US road trip climbing destinations

hey all! 

i've been slowly building out the back of my truck to camp in and i'm hoping to go on a 1-2 month road trip around the US this year. i'm just starting to plan the trip now, i'm thinking i'll probably head across the south when it's colder, and across the north when it's warmer - probably spring/summer, but possibly summer/fall. i'm planning to orient the trip around climbing spots and national parks. as far as climbing goes, i'm looking to climb easy to moderate routes, trad or sport, with slight preference towards trad.

i've spent most of my life in the northeast, and i'm so psyched to spend some time seeing the rest of the country. 

would love to hear any recs for spots to check out along the way! 

kyle

Uhhhhh.....

Kyle,

One to two months will be mostly during one season, with some possible overlap. Where to go is greatly dependent on when you are going. Which two months are you going?

Red Rock would be fun in the spring or fall. when it's not too hot. In the summer, you will want elevation as your friend. The mountains.

FrankPS wrote:

One to two months will be mostly during one season, with some possible overlap. Where to go is greatly dependent on when you are going. Which two months are you going?

This is the most important question to answer, and everything else will follow from it. When are you going?

Also consider:

1-2 months may sound like a ton of time, but it isn't. If you try to "see it all", you'll have a whirlwind trip without the time to really engage deeply with any individual location. And would lose a lot of days to driving. Alternatively, you could choose 2-4 awesome areas and spend a few weeks at each, and get to know each one. I'd recommend this approach. It also makes it easier to meet people, develop connections, have solid climbing partners, if you aren't moving around constantly.

First - bucket out the "must do's" - do you have to hit Yosemite? Are you looking for certain rock? Then, build a map that works with your timing based on those. I'll say that even without climbing, Zion and Yosemite are amazing. Having just come back from Red Rocks, that's also great. Rocky Mountain national park is fine, but IMO doesn't have quite the wow factor of some of the others coming from the northeast (as it feels like just a bigger version of northeast mountains). 

Casey J wrote:

First - bucket out the "must do's" - do you have to hit Yosemite? Are you looking for certain rock? Then, build a map that works with your timing based on those. I'll say that even without climbing, Zion and Yosemite are amazing. Having just come back from Red Rocks, that's also great. Rocky Mountain national park is fine, but IMO doesn't have quite the wow factor of some of the others coming from the northeast (as it feels like just a bigger version of northeast mountains). 

It is to laugh to say that rocky mtn.park feels like a bigger version of the north east. Nothing in the east compares to stuff in rmnp. 

Kevinmurray wrote:

It is to laugh to say that rocky mtn.park feels like a bigger version of the north east. Nothing in the east compares to stuff in rmnp. 

While RMNP is obviously way bigger and more impressive than Northeast mountains like the Whites or ADKs, I also kind of see what he is saying with this. It's still within the same sort of theme - tree covered mountains, lakes and streams, some big granite/gneiss outcrops, above a certain point you're above treeline. I spent the first 8 years of my climbing in the northeast, and going out to CO the landscape still had some general familiarity (just bigger and better).

By contrast, the red sandstone deserts of the SW, or the giant granite walls of Yosemite, feel like a totally different world than anything in the Northeast.

This is all a tangent from the main subject of this thread, though the one takeaway is that some time in the red sandstone desert areas (Moab, Red Rock, or Zion) is definitely recommended since it is just so different. Season dependent of course; don't go in the summer.

where are you coming from and what direction are you heading

JCM wrote:

While RMNP is obviously way bigger and more impressive than Northeast mountains like the Whites or ADKs, I also kind of see what he is saying with this. It's still within the same sort of theme - tree covered mountains, lakes and streams, some big granite/gneiss outcrops, above a certain point you're above treeline. I spent the first 8 years of my climbing in the northeast, and going out to CO the landscape still had some general familiarity (just bigger and better).

By contrast, the red sandstone deserts of the SW, or the giant granite walls of Yosemite, feel like a totally different world than anything in the Northeast.

This is all a tangent from the main subject of this thread, though the one takeaway is that some time in the red sandstone desert areas (Moab, Red Rock, or Zion) is definitely recommended since it is just so different. Season dependent of course; don't go in the summer.

This exactly. No hate at all, everything is massive in RMNP, but like he said, it's the same gradient as the whites in NH to an extent. 

Thomas Adler wrote:

Two months can fly by. Especially if you have to cross country. If climbing is the goal over big mountains, I’d suggest for a New Yorker you’ll get the most good climbing and least driving if you head south to RRG, NRG and Chattanooga. Each of those spots has enough great climbing to keep you busy for a month to two months easily. September, October, November optimally. If you want mountains, head to Utah, CO, WY.

West coast is great, but there is a ton of great climbing between here and there. One month to get there and back would mean barely anytime to really do much. 

This is good advice, and I'd lean that way if on the east coast.  Maybe throw in some time in NC if you want to add miles and a bit more variety.  Appalachia is a bit under appreciated as a destination for travel in general. 

