Canyoneering Route Description

Devils Drain Canyon - 3B IV
Lake Mead Nat. Rec. Area, Nevada. 

Quick Facts

12-21-12, 15 people and one dog, 2 Day (Travel time in route 8.5 hours) Pictures Icon Packraft exit down river then hike out AZ side.

Time Required - 7 to 10 hours (not including vehicle shuttle time)
Distance - 7.7 miles Total, 1.4 miles Technical  (0.8 miles of the route is packrafting)
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 140 feet.
Elevation Range - 650 - 2400 Feet
Shuttle Required - Yes 19.3 Miles Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 140 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

To packraft the river you will need a raft and you a life jacket is REQUIRED to legally float down the river.  Wet suits are recommended when rafting the river since the water is about 50 degrees year round.  The wet suits are not needed in the canyon itself.

General Comments

Devils Drain Canyon drops down into the Nevada side of Colorado River in the Black Canyon area in the Lake Mead National Recreation area.  Devils Drain Canyon offers a fun and scenic rappel through a large arch, the enjoyment of traveling through hot springs while in canyon and a peak at the Colorado River in the Black Canyon area.

This route gives a lot of variety.  You will start the route on the Nevada side of the Colorado River, descend Devils Drain Canyon (including a rappel through a hole in the top of a natural bridge), packraft about 0.75 miles down stream in the Colorado River and cross to the other side then hike about 3 miles out to your exit vehicle parked on the Arizona side on Highway 93.  In Devils Drain Canyon you will also hike through hotsprings.  On the hike out the other side of the river you will have another opportunity to enjoy the Arizona Hot Springs (Ring Bolt Hot Springs) as well.

Thanks to Rick Ianniello for sharing this route.  It was one of the highlights of my End of the World Birthday party in 2012!  You remember 2012 when the world was predicted to end but kept right on going after the 21st of December.

So far I have only done a packraft exit for Devils Drain Canyon.  You do need a packraft to complete this route as described.

After the end of Devils Drain Canyon you will packraft down stream about 0.75 miles in the Colorado River to a beach on the opposite side of the river.  From that beach you will hike out to Highway 93 on the Arizona side of the river.  The exit route described here for the hike up from the Arizona Hot Springs is the shortest option.  WARNING - There is one turn on that exit route that is VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND IN THE DARK.  If you are not familiar with the area and think you will be exiting in the dark, BRING A GPS to help locate the proper spot to turn.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

Driving East into Boulder City Nevada on highway 93 driver to the stop light for the intersection of highway 93 and Buchanan Blvd.  Turn right (south) onto Buchanan Blvd and drive 0.4 miles to the intersection of Buchanan Blvd and Adams Blvd.  Turn left (east) onto Adams Blvd and drive 1.33 miles to the intersection of Adams Blvd and Utah Street (extUtah-Adams).   Turn right (southeast) onto Utah Street. 

Note:
Once you are on Utah Street headed southeast away from the main part of Boulder City there will be a lot of dirt roads going in different directions.  It may be easy to get a little lost out there.  Pay close attention to the directions and you should easily get where you need to be.

About 0.62 miles down Utah Street will be a dirt road joining in (extMtrcyclAlt) from the left (northeast).  Continue southeast on Utah Street passing the dirt road.

About 0.2 miles farther is another paved road joining in (extUtah-CnynPt) from the right (south).  This is Canyon Point Road and will lead you where you need to go.  Turn right (south) onto Canyon Point Road.

Drive 0.9 miles southeast on Canyon Point Road to a sharp bend to the left (extLkMdRoad58).  At this bend is where you will leave the pavement.  The pavement turns to the left to go north but Canyon Point Road continues southeast but becomes dirt.  Leave the paved road and continue southeast onto the dirt road ahead. 

Note:
This dirt portion of Canyon Point Road is part of the Lake Mead Nat. Rec. Area Backcountry Road System and is road 58 in that system.  If you are looking at a map with the Lake Mead Backcountry Roads on it, Canyon Point Road is Road 58. 

About 500 feet down the dirt road is a fork in the road (wRaod58DP-01).  Stay right at the fork and continue southeast.

