Climbing

Rock climbing requires proper safety, supervision and equipment. Please follow all BSA Climb on Safely requirements. Rock climbing in scouting can only be top roping. Bouldering can be done, but scouts must stay below their should height.

BSA Climbing Page

Rock Climbing

Bear Valley While there are hundreds of granite outcroppings worthy of a climber's attention, only a fraction have been climbed. https://www.bearvalley.com/rock-climbing/

Castle Rock State Park At the crest of the summit road between Los Gatos and Boulder Creek (Intersection of Highway 9 and Skyline) There are several clusters of climbing and bouldering opportunities ranging from Indian Rock to Summit Rock to Caslte Rock and Castle Rock Falls. Climbs range from 5.8 to 5.12

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=538

Castle Rock Bouldering Info

City of Berkeley Climbing Parks

Berkeley has several parks with boulders and rocks for climbing. Berkeley parks with rock features: Cragmont Rock Park, Great Stoneface Park, Glendale–La Loma Park, Grotto Rock Park, Indian Rock Park, Mortar Rock Park, and Remillard Park.

Cragmont Rock Park, Berkeley

Rock climbing routes at Cragmont Cragmont Park Climbing from rockclimbing.com

Grizzly Peak Boulders Topo map for bouldering at Grizzly Peak, located above Lawrence Hall of Science. http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/ba/berk67.htm or http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/California/San_Francisco_Bay/Grizzly_Peak/Climbing Routes from rockclimbing.com

Joshua Tree National Lots of places to climb at this national park. NPS climbing info: http://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/climbing.htm

Mt. Diablo State Park Bouldering and climbing at Gibraltar, Sentinel, Rock City and Castle Rocks. Check with the ranger before climbing. Park info: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=517 Climbing info from Mountain Project http://www.mountainproject.com/v/mount-diablo-state-park/105733896

Mt. Tamalpais An observation tower is at the East peak, and is surrounded by jagged volcanic rock that holds some interesting climbing. All climbing is accessed via the Plank trail, which will have a sign stating .3 miles to the observation tower. There are 4 slabs 25-45 feet. https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105733923/mount-tamalpais

Mt. St. Helena, Napa Valley A hike up the trail will take you to Bubble Rock. Several climbs from 5.8 to 5.10.5. From Mountain Project, info on Mt. St. Helena climbing.

Mortar Rock, Berkeley http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/ba/berk64.htm Topo for Mortar Rock.

Pinnacles National Park One of the premier climbing areas in NorCal

Recommended rock climbing routes
Friends of Pinnacle Climbing Info
Pinnacles topos http://www.stanford.edu/%7Eclint/pin/topos.htm

Skyline Slabs north of the Aquarian Valley, in Long Ridge Open Space Preserve.https://www.mountainproject.com/v/skyline-slabs/105733905

San Luis Obispo Best climbing in San Luis Obispo are at Bishop Peak and

Cabrillo Peak. Cabrillo Peak has several routes with secure anchors and easy access for setting up the top rope. Bishop Peak is the most popular site in SLO county with bouldering, sport and trad routes. http://www.mountainproject.com/v/san-luis-obispo/105737095

Sunol Regional Wilderness Located south-east of Pleasanton, Sunol Regional Wilderness presently only has developed climbing at Indian Joe Caves, but other opportunities appear to exist as well. There's a pretty wide variety of rock types in the park, but Indian Joe caves is meta basalt. Cllimbing at Indian Joe

Sonora Pass Drive on up to Highway 108 and get exposed to some great alpine quality granite, but for the nominal price of cragging. The Sonora Pass area has a great collection of rock. From Mountain Project, info on climbing in the area:Sonora Pass Climbing

South Lake Tahoe Bouldering around So. Lake Tahoe to Reno. http://www.kgt.net/rockclimb/#AreaMap

Yosemite National Park The Sistine Chapel of Climbing. NPS site for climbing at Yosemite NP. Super Topo Yosemite Climbing information.

Return to top

Indoor Climbing

REI at Saratoga
400 El Paseo de Saratoga, San Jose, CA 95130 (408) 871-8765

http://www.rei.com/stores/saratoga/?stat=8246h

Free climbing on Thursdays for REI members.

