Crowd in december?

Hi all

I'm planning a trip to Joshua Tree with my girl in December. We are coming from Brazil.

According to a quick research, it's the most busy season for climbing. I'd like to understand how crowded it is.
Is it hard to find places to camp?
Do crags and trad routes get really busy?
We would try to avoid weekends. Would it help?

Thanks

Alipio.

Avoiding weekends would greatly help, in both camping and being able to get on the classics.

There are thousands of routes at JT, so you will always be able to find some decent climbing, especially if you lead harder (10 and above) and are willing to walk a ways from the road.

Check this out:

happiegrrrl.hubpages.com/hu…

Edit: Be sure to get one of the Vogel or Miramontes guide books.

Finding a campsite in J Tree in December is difficult, and finding a campsite in Hidden Valley campground (the most popular campground for climbers) is really difficult. The best thing to do is walk through the campground early in the morning and look for people who are packing up to leave, and take over their site as soon as they leave. Some people are willing to share their sites if you contribute to the cost of the site, but there are limits on how many people, cars and tents can be in a site.

It can be surprisingly cold in Joshua Tree in December, be ready for sub-freezing temperatures.

Like FrankPS said, the Vogel or Miramontes guidebooks are good.

FrankPS wrote:Check this out: happiegrrrl.hubpages.com/hu… Edit: Be sure to get one of the Vogel or Miramontes guide books.

Thanks for your feedback my friend.

Your link didn't work!

How are the distances between each climbing site? We would be much more interested in the trad routes than the bouldering areas. And yes, we can lead slighly over 5.10 (if the my grading conversion is right ;))

In case we have troubles finding some place to sleep, I was wondering if we could sleep outside the park and go straight for the climbing sites in the erly morning.

I will definitely look for the books. I think Miramontes' Joshua Tree Rock Climbs is the recently updated one right?

Once again, thanks for all the useful info.

Alipio.

mark felber wrote:Finding a campsite in J Tree in December is difficult, and finding a campsite in Hidden Valley campground (the most popular campground for climbers) is really difficult. The best thing to do is walk through the campground early in the morning and look for people who are packing up to leave, and take over their site as soon as they leave. Some people are willing to share their sites if you contribute to the cost of the site, but there are limits on how many people, cars and tents can be in a site. It can be surprisingly cold in Joshua Tree in December, be ready for sub-freezing temperatures. Like FrankPS said, the Vogel or Miramontes guidebooks are good.

Do you know if motor homes are allowed? Since we will be road tripin' maybe it can help us. But as far as I understood the real problem is the limited number of campsites and limited number of people or tents in each campsite right?

All the best

Alipio.

If you can get into the park on a Monday or Tuesday when most of the weekenders go home, you should get a camping spot at Ryan or Jumbo Rocks, for sure. Hidden Valley is much harder and you may have to spend a night at another campground and head to Hidden Valley early one morning if you want to camp there. It is such a classic climber's campground and worth staying.

My husband and I live about 15 minutes from the park and would gladly show you around some of the crags. We also have extra room if you can't get a camping spot. You can email us at carey.deluca@gmail.com. He has weekdays and Sundays available to climb.

"" But as far as I understood the real problem is the limited number of campsites and limited number of people or tents in each campsite right?""

You have that right, you will be able to find a site on weekdays, once your in your in.

Have a good trip, you can always ditch the crowds in Josh by walking for 30-40 min.

Alipio Loyola wrote: Do you know if motor homes are allowed? Since we will be road tripin' maybe it can help us. But as far as I understood the real problem is the limited number of campsites and limited number of people or tents in each campsite right? All the best Alipio.

Yes, motor homes are allowed, no longer than 25 feet (7.5 meters).And yes, the problem is the limited number of campsites and the limited number of tents and/or people in each campsite.

You could sleep outside the park every night and head for the climbs every morning, or you could sleep outside the park one night, head for Hidden Valley Campground early, and look for someone who is leaving their campsite. A few people leave every morning, so you're bound to find a site this way even if it isn't an ideal campsite.