About 0.25 miles farther is another fork (wRaod58DP-02).  Also stay right at this fork to continue southeast.

After this fork you will notice a lot of dirt roads joining in from right or left.  Stay on the main large dirt road 58 and continue driving southeast (mostly east) for about 2.6 miles to a signed road junction (extRaod58-58A).  The road junction is where Road 58 splits.  The road continuing southeast is Road 58 (Canyon Point Road) while the road turning left to go north is Road 58A (Canyon Point Mesa Road). 

Park at the Junction of Roads 58 and 58A.  Your walk in route will be left to go north on Road 58A (Canyon Point Mesa Road).

Passenger cars can make it to this junction and there is a lot of open space where vehicles can be parked out of the way.

Note:
We parked here on my first trip since we were later crossing the river and hiking out the other side.  Parking here made the drive in to get the entry vehicle shorter.  If doing this as a loop route which I have not done yet it may be more feasible to drive farther out this road.  If I go do the loop route portion I will update this.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

Driving East into Boulder City Nevada on highway 93 driver to the stop light for the intersection of highway 93 and Buchanan Blvd.  For the drive into the trail head you would turn right.  But to go set the exit vehicle you will turn left (north) at this intersection to follow highway 93 toward lake mead and the dam.  Follow Highway 93 about 8.5 miles to where you cross over river on the bridge.

After crossing the bridge you will be in Arizona.  Continue on Highway 93 for about 4 miles to a turn to the left signed as the White Rock Canyon Trailhead.  Turn left and cross the highway and drive into the parking lot.  Park your vehicle at the southern end of the lot (tWhiteRockCyn). 

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Map Link Icon
Click the links for maps of the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the Drive in and Approach.
Map of the technical and raft sections.
Map of the Ringbolt Hot Springs exit hike.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot at the junction of Lake Mead Backcountry roads 58 and 58A (extRaod58-58A), walk north on road 58A (Canyon Point Mesa Road).

About 0.5 miles north along Road 58A will be a switchback in the road (wRaod58A-DP-01) to go up to the next higher shelf.  Continue north along the road for about 0.8 miles to a where Road 58A starts to turn and travel east (jDevilsDrain).

Leave the road at this bend and walk north along the very wide, flat and open ridge.  About 0.8 miles after leaving the road you will begin to see a distinct yellowish colored saddle ahead and to the right (northeast) about 0.5 miles away.  This yellow saddle makes a good visual landmark to help navigate.  The route will go over almost to that saddle then down the south side of it.

Example Pic.When the yellow saddle comes into view make note of it since that is where your route will take you.

Shortly after the yellow saddle has come into view, you will cross over a drainage (wDevlsDrnRP01) which is shortly before reaching a narrow area on the ridge.  About 0.18 miles farther you will cross along a narrow area along the ridge (wDevlsDrnRP02).

After the narrow section along the ridge, continue north toward the high point about 0.2 miles away.  As you work your way up to the high point you will loose sight of the yellow saddle.  The high point is a very wide semi level area that actually has two high points with a shallow saddle like spot (wDevlsDrnRP03) between them.

Note:
From this high point area you have good views down over parts of the Colorado River below the dam in the Black Canyon area and views over toward Lake Mead.  You can also see a small part of the dam and the new free way bridge that bypasses the dam.

As you cross over the high point(s), veer right to start walking east about 400 or 500 feet to the east side of the high point where a ride starts (wDevlsDrnRP04) dropping down east toward the yellow saddle noted earlier.

As you drop east down the ridge the yellow saddle noted earlier is not clearly in view again yet since there is a high point along the ridge which blocks the view of it.  Getting down the ridge will involve some scrambling where you will need hands and feet to get down a couple rough spots.

About 500 feet east down the ridge the rock will change from the dark browns you have been on to the yellow colored rock (wDevlsDrnRP05).  This is about 700 feet before getting to the actual low point on the saddle.  When you get here take a moment to look at the area and note a large drainage dropping down from the east on the south side of the yellow saddle.  Route find your way down to that drainage by dropping off the south side of the ridge and also traversing east over toward the drainage.  Aim for a point in the wash like portion of the drainage that is almost due south of the low point in the yellow saddle (yDevilsDrainTp).   That drainage is the start of the Devils Drain Canyon route.

