Climbing Closures

You are visiting the ancestral lands of the Chemehuevi, Serrano, Cahuilla, and Mojave! Native American communities still depend on these landscapes today for their cultural and religious practices. The park helps preserve traces of their past. Of special note are the pecked or painted images scattered in the rock formations known to the Chemehuevi as Tumpituxwinap or storied rocks. These are a sacred part of their living universe.

When climbing please lookout for signs of the past, be respectful of closures, and leave no trace. Our Native American communities ask you to be mindful and reflect on the generations that have passed before and those still to come. Please climb responsibly and respectfully.

Some areas of the park are permanently closed to rock climbing and bouldering due to their proximity to sensitive resources or private property. Other areas may be closed temporarily to protect sensitive wildlife.

 

Permanent Climbing and Bouldering Closures

Rock Climbing Routes

• Energy Crisis, Police and Thieves, and Unsolved Mystery on the east side of Little Hunk formation
• The Schwarzenegger Wall, at the north end of Rockwork Rock formation
• Zombie Woof Rock formation
• The Maverick Boulder formation

Bouldering Problems

• Pictograph Boulder, at the base of Queen Mountain
• Shindig, on Indian Cave Boulder
• Lonely Stones Area #3
• The Shipwreck formation
• The entire Indian Wave Boulders circut
• Wormholes, in The Underground
• Lucky Boy Boulders, all problems

Private Property

• The private property across from the Hemingway parking area
• Keys Ranch: Visitors to the ranch must be accompanied by a park ranger; scheduled tours are available.

 

Seasonal Wildlife Closures

Our seasonal climbing closures usually run from late February through July to protect and respect nesting raptors. The nesting areas may change year to year. We recommend climbing the below routes in the fall or winter, because raptors often return to their nests year after year. Walls that are often closed include:

• Slantic Area (including but not limited to Rattlesnake Buttress, Margaret Thatcher Spire, The Stepping Stones, The Bulkhead, The Dunce Cap and Commissioner’s Buttress) Currently closed from April 3 – June 15, 2024
• The Shade Structure
• Little Hunk - Southwest Face Right, East Corner, Northeast Face Left.
• Snickers - North Face
• Patagonia Pile - East and West Face
• Towers of Uncertainty
• Tidal Wave
• Wall of Biblical Fallacies
• The Heap
• Labor Dome
• Iron Door Cave
• Tilt-O-Meter
• Dino's Egg
• Chuckwalla Boulders

 

video

World Class Climbing & Bouldering Rock Climbing

Climb Clean! Good Climbing Practices

Preserve the Climbing History Friends of Joshua Tree

Partnerships and Collaborations