Most convenient crag in Phoenix area?

Hi everyone,

I will be moving to Arizona on Sep 21 and renting an apartment in the Tempe Town Lakes area until I can find a new job and buy a townhome/condo. I have never climbed in Arizona before and am wondering if there are any ideal parts of the city (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, or Gilbert area) where decent crags are accessible within 15-20 minutes. Basically looking to buy somewhere in the vicinity of a good M-F crag then take weekend trips elsewhere (ie Mt Lemmon, etc.). Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.

- Dan

Hey Dan,

There's not really much good climbing in Phoenix, so I think you have the right idea with getting out of town on the weekends and really any day you can. Fortunately you've got some world class stuff within a day trips' distance!

I live in north Scottsdale(101/Hayden) and like the proximity to the McDowell Mountains and Pinnacle Peak if I only have a few hours to climb. Pinnacle Peak is only about 15 mins from me and the McDowell's about 20. However, I mainly like living up north because you shave time off your many, many, inevitable trips to the better climbing in Sedona, Flagstaff, and Prescott. The stuff up there is the bee's knees!

I think most Phoenicians would agree that the 1.5+ hour commute is a part of life to get to the good stuff. Anytime I get a full day+ of climbing, it's a trip up north with an early start and and late return. But, on the positive side- there's ALWAYS good temps somewhere within a day trip driving distance, regardless of what it is in PHX.

A few details on the local stuff that I'm familiar with:

Tempe is the most central to just about everything as far as heading to Tucson, Flagstaff, or out to Queen Creek Canyon, etc., but has no climbing.

Camelback Mtn.(Scottsdale)- total choss and hard to find parking, but probably worth doing the Praying Monk route since it's semi-iconic. Maybe someone who boulders more can chime in on how that is?

Pinnacle Peak & McDowell's(N. Scottsdale)- some fun granite trad routes, including multi-pitch. Plus, the Cactus Walls at Pinnacle are great for top rope soloing if you don't have a mid week partner.

South Mtn.(SE Phoenix)- Has some decent bouldering but pretty far back from the trail head(easy mtn. bike ride).

Hope this helps and welcome to town!

Thanks for the response Tim. Very informative, appreciate it. Maybe I'll check the N Scottsdale area. I got spoiled living in Joshua Tree.

Advise... Don't leave 29 palms its close to J-Tree, Tahquitz and great high desert climbing... If you must leave.. Their is some chos at Camelback, but plenty of hot chick on the hiking trail to check out even M-F!! parking sucks!!!!! McDowell's and Pinnacle peak have some good short Granite stuff and a few 200' routes. Weekend stuff if you can get away their is a ton in AZ, Baboquivari for some aid and general scary stuff great trad in southern AZ (Stronghold) and lots of sport climbing from nasty sharp sandbagged Volcanic in Queen Creek to smooth lime stone at Jacks...I have been climbing in AZ for 20 years, lots of stuff to still do! Grab a few guide books and have at it!!

I agree that you will want to live as far north as possible, maybe even Anthem, but of course that will depend on where you work, etc. AZ on the Rocks is a great gym in Northeast Scottsdale too. I drive down every 1-2 weeks to climb there. The routes at Lookout Mountain in Northern PHX seemed okay when I hiked to it, although I haven't climbed it yet (single pitch sport climbs) and there's not a whole lot there (maybe 15 short routes?).

My climbing is pretty localized to Prescott so I can't compare very well to much else, but there are literally 400-500 routes within 5-10 mins of my house (so I don't have much reason to travel to PHX for climbing). Not sure what level you're at, but we just bolted a 5.5, 5.7, and 5.9 within 10 feet of each other, and I know of some good stuff in the 5.10-11 range and a 106 ft (single pitch sport) route that I would rate around 5.6 or 7. My 3 favorite routes are right next to each other (5.8, 5.9, and 5.10) and are shaded starting at noonish. If you're looking for multipitch, there's always Granite Mountain and Thumb Butte which are very popular, although I'm not a multipitch guy myself at the moment.

Groom Creek is shaded and awesome for bouldering, although I'm more of a sport climber.

My GF lives here and works in PHX, so she makes the drive every day and its not that bad. On average, the temperature is about 20 deg cooler in PRC than PHX and it's even cooler in Flagstaff. PM me if you want to join us on some single pitch stuff up here and I'll show you around.

Brian ^^^, I sent you a PM about your routes in Prescott

Thanks Brian, I'll let you know once I move out there. I definitely plan on getting a membership at AZ on the Rocks. Appreciate the help everyone.

Walmongr: I can't stay in Joshua Tree. I was stationed there with the Marine Corps for a year. Im out now and moving to Arizona closer to family.

Walmongr: I can't stay in Joshua Tree. I was stationed there with the Marine Corps for a year. Im out now and moving to Arizona closer to family.

Yeah, phoenix metro area is pretty weak as far as cragging goes. However, Queen creek canyon is an hour east of the city and is a sport climbers dream. Definitely worth checking out.

Welcome to the Valley!

We have more exposed rock in AZ than many states combined. Living near Tempe Town Lake puts you right close to the Phoenix Rock Gym.

Many of the locals who have developed much of the Arizona climbing areas routinely climb there (PRG) and are happy to provide beta to their favorite crags.

Come on in and meet some of the friendliest climbers and as temps start to cool off there will be many trips to join in on in the near future.

When you stop in ask for Neo and as I am there most nights I will be happy to make some introductions/spot/belay!