PRINT: Rock Climbing in Walt's Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park

Walt's Rocks

California > Joshua Tree NP > Queen Valley Area > Queen Mountain

Access Issue: Climbing Regulations/Seasonal Raptor Closures Details

The Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent's Compendium states that:
1. Vegetation is not allowed to be used as an anchor.
2. Only neutral or rock colored bolt hangers are allowed.

For a complete list of climbing rules and closures visit:
nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/…

Description

It is safe to say that every climber who has set foot in the pristine wilderness of Queen Mtn. would agree that the area comprising Walt's Rocks features some of the very best crack, face, and mixed pro climbs in Joshua Tree. With more than 20 multi-star routes to choose from at Walt's Rocks alone, Queen Mtn. beckons the adventurous climber for multiple encounters.

Getting There

An excellent description to access the parking area near the southern portion of Queen Mtn. is given in Randy's guide book. From the parking lot, follow the dirt road toward the large mountainous area. Where the dirt road ends, a trail veers in an easterly direction to a steep north / south running gully. Follow the trail up the gully until a plateau is reached. The Pearls are visible to the north and Cirque of the Climbables are east and below the plateau. Veer northwest until you reach a crest where Walt's Rocks will be visible on a ridge to the north. Follow a well marked trail with cairns over rocky terrain to a large east to west running drainage. Upper Walt's Rocks are on the eastern end of the area and Lower Walt's Rocks are located towards the west end. Allow 45 minutes to an hour from the car.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Lower Walt's Rocks.<br>
Photo by Blitzo.

Lower Walt's Rocks. Photo by Blitzo.

Walt's Rocks. Photo by Blitzo.

Looking back toward Walt's Rocks

Heading back over the saddle after leaving Walt's Rocks

Upper Walt's Rocks near the end of the approach.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Scotty Nelson
Boulder

Went to this area last weekend -- got a little lost and it took 2+ hours to get there (with the bushwacking). I think 45 mins is pretty optimistic. Mar 5, 2008

Randy
Lassitude 33

Realistically, allow about 1.5 hours to reach the crag. If you have been here before, have the approach dialed and are fit, you could certainly do it faster. It is about 2.1 miles from the car to the base of Walt's Rocks over sometimes rough terrain.

If you get off route, you could easily take longer. Mar 7, 2008

Dan 60D5H411
Colorado Springs, CO

Somehow we managed to nail the correct trail first go, but even so, it still took us 1:45 minutes to get to Lower Walts. A couple things to watch for on your way in:

1) The approach gully is pretty obvious from the road you walk in on. When you near the top of the gully and right before you actually crest the top of the ridge, there will be two large cairns sitting ~7ft apart from each other. Take a SHARP left here even though the trail is not very obvious. If you were to continue going straight, you may be suckered by other cairns and views of large chunks of rock to the northeast. I have no idea what they are, but they are the wrong direction. Once you have made the sharp left, continue towards a small hill (which you will skirt on the left), picking up a good trail with cairns that crest a second ridge. From this ridge you can easily see Walts.
2) After the second ridge crest, on the way into the valley in front of Walts, be sure to stay on the well-traveled, well-cairned trail that dips into the valley and back up to Walts. We tried not to lose elevation in the valley by heading right along the hillside, following the occasional faint trail or cairn but the extra bushwacking time was not worth it.
3) The climbs here are worth the hike! Jan 7, 2011

Tradiban

The trail is well established at this point and well cairned but your eyes peeled for important intersections. Feb 3, 2013

Phil Esra

In hindsight, Dan's point #1 above is extremely important (and well explained). If you miss this turn, you will happily continue on a well-traveled, frequently cairned trail that takes you out of your way. Miramontes has a good picture in his bouldering book (probably in his roped climb book too).

Took us 3 hours going in "the long way" with bonus scrambling, and less than 2 hours at a leisurely pace in the dark on the way out. Feb 4, 2013

Matt Hagny

"Allow 45 minutes to an hour from the car." LMFAO. Maybe a big horn sheep being chased by a mountain lion could do it in that time! It's more like 2.5- 3 hrs.

Good pointers on the approach. The cairn-builders guild was incredibly industrious here, and wherever the trail is less than obvious, it's well-delineated by a plentitude of cairns.

From the parking lot, the fastest and easiest path is to follow the wash meandering north for ~340 yards (the main wash, not its tributaries) to where it intersects an old miner's road that's easy to overlook. Look for the cairns. Go left here, even tho it's counter-intuitive. The road takes you thru a low notch in the first hill, off to the left (W) of what would be the direct path towards the 'ramp'/gully that you take up Queen Mountain itself. Stay on that road until you start going up the slope (boulder field) of Queen Mountain -- the climber's trail starts here (look for some rocks lying across the road, and a cairn marking the start of the path to the right (E). Oct 5, 2017

Anni A
Joshua Tree

I agree with Matt, the approach took... 2 hours, at least. Having not been out there before it is really easy to lose the trail, keep a close eye on the cairns. We ended up heading left up a gully off the main trail because we thought it was near the Cirque of the Climbables ( never found that area), ended up reconnecting with the trail & the MP map feature was helpful.
Once there, the approach to the base of the climbs is also challenging. Lots of class 5 scrambles, cacti patches, ants. Great adventure day. Mar 21, 2021