Note:
Rap 1 is a little over 100 feet down the drainage from where you drop in as described above.  Rap 1 drops down through a hole in the top of a natural bridge crossing over the water course.  The natural bridge is low and not easily seen until you are right up on it.  This makes it hard to give directions to it via text or verbal.  If you aim for the wash like area due south of the low point of the saddle you will be able to walk down the wash 100 feet or so and easily find rap 1.  Of note you can just route find your way right to the top of rap 1 if you know where to go.  If you have a GPS with the coordinates for rap 1 you can bee line straight to it.

Example Pic.Make your way down to the drainage as shown then walk down the wash to the top of rap 1 which is just out of view in this image.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From where you dropped into the drainage (yDevilsDrainTp) walk a little over 100 feet down to the natural bridge that crosses over the drainage.  Walk over onto the top of the natural bridge to find a hole that drops down through it.   Rap 1 drops through that hole.

Rap 1 (dDevlsDrnR1) is on top of the natural bridge over the water course, is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops down through a hole in the top of the bridge about 75 feet down to the canyon floor.  After dropping through the hole the rest of the rappel is free hanging.

Rap 2 (dDevlsDrnR2) is anchored from a large boulder LDC about 20 feet back and drops about 15 feet.

Rap 3 is about 70 feet down canyon of rap 2 with an easy downclimb of about 5 feet between them.

Rap 3 (dDevlsDrnR3) is anchored from a boulder a few feet back from the drop and drops a total of about 140 feet over two stages.

Rap 4 (dDevlsDrnR4) is about 350 feet down canyon of rap 3, is anchored from a large rock in the wash and drops about 100 feet over two stages.  The first stage is mostly vertical wall and the second stage is a 20 foot drop.

Down canyon of rap 5 is wash walking with a couple spots to scramble over short sections for about 800 feet down to where other side drainages / ravines drop in and the route turns left (wDevlsDrnRP06) to begin heading east again.  This is also very close to a point labeled on some maps as Lone Rock.

About 400 feet down canyon are a couple 15 foot drops (wDevlsDrnRP07) to downclimb / scramble down.

About 1000 feet down canyon is a drop of about 25 feet (wDevlsDrnRP08) that you can get down by carefully and slowly sliding down.

About 200 feet down canyon is the start of a section of canyon where you will be scrambling down a boulder debris area and a bunch of vegetation starting.  This is also where you will start to see hot spring water begin to flow in the canyon. 

A little over 200 feet down through this boulder scrambling area you will see a small waterfall on the RDC side (wDevlsDrnRP09) and in the same area the vegetation begins to get VERY thick in the canyon.  This is also where the water course turns left and begins to travel to the east again. To save yourself some serious bushwhacking cut up the LDC side of the canyon and go up and over a short slope to bypass the thick vegetation in the wash, then walk along the less vegetated LDC (north) bank up out of the main wash.

Note:
When we were there in Dec, 2012 there was a big patch of dead vegetation where we found a way to cut up on the LDC side to avoid the thick vegetation in the main drainage.  Features like a bunch of dead brush etc do not make long lasting navigation landmarks.  But I suspect it will be there for a long time.  So until things do change you can use the dead brush and trees as a marker to know where to turn up the LDC side just up canyon of the water fall joining in on the RDC side.

After you cut up out of the LDC side and start walking the bench above the vegetation lets up about 150 feet and you will be walking along a wide open shelf just up out of the main drainage.  Continue east along this shelf for about 400 feet and drop back down into the wash (wDevlsDrnRP10).  Where you drop back into the wash there will be heavy vegetation again since the hot springs water is flowing steadily there.  But there is plenty of clear space to walk along the water course enjoying warm water on your feet.

Almost 400 feet down canyon is a water fall of about 8 feet (wDevlsDrnRP11) which is easily bypassed by downclimbing on the LDC side.