City Beach - Fremont & Santa Clara
4020 Technology Place, Fremont, California
16,000 square feet of sculpted terrain
2911 Mead Avenue, Santa Clara, California
M-Th 11 AM-11 PM; F-Sat 11AM-10PM; Sun 11 AM-6PM
http://www.citybeach.com

Twister’s Rock Gym - Mountain View
2639 Terminal Blvd., Mountain View, California. Climbing area is CLOSED
Planet Granite - Sunnyvale, Belmont, San Francisco
South Bay: 815 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale CA 94085
(408) 991-9090
www.planetgranite.com
14,000 sq. ft. sculpted climbing walls, with cracks. Bouldering area with 4 arches, 185 foot traverse.
Peninsula: 100 El Camino Real, Belmont, CA
(650) 591-3030
San Francisco: 924 "Old" Mason Street, SF
(415) 692-3434

Touchstone Climbing and Fitness

https://touchstoneclimbing.com/

At Touchstone, we're passionate about climbing. With walls designed for world competition and kids' birthday parties alike, we're confident that just about everyone will walk away with a smile on their face.
Touchstone has gyms in Berkeley, Sacramento, San Francisco, Concord, Oakland and San Jose (The Studio)

Overnighters. Bring your scout troop, church group or graduating class for some all-night fun! The event starts at 9pm and lasts until 6am or later. Rock climbing, games, obstacle courses and competitions are just some of the things that will keep your crowd occupied through the night! Call the manager to reserve a night for your group. In San Jose, 408-998-4000

Iron Works - Berkeley
800 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA (Off Ashby and 7th near I-80)
(510) 981-9900

San Francisco Bay Area Council Office - San Leandro

SFBAC has a 30-foot climbing wall available for rent by units. Scouting units may make reservations for climbs on The Rock by completing a form available at their website. Please give at least one alternate choice of dates. Climb approvals are based on availability of instructors. Scouting Groups:
$12 per person with a minimum of 10 climbers. http://www.sfbac.org/programs/climbing

Return to top

Outdoor Rock Climbing Courses

Yosemite Mountaineering School. Phone (209) 372-8344. Website: www.yosemitepark.com. Classes are offered daily for beginning and more advance climbers. Prices begin at $170 per person, $90 for two people and $80 for three people.

Mountain Adventures (MAS) The MAS Outdoor Rock Climbing School offers a comprehensive curriculum facilitated by experienced and professional guides. Located in Bear Valley, CA. they're one of the top schools for mountaineering and climbing.https://mtadventure.com/pages/rock/school.html

Adventure Out Never tried climbing before? Curious? Perhaps you’ve climbed a few times in a gym and want to try the real thing? Discover what outdoor rock climbing is all about in this 4-hour clinic designed for the beginning rock climber. Climbing classes are at nearby Castle Rock SP. Adventure Out Rock Climbing

C.O.P.E. Courses

C.O.P.E. is short for “Project COPE”, “Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience”.
It is a set of group initiative games and low and high course activities. Some of the activities involve a group challenge, while others test individual skills and agility; only a few require athletic strength. C.O.P.E. courses have a variety of constructions to facilitiate the challenges such as rope ladders, suspended planks, swings and other gear. When you hear about a C.O.P.E. course, it's typically a BSA layout along with guidelines for construction, maintenance, inspection and qualified instructors and supervisors.

Camp Cutter (Pacific Skyline Council) Camp Cutter, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Big Basin features a C.O.P.E. course. Contact them for more information. C.O.P.E. course closed.

Other Norcal BSA camps with C.O.P.E. Courses - Marin Sierra, Lassen, Royaneh,

Ropes Courses:

Ropes courses are similar to BSA C.O.P.E. courses but are run by other groups. They offer many o f the same high and low challenges.

Synergy Ropes Course in Santa Cruz. Located near the Chamanade Inn. http://www.synergylearningsystems.com/team_ropes.html

Challenge Sonoma Ropes Course, Sonoma CA http://www.challengesonoma.org/

Treetop Adventure Park Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe. http://www.granlibakken.com/adventure_center.php

Skylark Girl Scout Camp, Santa Cruz Mountains http://www.camprocks.org/ropes-course

Tradewinds Rope Course, Occidental CA (Sonoma county) http://www.fourwindsteambuilding.com/programs.html

Pacific Leadership Institue Challenge Course at Fort Miley, San Francisco http://www.pliprograms.org/index.php/article-7/item/ropes-course

City Beach Fremont INDOOR Ropes Course, Fremont CA http://www.citybeach.com/rock-gym/high-ropes-thrill-quest/

Squaw Valley Adventure Center, Squaw Valley CA (Lake Tahoe) http://www.squawadventure.com/ropes-course

Return to top

Last update July 13, 2020