I’m not saying that it is necessarily bad advice, but I never really understood the “two months can fly by, so stay local” philosophy. How many of us get two months off, and if two months is not enough to drive cross country, what is?  Can’t you just visit east coast crags from the east coast on long (or just regular) weekends?

awesome, thanks for all these thoughts! really great considerations all around, very helpful in thinking about how to plan the trip. 

to the points about travelling slow - i appreciate the reality check. it does feel like a ton of time, but i get that it will likely fly by. to this point, i'm going to really try to make the trip 2 months.

i'm a freelance filmmaker, so it's hard to know yet when exactly the trip will happen. i think my ideal months would be may/june, but it depends on a variety of things. i think my girlfriend will join for part of the trip, and i'm hoping to convince some gunks climbing partners to join me for some legs of the trip. i'd love to link up with some local climbers too, i love climbing with new folks. 

re: RMNP - what an unexpected point! noted, but i've never been to the rockies before, and definitely looking forward to checking them out!

re: JCM's point about the SW & yosemite feeling like different worlds - this is a great point. i'd like to plan more time to explore these places. 

re: east coast/appalachia - heard! will definitely check them out on the way, but maybe to spend less time at, as they'll be easier to get back to on a future trip. 

my takeaway from all the above is the need to prioritize my goals from the trip. it's funny how everything in life always seems to come back to prioritization... at this point, i'm thinking that the main goal of the trip is to see the variety of natural landscape in this country, with climbing as a bonus throughout. staying in places 2-4 days, hopefully slow enough so that it doesn't feel too rushed, but with the understanding that i'm just getting a sampling of a place. then, hopefully i can return for longer periods of time to get to know places better down the road. 

again, thanks for all the responses so far! really great food for thought. 

kyle

Frank Stein wrote:

I’m not saying that it is necessarily bad advice, but I never really understood the “two months can fly by, so stay local” philosophy. How many of us get two months off, and if two months is not enough to drive cross country, what is?  Can’t you just visit east coast crags from the east coast on long (or just regular) weekends?

I agree that the "stay east" advice is misguided. There's a certain ratio of trip time to driving distance to stay within the realm of sanity. I wouldn't drive all the way from the east coast to the west coast for a 3 week trip, for example. Just too much of the trip would be spent driving. With two months though, basically anywhere in the lower 48 is fair game. It's worth the drive time westward to see that part of the country.

A better way of framing that advice is "two months can fly by, so focus in on what you most want from the trip". If there's a region you want to see, get out there. Don't dither around with 8 other stops first. So going west is absolutely recommended, but commit the whole trip to it. Even once out west, you'll probably have to skip many "must visit" destinations suggested by others. There are just too many "must visit" places, and you can ruin a trip by trying to see them all. Decide for yourself what your "must visit" places are, decide how much time you want in those locations, and plan the rest of the trip around that.

re: east coast/appalachia - heard! will definitely check them out on the way,

For reasons noted above, would recommend against this. That's another trip. Leave home, head west.

Kevinmurray wrote:

It is to laugh to say that rocky mtn.park feels like a bigger version of the north east. Nothing in the east compares to stuff in rmnp. 

I've always thought the same thing. RMNP ain't that impressive if you've been to other mountain ranges. And I fly all around it frequently for work. Still ain't that impressive. 

Kyle Turgeon wrote:

... i think my ideal months would be may/june, ...

If heading west (CO/UT/WY), Sept/Oct has much more reliable weather. Bigger lines can still be covered in snow in May/June and other places have more wind/rain in the spring.

STFU about the 2 months and trip to driving raito baloney.  2 months is awesome. for least stressfull driving if you are in northern NY go to canada and take a left ,dip down at Thunder bay. there is some cragging along the way. hit up the black hills, devils tower, tensleep, wild iris,  tetons, go over bear tooth pass into montana or go where ever the heck else you want to go. at some point you will figure out that you only have a week left and providing the van still runs you will have to start thinking about getting home. in summer altitude is your friend. spring and fall you want to hit the desert. enjoy. 

noted about weather, that's really helpful. thinking about it further, usually september/october is a pretty busy season for me work-wise, so not sure i'll be able to swing that unfortunately.

i've put together a list of climbing spots to consider, in a very loose first order of a potential route (based only on climbing spots - the route will inevitably change once national parks/visiting friends get added in). i've starred the "premiere" climbing spots. there's definitely way too many, and i've got a lot of research ahead of me to whittle it down. i'd love any feedback on this list, particularly if there's any spots to skip. i'm looking for easy to moderate trad or sport, and it'd be helpful to know if there's exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad camping nearby. 

if there are other great spots in states not currently on the list that'd be good to know too, as that could be helpful mapping out the trip and planning stopovers. 