About 250 feet farther down canyon is the top of a water fall of about 15 feet (wDevlsDrnRP12).  This water fall is bypassed by scrambling about 15 feet up the steep RDC wall then traversing / downclimbing down to the canyon floor shortly down canyon of the water fall.  The scramble down is steep so be careful.  There are occasionally sand bags set here to dam up a soaking pool.

About 1000 feet down canyon of the 15 foot waterfall is a confluence (jDevilsConf) where another fork joins in from RDC (south).

From the confluence walk the wash about 0.3 miles to where Devils Drain Canyon ends at a beach along the Colorado River (yDevilsDrainBt).

The Exit:
So far I have only done a packraft exit for this canyon down to the Arizona Hot Springs then hiked out to Highway 93 on the Arizona side of the river.  If I get a chance to explore a hike out exit option for Devils Drain Canyon I will add it.

From beach at the end of the canyon (yDevilsDrainBt) blow up your packraft  then can raft south downstream about 0.75 miles to a beach (lRingboltBeach) on the opposite side (east side) of the river.  That beach is just downstream of Ringbolt Rapids and is where boats can gain access to the lower end of the Ringbolt Hot Spring (commonly referred to as the Arizona Hot Springs).

Note:
From the downstream exit beach (lRingboltBeach) you will then need to hike east about 3 miles out to Highway 93 and the White Rock Canyon Trailhead to complete the packraft exit route.  There are a few possible hiking routes to Highway 93.  The one described here is the shortest route.

 From the beach (lRingboltBeach) walk about 100 feet up from the water where you will see a canyon forming to the east.  That canyon is a dead end.  When you see the canyon forming turn left and start walking north up the wash. 

Follow the wash about 300 feet to where it starts to turn into a narrow canyon but still plenty wide to walk in.  Continue following up the wash as it winds right and begins going up to the east.  About 600 feet up the canyon you will find a couple spots where you need to scramble up the rock.

After a couple scramble sections you will come to a metal ladder allowing access to the top of a 30 foot waterfall with hot / warm water flowing over it.  At the top of the ladder you may only see flowing water or you may find pools built by sandbags damming up the water.  Welcome to Ringbolt Hot Springs (hRingboltHtSp).  Ringbolt Hot Springs are locally known as the Arizona Hot Springs.

Note:
What you find in the way of pools and sandbags will depend on how much work the locals have put into the place recently.  This is a common place to hike in to enjoy the springs or kayak the river to enjoy them.  Feel free to enjoy the pools for a soak.  The upper pool will be the warmest while the lower pools will be cooler.

After you wade through the pools to get up canyon of them you will have a scramble up of about 10 feet where you may want to assist one another with packs.  After getting to the top of the upclimb / scramble, you will find a wide wash to walk in (sRingboltHS-Tp).

When you get to the wide wash above the hot springs walk east up the wash for about 0.4 miles to a narrow section of canyon with a couple short easy scrambles that soon turns to yellow rock.  As the yellow rock narrow section ends (wRingboltRP01) you will have wide wash again to continue up canyon.

About 0.2 miles up the wash will be the bottom end (wRingboltRP02) of another narrow section with some short easy scrambles to go up.  This narrow section continues for about 750 feet to its top (wRingboltRP03) where the wide wash starts up again.

Note - Navigation Warning:
This is where you need to be aware you will be veering left up a side canyon which is a little tricky to find in the day light sometimes.  If it is dark and you are not familiar with the area this turn off will be VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND.  If you are not familiar with this area and are hiking out in the dark, a GPS will be very valuable.

A few hundred feet up canyon after getting to the top of the narrow section note a ravine / drainage on the left (north).  This first ravine is going up almost due north and is NOT the ravine the route goes up.  However the trail for the route you want does leave the main wash here. 

Just as you pass the ravine on the left (north) start looking for a faint use trail running up and traversing along the left (north) side.  That is the start (jRingboltAlt1)of the route out of the main wash.  The trail is hard to see right down by the main wash but as it travels a hundred feet from the wash it is very well used and defined.  So when looking for the trail look higher along the left side to see the better worn in portions of the trail.

Follow up along the trail as it goes up canyon and slowly gets higher on the left (north) side.  The trail will soon veer northeast as it starts up a canyon / ravine going up to the north east.

