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Death Canyon Trail

Intermediate/Difficult
 4.6 (12)
  1. Areas
  2. WY
  3. …Northwestern Wyoming
  4. …Grand Teton National Park
  5. South
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“A beautiful canyon trail that opens up to awesome wildflowers the higher it gets. ”

Tom Robson
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Map Key

9.8

Miles

15.7

KM

Point to Point

9,573' 2,918 m

High

6,767' 2,062 m

Low

3,150' 960 m

Up

383' 117 m

Down

7%

Avg Grade (4°)

38%

Max Grade (21°)

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Backcountry camping permits can be found here: nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/…

Description

This trail begins at the Death Canyon Trailhead, just north of the White Grass Ranger Station Historic District and ends at an intersection with Fox Creek Pass and Death Canyon Shelf. To access Death Canyon Trail, drive to the Death Canyon Trailhead where the trail shortly joins the Valley Trail and heads west. The trail is flanked by Albright Peak (10,552') to the north and Prospectors Mountain (11,241') to the south. After over 2 miles, the canyon widens and is intercepted by the Static Peak Divide.

From here, the Death Canyon Trail continues west, then southwest, climbing steadily to Fox Creek Pass. Like many of the Grand Teton trails, there is a nice camping area here. This camping zone extends from just west of the Alaska Basin Trail junction to .5 mi below Fox Creek Pass and is available by permit.

Flora & Fauna

Fauna:
  • Pika
  • Marmot
  • Moose
  • Black Bears
  • Grizzly Bears

Birds:
  • American Dippers
  • Harlequin Ducks
  • Western Tanagers
  • Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
  • Yellow-Rumped Warblers
  • Golden Eagles
  • Steller’s Jays
  • Gray Jays
  • Golden-Crowned Kinglets
  • Dark-Eyed
    Juncos
  • Townsend’s Warblers

Flora:
  • Dense conifer forest
  • Open meadows of
    wildflowers
  • As elevation increases, wildflowers
    abound while trees become stunted and eventually shrub-like.

Contacts

Land Manager: National Park Service - Grand Teton National Park

Shared By:

Tom Robson
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.6 from 12 votes

#1

in South

#729

Overall
  4.6 from 12 votes
5 Star
58%
4 Star
42%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#1

in South

#33

in Wyoming

#729

Overall
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3,625 Since Jan 10, 2015
Intermediate/Difficult
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Photos

Looking into Death Canyon from Fox Creek Pass.
Oct 11, 2020 near Moose W…, WY
Death Canyon Shelf
Oct 11, 2020 near Moose W…, WY
The final ascent from Death Canyon to Fox Creek Pass.
Oct 11, 2020 near Moose W…, WY
Phelps Lake
Oct 11, 2020 near Moose W…, WY
Phelps Lake
Oct 18, 2020 near Moose W…, WY
Heading down Death Canyon.
May 13, 2016 near Moose W…, WY

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

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All Clear 67 days ago See History
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Check-Ins

Jun 3, 2022
Gabrielle Troia
Sep 29, 2021
Gentry Fore
Jul 9, 2021
Sunil Malapati
Starting a little late
Oct 3, 2020
Adam L
1mi
Aug 28, 2020
Sarah Wiggins
Hiked through death canyon up to end of the camping zone leaving last 1.5 for the next morning up to the shelf.
Aug 11, 2020
Emily M
Jul 10, 2020
Scott Piper
Jun 15, 2020
Dennis Chan
hiked up to cabin (junction) and back. two snow traverses required, but trail crews happened to be cutting a path through the snow masses, overall… 9.8mi

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