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Elevation: 7,085 ft
GPS: 39.7159, -107.6912
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Shared By: Orphaned User on Oct 29, 2001
Admins: Alvaro Arnal, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC

Description Suggest change

Simply put, Rifle Mountain Park offers the best limestone sport climbing in North America, especially at the 5.12 and up grades. This riparian mountain canyon 200 miles west of Boulder has undergone numerous evolutionary phases over the last decade, yet it still maintains its allure and is fairly crowded on most weekends from May through September.

The climbing at Rifle varies from slightly overhanging to very overhanging, and the routes are generally long, complex endurance-fests on large, flat holds, pockets, crimps and funky pinches. Constant traffic on some of the older routes, especially at the Ruckman Cave and the Wasteland, has turned the footholds black with shoe rubber. Many of the older routes have surely gained a letter grade or two from the grease factor alone.

Rifle hosts one of, if not the largest concentration of 5.13-5.14 sport routes in America, most of them natural, most of them quality. The rock itself, limestone of the Leadville formation, varies both in quality and aspect from wall to wall. The Wasteland, for example, offers short (50 foot) power routes on pocket and tufa-riddled stone similar to the good stuff in Europe; the towering Anti-Phil Wall, with its perfect crimpers and smooth pockets reminds one of the Blasphemy Wall at the VRG; and the looming steepness of The Arsenal offers blocky cave climbing on "pile" rock reminiscent of the good stuff at American Fork. But these are just a few of the walls.

Rifle is somewhat lacking in "moderate" routes, which can be frustrating for novice & mid-level sport climbers. This has more to do with the nature of the rock than the prejudice of route developers. The lower-angled rock tends to be covered in silt, moss, or both. Attempts to clean are somewhat futile as regular rains re-deposit a fresh layer of munge on a near-weekly basis. There are enough high quality 5.11s & below to keep most climbers busy for at least a week.

It's important to remember that access to Rifle Mountain Park has been an issue in the past. The park is owned by the city of Rifle, and locals from town were going up there to camp, barbecue, fish and picnic long before we climbers ever showed up. The Canyon is open to new route development on a permit system only, and any rock owned by fish hatchery at the west end of the Canyon is strictly off-limits.

Pay your $5 entrance fee, don't park where you're not supposed to, and keep a low, friendly profile. You can get season passes, which are a great deal, from the campground host/park ranger or at the City of Rifle Parks Department in town. The climbing here is excellent, and there's more than enough routes to go around.

While Rifle does offer a handful of moderate routes, they're generally quite polished and uninspiring. The steep stone doesn't suffer from constant run-off like the slabbier stuff, hence the "good" climbing seems to start around 11a or so. Currently the hardest route at Rifle is 5.14c.

Ice Climbing Suggest change

As well as world famous sport climbing, Rifle hosts some fabulous ice climbing. Ice climbers frequented the area long before it was a twinkle in a sport climber's eye. Several quality climbs form every year, however, due to temperatures and precipitation, conditions can be variable. Some routes do not form consistantly.

Difficulty ranges from WI 3 to WI 5+ depending on conditions. The canyon is a beautiful location and often sees less climbing traffic than other quality ice climbing areas in the state. Overall, when conditions are good, Rifle offers some of the best naturally forming, easily accessible ice in Colorado.

There is a $5 parking fee in the park. You can get season passes, which are a great deal, from the campground host/park ranger or at the City of Rifle Parks Department in town. The town of Rifle offers some fairly inexpensive accomodations and even a decent restaurant or two.

Getting There

Suggest change
Drive west to Glenwood Springs on I-70. Ten miles further west take the Newcastle exit. Turn right off the freeway and come to a stop sign. Continue straight (north) on a four-lane road that then bends west through Castle Valley, a housing development just outside of town. After a couple of miles this road dead ends at Grass Valley Road.

Follow Grass Valley Road west, passing the turn-offs for East Elk Canyon, Main Elk Canyon (home of the Fortress of Solitude), West Elk Canyon, and Harvey Gap. After about 6-8 miles Grass Valley Road comes to a T-intersection. Turn right and follow this paved road up up up past the fish hatchery, where it turns to dirt. You're now in Rifle Mountain Park.

Additional Resources

Camping

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Per Michael Schneiter: as of 2014, the camping fee has increased to $10/day.