Note - IF you pass the bypass trail junction:
The main trail / route used to continue up the main wash then go left at a fork farther up.  That route is longer and has some upclimbs that complicate the route.  The route described here was a lesser known route that bypassed the longer route with upclimbs.  If you happen to miss the turn up this canyon you can still find your way out by going about 0.2 miles up the wash and going left at the next fork.  Then go another 0.4 miles to the next fork and go left at that fork then follow that up to connect with this route again.  Just before reaching the second fork will be a 20 foot scramble up followed by a 25 foot dry fall which is bypassed on the left (north).  The green line shown on the exit route map shows the old route that used to be the main route.

Once you have found the bypass trail and are starting up into the side ravine going up northeast you will find the trail well worn.  The trail does cross the drainage a few times traveling on one side or the other.  You may need to look around occasionally to find the good parts of the trail but they are there and connect well if you look for them.

About 0.8 miles after leaving the main wash the bypass trail tops out on a saddle (wRingboltRP05). 

From the saddle follow down the well worn use trail northeast about 750 feet to where you are met with a rocky slope going up (wRingboltRP06) about 20 feet.  Do not follow trails going around the slope up, instead go up the easy 20 foot scramble then walk about 250 feet over to a junction with another very well used trail (jRingboltOld3).

When you get to the junction with this next trail turn left to start walking north.  Follow the trail about 0.2 miles north to where it crosses a drainage (wRingboltRP07).  Cross the drainage and continue northeast about 800 feet to where the trail drops down into White Rock Canyon wash (jRingboltTp).

Once in the wash of White Rock Canyon turn right and follow northeast up the wash about 0.5 miles under Highway 93 then up to the parking area where your exit vehicle at the White Rock Canyon Trailhead.