WEST VIRGINIA

**New River Gorge 

Seneca Rocks 

KENTUCKY 

**Red River Gorge

NORTH CAROLINA

Rumbling Bald 

Linville Gorge

TENNESSEE 

Tennessee Wall 

Obed and Clear Creek 

COLORADO 

Rifle 

Boulder Canyon

Rocky Mountain National Park 

Eldorado Canyon 

Shelf Road, Canon City 

UTAH 

**Moab/Indian Creek 

Maple Canyon 

ARIZONA

Cochise Stronghold 

Mount Lemmon

CALIFORNIA

**Joshua Tree 

**Yosemite

**Sierra Nevada

Bishop Area 

Cave Valley aka Auburn Quarry 

Pinnacles National Park

The Needles 

Shuteye Ridge 

Calaveras Dome 

NEVADA

**Red Rock

OREGON 

**Smith 

WASHINGTON

Leavenworth 

CANADA

**Squamish

IDAHO 

City of Rocks 

WYOMING

**Devil’s Tower

Vedauwoo 

Devil's Tower 

Grand Teton 

Wild Iris 

Sinks Canyon 

Ten Sleep Canyon 

SOUTH DAKOTA

The Needles / Black Hills 

WISCONSIN 

Devil's Lake 

to reiterate, these are not all the spots i'm trying to go, just spots to consider. thanks! 

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

STFU about the 2 months and trip to driving raito baloney.  2 months is awesome. for least stressfull driving if you are in northern NY go to canada and take a left ,dip down at Thunder bay. there is some cragging along the way. hit up the black hills, devils tower, tensleep, wild iris,  tetons, go over bear tooth pass into montana or go where ever the heck else you want to go. at some point you will figure out that you only have a week left and providing the van still runs you will have to start thinking about getting home. in summer altitude is your friend. spring and fall you want to hit the desert. enjoy. 

haha thanks nick! 

One thing to look at also is a map and see how things line up. I did three months and it wasn’t really long enough. But it was an amazing experience. Didn’t climb a ton but got to see some friends I hadn’t seen in years and a bunch of National Parks. Sometimes the weather dictates everything and you just go with the flow. 

Kyle Turgeon wrote:

noted about weather, that's really helpful. thinking about it further, usually september/october is a pretty busy season for me work-wise, so not sure i'll be able to swing that unfortunately.

i've put together a list of climbing spots to consider, in a very loose first order of a potential route (based only on climbing spots - the route will inevitably change once national parks/visiting friends get added in). i've starred the "premiere" climbing spots. there's definitely way too many, and i've got a lot of research ahead of me to whittle it down. i'd love any feedback on this list, particularly if there's any spots to skip. i'm looking for easy to moderate trad or sport, and it'd be helpful to know if there's exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad camping nearby. 

if there are other great spots in states not currently on the list that'd be good to know too, as that could be helpful mapping out the trip and planning stopovers. 

WEST VIRGINIA

**New River Gorge 

Seneca Rocks 

KENTUCKY 

**Red River Gorge

NORTH CAROLINA

Rumbling Bald 

Linville Gorge

TENNESSEE 

Tennessee Wall 

Obed and Clear Creek 

COLORADO 

Rifle 

Boulder Canyon

Rocky Mountain National Park 

Eldorado Canyon 

Shelf Road, Canon City 

UTAH 

**Moab/Indian Creek 

Maple Canyon 

ARIZONA

Cochise Stronghold 

Mount Lemmon

CALIFORNIA

**Joshua Tree 

**Yosemite

**Sierra Nevada

Bishop Area 

Cave Valley aka Auburn Quarry 

Pinnacles National Park

The Needles 

Shuteye Ridge 

Calaveras Dome 

NEVADA

**Red Rock

OREGON 

**Smith 

WASHINGTON

Leavenworth 

CANADA

**Squamish

IDAHO 

City of Rocks 

WYOMING

**Devil’s Tower

Vedauwoo 

Devil's Tower 

Grand Teton 

Wild Iris 

Sinks Canyon 

Ten Sleep Canyon 

SOUTH DAKOTA

The Needles / Black Hills 

WISCONSIN 

Devil's Lake 

to reiterate, these are not all the spots i'm trying to go, just spots to consider. thanks! 

You must really adore whatever it is you drive. Enjoy your windshield, lol!

Some serious editing needed, obviously. Even if it's just the west you decide on? There's all the middle to cross. And? The west is BIG. Everything is a long ways apart from everything else. Get an old fashioned fold up highway map of the US, tack it up, start staring at it, the driving involved, and compare it to whatever drives you are used to.

Adding in friends is fine, don't fall into the national park trap. Hit what really sings to you, let other stuff wait for some other time.

With weeks to months?

You can also just get out here, and mill around some, place to place. Don't have to over agendaize your trip, unless you really want to. 

And have fun. 

Best, H.

EDIT to add, I looked at your profile, and ticks. Someone on here can probably translate your Gunks climbing to western grades/climbs. I don't know the Gunks, but, easier grades at the places I climb, are often not protectable at all. Some apples and oranges, here, lol! I expect this translates to moderate to easy, 5.8ish? If it's 5.10, you'll find fun most places. Lower than that, you'll need to be more careful.

dont have a firm plan. just go with the flow.  it takes a week on the road to decompress. then its stress free  for a month and a half and then suddenly you remember that you have to go back to work...  really helpfull if you have a week before you leave and a week when you get back to get your act together but that's obviously not always possible.