Per Spencer Weiler: as someone who had never visited Rifle before, I was a bit confused at the camping situation or maybe I'm just an idiot and didn't do my homework. Anyway, for new people, the camping setup is like this:

There is one official "Rifle Falls State Park Campground" that is located a few miles before you get to the actual Rifle Canyon climbing. The sites are highly competitive to get and require a reservation months in advance. See the link below. Water is located here. I assume this is where most people fill up even if they aren't staying there.

Rifle Falls Camping

There is also Rifle Gap State Park, which has 5 campgrounds, which is the reservoir that you pass by on your way to Rifle Falls, 5 or so miles before.

Rifle Gap

Assuming you are a dirtbag climber, you will want to find the camping beyond the climbing. This wasn't intuitive to me. Drive through the climbing sector, and almost as soon as you leave the canyon, the first set of sites pop up with a big campground sign next to some buildings. As I understand it, the town of Rifle supports these sites. There are many, many more sites up the road, so if the ones you come to are full, just keep driving. We stayed at site 31, so there are at least that many. It was $12 per night which included your $5 day pass fee to use the park. No purified water exists (go to state park campground), but there are port-o-potties and trash dumpsters.

Per James Cranston:

Free camping at the "meadows" (the guidebook describes this just as well and is probably more accurate with distance but if you don't have it read on).

1. Go past the normal campgrounds for a few minutes (mile or so?) on the dirt road.
2. You'll see a fork in the road and an option to go left. Go left.
3. Put your vehicle into 4WD if possible, but it is not necessary (I've done it in a shitty 2WD Ford Focus). Go up this road.
4. You'll see another fork in the road. Go left.
5. The road gets windy and really bumpy. Persevere for another 3/4 to a mile or so. You'll see some small open space on your left at some point. Don't camp there. Keep going.
6. At some point the road opens up to an enormous clearing in the trees with a very large field on your right. This is the meadows. Camp anywhere here, it's 100% free.

Bats - conservation

Suggest change

See a bat on a route, give a shout. Climbers for Bat Conservation is working with climbers to understand bat ecology and why bats choose certain cracks and flakes. If you see bats, and want to tell them, here is their email (climbersforbats@colostate.edu) and their website ( climbersforbats.colostate.edu/).

Climbers for Bat Conservation is a collaboration between climbers, bat biologists, and land managers to understand where bats roost and where large populations may reside. They are interested in finding bats because a new disease, called white-nose syndrome ( whitenosesyndrome.org/), has killed millions of bats in North America. This collaboration has identified bat roosts throughout the U.S., and as far away as Norway and Bulgaria. CBC was developed by biologists who climb and they are advocates for climbing access and bat conservation. If you see bats while climbing, please let them know by emailing them at climbersforbats@colostate.edu, or visiting their website to learn more ( climbersforbats.colostate.edu/).

Rob Schorr

Zoologist, Colorado Natural Heritage Program ( sites.warnercnr.colostate.e…)

Director, Climbers for Bat Conservation

Robert.schorr@colostate.edu 

479 Total Climbs

Route Finder - Best Climbs for YOU!

Location: Rifle Mountain Park Change
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Classic Climbing Routes at Rifle Mountain Park

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 485
Feline
Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 190
Rumor Has It
Sport
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 173
Rehabilitator
Sport
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 118
James Brown's Wild Ride
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 188
Defenseless Betty
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 215
Ricochet
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 166
Crime and Punishment
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 214
Cardinal Sin
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 232
Genesis
Sport
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
 288
Pinch Fest
Sport
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
 195
Easy Skankin'
Sport
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
 128
Lost and Found
Sport
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b
 108
Hang 'Em High
Sport
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b
 110
Pretty Hate Machine
Sport
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c
 129
Pump-O-Rama
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Feline Ice Cave Walls > Upper Ice Caves (Feli…
 485
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
Rumor Has It Sapper Cave
 190
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
Rehabilitator Project Wall
 173
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Sport
James Brown's Wild Ride Meat Wall
 118
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Sport
Defenseless Betty Project Wall
 188
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
Ricochet Winchester Cave
 215
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
Crime and Punishment Meat Wall
 166
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
Cardinal Sin Meat Wall
 214
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
Genesis Sanctuary
 232
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
Pinch Fest Ruckman Cave
 288
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Sport
Easy Skankin' Anti-Phil Wall
 195
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Sport
Lost and Found Meat Wall
 128
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Sport
Hang 'Em High Project Wall
 108
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b Sport
Pretty Hate Machine Arsenal
 110
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b Sport
Pump-O-Rama Arsenal
 129
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c Sport
More Classic Climbs in Rifle Mountain Park »

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