GPS Waypoint Information

Downloadable GPX files available at BG-Gear Store (easier than manual entry and a great way to support Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.  Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE
manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
Devils Drain (1) Drive in to Trailhead
  1. extUtah-Adams          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97106   W -114.82203        Elev: NaN Feet
    Intersection of Utah Street and Adams Blvd. Follow Utah Street South east to go to some of the dirt roads in the Lake Mead National Recreation area.
  2. extMtrcyclAlt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96476   W -114.81522        Elev: NaN Feet
    Exit off of Utah Street to start on dirt roads north out toward Goldstrike Pass Road. This is the dirt road you would drive on to start Motorscycle Canyon if you were to do the car shuttle version of the route.
  3. extUtah-CnynPt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96431   W -114.81192        Elev: NaN Feet
    Intersection of Utah Street and Canyon Point Road. Turn right (south) onto Canyon Point Road to go to some of the dirt roads in the Lake Mead National Recreation area.
  4. extLkMdRoad58          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.95274   W -114.80673        Elev: 2,326 Feet
    Exit the paved road to start southeast onto a dirt road. The dirt road continuing southeast of here is still Canyon Point Road and is Road 58 in the Lake Mead Nat. Rec Area Backcountry Road System. This turn off is in a sharp bend on the paved road and the dirt road continues southeast.
  5. wRaod58DP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.95190   W -114.80473        Elev: NaN Feet
    Fork in the road. Stay right at the fork and continue southeast to continue driving out on road 58 (Canyon Point Road).
  6. wRaod58DP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.95012   W -114.80079        Elev: NaN Feet
    Fork in the road. If you are on your way into the top of Devils Drain Canyon or Weeping Spring Canyon stay right at the fork and continue southeast on Road 58 (Canyon Point Road). If you are on your way to the top of Boyscout Canyon stay left at the fork and drive east.
  7. extRaod58-58A          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.93858   W -114.75947        Elev: NaN Feet
    Intersection of Lake Mead Backcountry Roads 58 and 58A. Road 58 (Canyon Point Road) continues southeast. Follow Road 58 is you are going out to the top of Weeping Spring Canyon. Raod 58A (Canyon Point Mesa Road) turns off and travels north. Follow Road 58A if you are driving into the top of Devils Drain Canyon.
Devils Drain (2) Approach
  1. extRaod58-58A          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.93858   W -114.75947        Elev: NaN Feet
    Intersection of Lake Mead Backcountry Roads 58 and 58A. Road 58 (Canyon Point Road) continues southeast. Follow Road 58 is you are going out to the top of Weeping Spring Canyon. Raod 58A (Canyon Point Mesa Road) turns off and travels north. Follow Road 58A if you are driving into the top of Devils Drain Canyon.
  2. wRaod58A-DP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.94499   W -114.75750        Elev: NaN Feet
    A switchback in the road to go up to the next higher shelf.
  3. jDevilsDrain          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.95539   W -114.75638        Elev: 2,380 Feet
    This is a point in Lake Mead Backcountry Road 58A (Canyon Point Mesa Road) where it starts to turn to the east. Leave the road here and start walking north along the very wide, flat and open ridge.
  4. wDevlsDrnRP01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96760   W -114.75846        Elev: NaN Feet
    Cross over a drainage here shortly before getting to a narrow area along the ridge.
  5. wDevslDrnRP02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96922   W -114.75688        Elev: NaN Feet
    Crossing over a narrow area along the ridge. Continue north to stay on the route into Devils Drain Canyon.
  6. wDevlsDrnRP03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97223   W -114.75559        Elev: 2,400 Feet
    A shallow saddle like spot between two high points on a very wide flatish area.. Go east about 400 feet to drop down the east side to drop down towards Devils Drain Canyon.
  7. wDevlsDrnRP04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97261   W -114.75326        Elev: NaN Feet
    Ridge starts dropping down to the east.
  8. wDevlsDrnRP05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97244   W -114.75141        Elev: NaN Feet
    This is a point about 500 feet down the ridge where the rock changes from the dark browns you have been on to the yellow colored rock.  This is about 700 feet before getting to the actual low point on the saddle.  When you get here take a moment to look at the area and note a large drainage dropping down from the east on the south side of the yellow saddle.  Route find your way down to that drainage by dropping off the south side of the ridge and also traversing east over toward the drainage.  Aim for a point in the wash like portion of the drainage that is almost due south of the low point in the yellow saddle.   That drainage is the start of the Devils Drain Canyon route.
  9. yDevilsDrainTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97105   W -114.74976        Elev: 1,890 Feet
    Top of Devils Drain Canyon. This is an arbitrary point shortly above rap 1 which is through an arach in the water course.
Devils Drain (3) The Canyon and the Raft
  1. yDevilsDrainTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97105   W -114.74976        Elev: 1,890 Feet
    Top of Devils Drain Canyon. This is an arbitrary point shortly above rap 1 which is through an arach in the water course.
  2. dDevlsDrnR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97054   W -114.75010        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 1 - Devils Drain Canyon. Rap 1 is on top of the natural bridge over the water course, is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops down through a hole in the top of the bridge about 75 feet down to the canyon floor. After dropping through the hole the rest of the rappel is free hanging.
  3. dDevlsDrnR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97006   W -114.75085        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 2 - Devils Drain Canyon. Anchored from a large boulder LDC about 20 feet back and drops about 15 feet.
