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Buffalo Park

Arizona > Northern Arizona > Northern AZ Bou… > Flagstaff Bouldering*

Description

Large city park popular among hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners, kite flyers, etc. Although the bouldering is off the beaten track for non-climbers, lots of Flag locals come here just to get out of the house. Climbers are highly visible. Be cool.

It looks like a big rubble/talus field down there but it's better than it looks. Some airy problems, some silly lowballs, some cracks, some rads, some nice moderates. Landings vary- a pad would be prudent. Rock is coarse basalt.

Getting There

From downtown Flagstaff: San Francisco north to Forest, turn right (east) and continue until just before the bridge. Turn left on Gemini (there will be signage for Buffalo Park). Follow Gemini past the USGS complex to the large parking lot for Buffalo Park. (No parking permit required)

Hike past the huge green tank on its east side and pick up an obvious social trail on the south side of the fence. Drop down when you hit an opening in the scrubby, broken cliff band and hang a left to the climbing. Approach takes less than 5 minutes.

Routes from Left to Right

V1 5
 2
● Parallel Slots
Boulder
V1 5
 3
● Community arete
Boulder
V4 6B
 17
● Community Service
Boulder
V3-4 6A+
 1
● Community Traverse
Boulder
V2 5+
 9
● The Prow
Boulder
V1 5
 5
● Kung Fu
Boulder
V2 5+
 14
● Highball Face, Left Side
Boulder
V1+ 5
 13
● Highball Face, Right Side
Boulder
V1-2 5
 3
● bing bong
Boulder
V3 6A
 10
● Equalizer
Boulder
V4 6B
 5
● Rambo
Boulder
V0- 4- PG13
 1
● Thin Crack Slab
Boulder
V3 6A
 8
● Super Sloper or Left Face
Boulder
V2 5+
 54
● Centerpiece
Boulder
V4-5 6B+
 24
● Commando
Boulder
V0- 4-
 9
● Fin Arete
Boulder
V3-4 6A+
 17
● Block Arete
Boulder
V5 6C PG13
 22
● Block Roof
Boulder
V1-2 5
 15
● Slab Problems
Boulder
V1-2 5
 4
● Sit up Stand up
Boulder
V5 6C
 2
● Double Dip Left
Boulder
V4 6B
 15
● Double Dip Right
Boulder
V5-6 6C+
 1
● Buffalo Express
Boulder
V2-3 5+ PG13
 3
● The Eagle?
Boulder
V10 7C+
 3
● The Mattson Problem
Boulder
V6+ 7A
 9
● Willful Unconsciousness
Boulder
V1 5
 23
● Layback Flake
Boulder
V2 5+
 20
● Flake
Boulder
V4 6B
 7
● Spanish Butcher
Boulder
V0 4
 24
● The Hole
Boulder
V0+ 4+
 10
● Thin
Boulder
V0 4
 6
● Offwidth
Boulder
V0-1 4+
 7
● Arête Problem
Boulder
V1-2 5 PG13
 4
● Texas Teabag
Boulder
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● Parallel Slots
 2
V1 5 Boulder
● Community arete
 3
V1 5 Boulder
● Community Service
 17
V4 6B Boulder
● Community Traverse
 1
V3-4 6A+ Boulder
● The Prow
 9
V2 5+ Boulder
● Kung Fu
 5
V1 5 Boulder
● Highball Face, Left Side
 14
V2 5+ Boulder
● Highball Face, Right Side
 13
V1+ 5 Boulder
● bing bong
 3
V1-2 5 Boulder
● Equalizer
 10
V3 6A Boulder
● Rambo
 5
V4 6B Boulder
● Thin Crack Slab
 1
V0- 4- PG13 Boulder
● Super Sloper or Left Face
 8
V3 6A Boulder
● Centerpiece
 54
V2 5+ Boulder
● Commando
 24
V4-5 6B+ Boulder
● Fin Arete
 9
V0- 4- Boulder
● Block Arete
 17
V3-4 6A+ Boulder
● Block Roof
 22
V5 6C PG13 Boulder
● Slab Problems
 15
V1-2 5 Boulder
● Sit up Stand up
 4
V1-2 5 Boulder
● Double Dip Left
 2
V5 6C Boulder
● Double Dip Right
 15
V4 6B Boulder
● Buffalo Express
 1
V5-6 6C+ Boulder
● The Eagle?
 3
V2-3 5+ PG13 Boulder
● The Mattson Problem
 3
V10 7C+ Boulder
● Willful Unconsciousness
 9
V6+ 7A Boulder
● Layback Flake
 23
V1 5 Boulder
● Flake
 20
V2 5+ Boulder
● Spanish Butcher
 7
V4 6B Boulder
● The Hole
 24
V0 4 Boulder
● Thin
 10
V0+ 4+ Boulder
● Offwidth
 6
V0 4 Boulder
● Arête Problem
 7
V0-1 4+ Boulder
● Texas Teabag
 4
V1-2 5 PG13 Boulder

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Sick send at Buffalo Park!
[Hide Photo] Sick send at Buffalo Park!
Climbing Double Dip on a beautiful fall day. Shot taken by Ian Kiersey.
[Hide Photo] Climbing Double Dip on a beautiful fall day. Shot taken by Ian Kiersey.
Just a shot of one of the boulders at Buffalo Park.
[Hide Photo] Just a shot of one of the boulders at Buffalo Park.
Kung Fu climbing at Buffalo Park. - photo: R. Wilson
[Hide Photo] Kung Fu climbing at Buffalo Park. - photo: R. Wilson
Mike Gasch punching to the top, on the Block Roof boulder, 1999.
[Hide Photo] Mike Gasch punching to the top, on the Block Roof boulder, 1999.
Mike Gasch on a variation on the Block Roof boulder, 1999.
[Hide Photo] Mike Gasch on a variation on the Block Roof boulder, 1999.
V2 slab. Photo of me, by Alex, May 07.
[Hide Photo] V2 slab. Photo of me, by Alex, May 07.
Just a shot of one of the boulders at Buffalo Park.
[Hide Photo] Just a shot of one of the boulders at Buffalo Park.
Just a shot of one of the boulders at Buffalo Park.
[Hide Photo] Just a shot of one of the boulders at Buffalo Park.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Hillary Davis
[Hide Comment] I don't believe in "secret handshakes" (and anyway, how could you possibly keep the Buffalo Park boulders secret?); I do believe in good juju. The guys down at boulderingtopo.com are a couple of Flag locals who have worked hard to make some nice PDF guides for areas that previously never had official guides. I never knew of specific problems here til I got their guide, and any problems I'd have put here I'd have thus jacked from them. Not cool. Support small business and make a deposit in the karma bank. Buy the eGuide :) Apr 2, 2007
mark Hofmeister
Flagstaff,Az
[Hide Comment] How do you approach these boulders?! It looks amazing and from the approach description on this page I accessed I believe Gloria's not the boulders in the pics. Oct 18, 2013
JJ Schlick
Flagstaff, AZ
[Hide Comment] Hey Mark, when you park at the Buffalo park lot look for the large green water tank. Just east of the tank is a large trail that leads into the park passing a chain link fence. Outside of this fence, a little, rocky trail breaks east and skirts the fence on the south side. This trail will follow the fence line around a corner, and in another minute the top of the cliff band will appear on your right. Walk down either side. Oct 18, 2013
Hayden Jeffcoat
[Hide Comment] Some stout problems here! It's not a destination area but if you're passing through and looking for a day off the road it's nice. Thank you for sharing May 16, 2024