Over the past several years, rock climbing has seen an explosion in popularity.
It’s a great way to challenge yourself while also enjoying the great outdoors.
If you’re thinking of trying it out, all of the following places are classic U.S. hubs for it, and because they’re so iconic, you’ll have no trouble finding certified, experienced guide services that will get the ropes up for you and make sure you’ll be safe and have fun!
Smith Rock, Oregon
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This state park is one of the epicenters of sport climbing, a style that involves clipping protection to fixed hardware on the cliffs. In this area, there is a vast number of routes ranging from beginner-friendly to about as challenging as it gets.
Yosemite National Park, California
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Climbing lore has it that American rock climbing had its birth here– actually, it got its start at Tahquitz Rock, also in Yosemite– but Yosemite is where it took off and reached its heyday. Yosemite has everything from easy routes to climbs only a handful of people in the world have ever completed.
Joshua Tree National Park
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Almost a world away from mountainous Yosemite, Joshua Tree is the other iconic climbing destination in California, which is overall the best state in the country for climbing due to weather, variety of rock types, and the sheer amount of rock available to climb. Joshua Tree, like Yosemite, is granite, and most of the climbs are shorter, but they tend to be stout for the grade.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
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Red Rocks, as many climbers call it, attracts climbers not just from all over the country but also from all over the world. The generally hard sandstone here is beautiful and also featured enough to make for spectacular climbing whether you want to do a few hours of climbing or spend a full day on a multi-pitch climb that takes you a few thousand feet up from where you started.
Indian Creek, Utah
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Crack climbing involves “jamming” your fingers, hands, fists, feet, and toes into cracks, creating a wedge from which you can push or pull up. Indian Creek, near Moab, is famous for its “splitters,” cracks in the sandstone that are almost uniform in width. It’s one of a handful of meccas for people who love crack climbing.
City of Rocks, Idaho
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Many top-notch climbing areas get really crowded. Because of its remote location relative to the rest of the country, City of Rocks rarely is crowded, and even if the most popular spots are, it’s easy to get away and have fun without all the noise.
Sinks Canyon, Wyoming
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Both state and federal lands include Sinks Canyon, which has rock including granite, limestone, and sandstone. Sinks is mostly known for its limestone sport climbing, and although most hikes in are steep, you’ll love the featured rock here. Some of the hardest climbs in the country are here, but you can also find plenty that are doable if it’s your first time.
Boulder Canyon, Colorado
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If California didn’t exist, then Colorado would be #1 when it comes to the best state for climbing. There are so many great climbing destinations in the Mile High State that we could write at least 10 articles about them, but if you need a starter, try beautiful Boulder Canyon just about an hour from Denver.
The Needles, South Dakota
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Custer State Park in the famed Black Hills has an area dominated by tall, pointed granite spires. Known as the Needles, these spires are spectacular to view, but they also house excellent climbing opportunities.
Red River Gorge, Kentucky
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Known to climbers as “The Red,” Red River Gorge has a lifetime’s worth of climbing in it, with different styles and a wide range of difficulty levels. Another highlight of the area is great locally owned restaurants, with the most famous of them being Miguel’s Pizza, considered a must-visit destination by the climbing crowd.
New River Gorge, West Virginia
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Like the Red River Gorge, “The New” consists of a really hard sandstone totally unlike the sandstone one finds throughout much of the American Southwest. It’s considered to be one of the highest-quality climbing areas in the country and is many people’s choice for the best in the East.
Seneca Rocks, West Virginia
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Another crag made of hard sandstone, Seneca Rocks has a reputation for old-school grades, meaning that climbs with the same difficulty rating at most other places tend to feel easier. The South Peak at Seneca is also the highest peak east of the Black Hills only accessible by technical rock climbing, and the summit ridge itself is an almost impossibly thin fin of rock with long, sheer dropoffs on both sides.
Shawangunk Ridge, New York
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The Gunks, as climbers call this location within the Mohonk Preserve in Upstate New York, is, like Seneca, famous for “sandbagged” routes, climbs that feel a lot harder than their ratings suggest. Despite that, the Gunks are legendary among climbers and attract adventurers from all about the country.
Rumney, New Hampshire
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Unofficially designated the best sport climbing destination in the Northeast and one of the best in the country, Rumney also has a reputation for having a high number or extremely difficult climbs that challenge the best of climbers. Despite that, there are also a number of beginner-friendly routes, so there’s something for everyone here.
Acadia National Park, Maine
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Acadia isn’t known for having the best rock or the longest routes, so what makes it a great climbing destination? How about the chance to climb on steep cliffs directly above the Atlantic Ocean crashing against their base?
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