  4. dDevlsDrnR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96997   W -114.75104        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 3 - Devils Drain Canyon. Anchored from a boulder a few feet back from the drop and drops a total of about 140 feet over two stages.
  5. dDevlsDrnR4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96901   W -114.75121        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 4 - Devils Drain Canyon. Is about 350 feet down canyon of rap 3, is anchored from a large rock in the wash and drops about 100 feet over two stages. The first stage is mostly vertical wall and the second stage is a 20 foot drop.
  6. wDevlsDrnRP06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96703   W -114.75104        Elev: 1,260 Feet
    A few other side drainages / ravines drop in and the route turns left to continue down canyon to the east. This is also very close to a point labeled on some maps as Lone Rock.
  7. wDevlsDrnRP07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96704   W -114.74952        Elev: NaN Feet
    A couple 15 foot drops to downclimb / scramble.
  8. wDevlsDrnRP08          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96584   W -114.74685        Elev: NaN Feet
    A drop of about 25 feet that you can get down by carefully and slowly sliding down
  9. wDevlsDrnRP09          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96484   W -114.74656        Elev: 970 Feet
    A small waterfall on the RDC side and the vegetation begins to get VERY thick. This is also where the water course turns left and begins to travel to the east again. To save yourself some serious bushwhacking cut up the LDC side of the canyon and go up and over a short slope to bypass the thick vegetation in the wash, then walk along the less vegetated LDC (north) bank up out of the main wash.
  10. wDevlsDrnRP10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96520   W -114.74470        Elev: NaN Feet
    Where you drop back into the wash. There will be heavy vegetation again since the hot springs water is flowing steadily there. But there is plenty of clear space to walk along the water course enjoying warm water on your feet.
  11. wDevlsDrnRP11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96515   W -114.74342        Elev: NaN Feet
    Small water fall of about 8 feet that is easily bypassed on the LDC side.
  12. jDevilsConf          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96592   W -114.73915        Elev: 760 Feet
    A confluence in Devils Drain Canyon. Another fork joins in from RDC (south).
  13. yDevilsDrainBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96777   W -114.73604        Elev: 680 Feet
    Bottom of Devils Drain Canyon where it ends at a beach along the Colorado River.
  14. lRingboltBeach          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.95944   W -114.72828        Elev: 650 Feet
    Out houses put here and is a good camp area just below the Arizona Hot Springs (Ringbolt Hot Spring). This is slighlty downstream of Ringbolt Rapids.
Devils Drain (4) Exit hike via Ringbolt Hot Springs
  1. lRingboltBeach          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.95944   W -114.72828        Elev: 650 Feet
    Out houses put here and is a good camp area just below the Arizona Hot Springs (Ringbolt Hot Spring). This is slighlty downstream of Ringbolt Rapids.
  2. hRingboltHtSp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96057   W -114.72550        Elev: 810 Feet
    Ring Bolt Hot Springs (Arizona Hot Springs).
  3. sRingboltHS-Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96083   W -114.72514        Elev: NaN Feet
    Top of the Arizona hot Springs.
  4. wRingboltRP01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96246   W -114.72047        Elev: NaN Feet
    Spot in the wash just up canyono of a yellow rock section.
  5. wRingboltRP02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96395   W -114.71761        Elev: NaN Feet
    Lower end of another narrow section about 750 feet long with some short easy scrambles in it.
  6. wRingboltRP03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96486   W -114.71516        Elev: NaN Feet
    Upper end of another narrow section about 750 feet long with some short easy scrambles in it.
  7. jRingboltAlt1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96523   W -114.71427        Elev: 1,090 Feet
    This is where the bypass trail meets the main canyon / wash. On the way out the trail can be seen starting up into the hills on the left (north) side of the canyon about 500 feet before actually reaching the drainage the trail goes up. This is very difficult to find in the dark if you are not familiar with the route. A GPS will save your butt if you exit this area in the dark and are not familiar with it.
  8. wRingboltRP04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.96638   W -114.71290        Elev: NaN Feet
    The Bypass trail crosses over the bottom of the drainage several times.
  9. wRingboltRP05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97077   W -114.70930        Elev: 1,530 Feet
    Bypass trail tops out here on a saddle with great views toward the main trailhead.
  10. wRingboltRP06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97182   W -114.70749        Elev: 1,430 Feet
    On the way out to the highway it feels like you need to go right or left of the hill you get to. Go up over the hill to the top of the ridge and continue straight (north east) to the main trail.
  11. jRingboltOld3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97220   W -114.70653        Elev: 1,450 Feet
    The bypass trail meets the old standard trail here. On the way out to the highway turn left here to walk north.
  12. wRingboltRP07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97463   W -114.70497        Elev: 1,410 Feet
    Trail for the upper canyon route to the Arizona Hot Springs crosses a small drainage.
  13. jRingboltTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.97598   W -114.70352        Elev: NaN Feet
    Trail to the top of the Arizona Hot Springs joins the White Rock Canyon wash here.
  14. tWhiteRockCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 35.98022   W -114.69768        Elev: 1,560 Feet
    White Rock Canyon Trailhead. Used to access the Arizona Hot Springs (Ringbolt Hot Springs).