Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
Best sport climbing area(s) near LA
|
Are there any areas near-ish to LA that are worth a non-California visitor actually travelling to, to do some sport climbing? I'll be in the Bay Area in early December and considering flying down to LA afterwards for some climbing (if I don't go to the Bishop area). Of course I know of Joshua Tree but have heard it is mainly bouldering and trad - is the sport climbing there worth a plane ride or long drive from SF? |
|
Malibu creek, echo cliffs and stoney point are probably your best bet |
|
Helen...Malibu Creek won't be your best bet on the weekend, unless you enjoy crowds and noise. Try midweek for a much better experience. Echo Cliffs, Saddle Peak, and Texas Canyon are better destinations for clean, serene, and quality climbing. Is it worth the flight/drive? Do the math. Calculate the hours driving/flying to hours climbing ratio and decide what's tolerable. Your call. |
Helen L wrote: In a word - NO. Now go and get out of LA some and your talking.... New Jack City has some quality sport climbing but why not just keep driving and you get to Clark Mt. Go a bit more and your in Red Rock... The best sport in LA is in Bishop and funny thing, the Owens River Gorge is actually part of LA city property! One last thing. How hard, what grades, do you seek? |
|
Helen, if you're going to fly somewhere to sport climb from SFO, fly to Las Vegas. Not much difference in the flight time. Red Rocks has a lot of nice sport climbing. And there are tons of fairly inexpensive hotels there. |
|
I second what Guy says about the high desert crags. NJC is awesome. Fairview and Apple Valley crags are awesome too and even closer to L.A. (1.5 hour drive with no traffic). Fairview has over 300 sport routes (not all are on MP but they just came out with a new guidebook, talk to Jay at the crag). It's like a sport-bolted J-Tree. One of the few socal crags that actually suffers from lack of use. |
|
Shhh... Fairview is a choss pile and you'll probably get lost on your way there. Bolted Jtree =goodbye fingertips. The high impact boys, as Jay calls them, are already moving in and trashing the place enough. Lets not make it worse. |
|
J-tree sport is really good but there is usually only 1 or 2 per crag next to all the trad climbs, making it not the greatest sport destination. New jack is a sport climber's paradise and Malibu creek is really really good and you can always fight the crowds by going further into the canyon. |
|
Sender One LAX |
RandyLee wrote: ??? secret crags are a thing of the past. why did he make a guidebook, if he doesn't want people to go there? last time I talked to Jay, it's about getting support for the area. and yeah I agree, it's "long hikes to short climbs" but still super fun and varied. Definitely not a "choss pile". Just go if you feel inclined, leave no trace, and leave a donation or buy the book. support the crag. don't be a "high impact boy," simple. Or just go to New Jack, that place is great too; metamorphic at NJC, monzogranite at Fairview/ Apple Valley. |
|
No love for Riverside Quarry? Don't travel to LA with the sole reason of visiting the crags, there are so many better places. |
Helen L wrote: To answer your question, No, there is no sport climbing close to LA that is worth making a special trip to do. That being said, if you are already in the area, there are some fun little sport crags, but I would never book a flight from anywhere to go sport climbing in or around LA. |
|
|
Helen L wrote: Helen, you certainly have other options to squeeze in a bit of climbing with minimal effort, LA just really isn't one of them. There is sport climbing within a couple of hours of the bay area if you just wanted to stick around there, or, as has been said, fly into Vegas (just as quick as LA and probably less expensive) and you have a ton of good sport climbing nearby. It would be helpful to know a bit more about the type and grades of sport climbing that you are looking for though. |
|
I guess I was hoping I might be able to squeeze in some climbing at really great places that people travel far to get to (I read the climbing around the Bay Area isn't really as exciting?). Part of the reason for this is also because I don't have any climbing friends there, but I do have some in other neighbouring states that might be convinced to join me if it's a worthwhile area (I need a belay partner as I am on this non-climbing trip alone). The only reason I considered LA is because I have a (non-climber) friend living there and it's also a good excuse to visit.. and also because my original thought was to drive to Owens River Gorge, and then instead of doing the long 7 hour drive back to the Bay Area, I could drive for 4 hours instead and get to LA. So then that spawned in my head the idea of why not just go straight to LA then if there is any good sport climbing about... Thanks for the tips, everyone! |
|
In December, the drive from the Bay Area to the Gorge might be 10 hours, since the passes could very well be closed. Or we could just have had a heavy rain, which means you wouldn’t be able to climb in Red Rocks. The Owens River Gorge is a wonderful destination from LA and the roads heading there are not affected by snow in the mountains so you’d have no problem getting there. But count on 5-7 hours drive time to Bishop from “LA” depending on where your friend lives, because LA is the size of a small country. New Jack City does has plenty of fun climbing in that range and is much closer. |
|
What Phylp said is true.... Helen, you like to climb 10-11 .... that changes my answer about places a bit. When I get asked if LA is a destination for sport climbing I always say ... not really. Mostly because most dedicated serious “Sport Folks”, I know, who travel world wide are looking for 12 and above. The 5.10’s are warm up’s and they get bored quickly. In LA we have tons of good spots with 10-11 and a few 12-13 grades sprinkled in. I climb sport in the 10-11 range, so I warm up on 5.8, and good RPs on 10-11 is my goal. I think you would love climbing in Bishop in December. The ORG, Pine Creek,Clark Canyon and other locations, can be perfect in December. If you stay around town I think you would like the local stuff LA offers. PS.... the ORG is 3.8 hrs from where I live in northern LA.... it can take a whole lot longer if your coming from the South Bay, Long Beach area. If you have never been here it can be hard to grasp the shear size of just what we lovingly call “LA” Cheers |
|
My brother lives ten minutes from malibu and we went on a weekday. Beautiful location. Typical sport climbs on pretty decent rock. Lots of water right now. Approach from the left side of the pool along a traverse. You can always cruise down to point dume for some beach side choss from there as well. Echo cliffs looked great from afar when i was hiking in the area. |
|
Wow, guy! 3.8 hrs! I have to admit I am a very slow driver :-) |
|
The crags around the bay are worth your time. None of them are world class destinations, but there are plenty of fun routes. |
phylp wrote: I have a friend who can get to Bishop in 3.5... I don’t like to risk the ticket like he will... just under 4 has been my best time... hit the road at 3am.... CHP are mostly sleeping still. I learned how to drive on the Autobahn so I don’t think going 100+ is a moral sin. Some stretches of 14/395 do not have hiding spots for CHP.... some spots do. Owning a top notch radar detector also helps. Knowing just where and when to fly is key... and knowing when to go at “NASCAR Pit lane speed” is the real key ..... go slow in those little towns. They pay for city services from the ticket revenue. But I always drive “safe” I have never had a accident, I don’t risk stupid passes and I will dial the speed back whenever other other cars are on the road. |
