoff (Site 0741). Turn right towards Badwater, and drive south for about 31.2 miles to a well-graded dirt road on the east (left) side of the road (Site 0773). This is 14.8 miles (and the first side road) south of Badwater (Site 0714).

The Road

There is a small sign at the start of Sidewinder Canyon Road. From the pavement, the gravel pit is visible at the end of the dirt road.

Drive southeast for about 0.3 miles into the gravel pit area. Turn right and park on the south end of the paved area; this is Sidewinder Trailhead (Site 0774). The north end of the paved area is the trailhead for Willow Canyon, another worthwhile hike.

Sidewinder Canyon Road
Badwater Road northbound at Sidewinder Canyon Road (view N)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road (view SE from Badwater Road)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road (view SE from Badwater Road)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road at road sign (view SE)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road (view SE)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road (view SE)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Road approaching the gravel pit (view SE)
more to come
More to come ...

Sidewinder Trailhead

Sidewinder Canyon Road
Gravel pit area (view S from Sidewinder Canyon Road)
Sidewinder Canyon
Sidewinder Canyon Trailhead (view S from Sidewinder Canyon Road)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Canyon Trailhead parking with a pile of gravel (view S)
Sidewinder Canyon
Sidewinder Canyon Trailhead parking without a pile of gravel (view S)

Willow Trailhead

Sidewinder Canyon Road
Sidewinder Road approaching Willow Canyon Trailhead (view NE)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Willow Canyon Trailhead (view N from Sidewinder Canyon Road)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Willow Canyon Trailhead (view N)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Willow Canyon Trailhead (view NE)
Sidewinder Canyon Road
Willow Canyon Trailhead (view N)
more to come
More to come ...

Table 1. Highway Coordinates Based on GPS Data (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S). Download Highway GPS Waypoints (*.gpx) file.

Site # Location Latitude (N) Longitude (W) Easting Northing Elevation (ft) Verified
0712 Furnace Creek Visitor Center 36.46159 116.86574 512030 4034954 -186 Yes
0714 Badwater Parking 36.22981 116.76638 520995 4009262 -280 Yes
0741 Hwy 190 at Badwater Rd 36.44841 116.85192 513271 4033494 4 Yes
0773 Hwy 178 at Sidewinder Canyon Rd 36.06763 116.74712 522773 3991279 -253 Yes
0774 Sidewinder Canyon Parking 36.06491 116.74390 523063 3990978 -240 Yes

Happy Hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240324

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