A few days in the Bay Area

I'll be visiting friends in San Fran for a week in June and was hoping to check out the climbing as well. What crags within an hours drive of the city really define Bay Area climbing?

Thanks

The climbing gyms.

I'm not joking.

Greg Barnes wrote:The climbing gyms. I'm not joking.

Hehehe, funny but true. Especially check out PG Presidio's cracks & OW for a unique gym experience. You can climb crack all day there!

For some more historical outdoor outings, check out some of the neighborhood bouldering & TRing spots in Berkeley, such as Indian Rock & Cragmont Park.

This is a good link . And seriously, the buildering can be pretty fun too.

Hey, don't forget the Beaver Street Wall! You get to top rope in a little neighborhood park and have a SPECTACULAR view from the top. I did this a while ago, and it was pretty fun. Seconding Planet Granite at the Presidio. I make a point of going there when I visit the Bay Area.

As mentioned by others, the Planet Granite gym in San Francisco is one of the most scenic climbing areas I have ever been to- and it is a gym! Seriously, it is in an incredible spot on the Presidio, looking out over the Golden Gate. Nice gym, too.

As far as actual rocks go, there isn't that much within an hour's drive of SF. Castle Rocks State Park has some really good slopey sandstone bouldering (the sport and trad climbing there is terrible; stick to the boulders), but it is a bit more than a 1 hour drive from SF proper. There are a variety of other spots around, but much of it isn't very memorable. Mickey's Beach may be worth considering.

oh come on you guys. :)

plenty of fun rock to climb on in the bay area. nothing really defines bay area climbing, but

castle rock
mt. diablo
mt. st. helena
mickey's beach
sonoma coast

lots of info in the destination section here on mp.

why does this question always come up? ;)

Agreed on Castle Rock - good bouldering, bad climbing and ranger/climber relations

Mt Diablo is good climbing on Pine Canyon side

Mt St Helena and Sonoma Coast are all 2 hours away and if you're going to drive for 2 hours, you might as well drive 2.5 hours and hit up the Pinnacles or the Goldwall/Grotto in Jamestown.

Closest "good" climbing to SF would probably be Jamestown area.

The crags that define Bay Area climbing are all 4 hours from SF...

Greg Barnes wrote:The crags that define Bay Area climbing are all 4 hours from SF...

This.

Greg Barnes wrote:The crags that define Bay Area climbing are all 4 hours from SF...

The bitter truth emerges.

OK, you guys ARE right.

I'm sure Kevin could drive more than an hour though. ;)

Kevin - if you can drive 2.5-4 hours then don't bother with bay area crags, go to sonora, yosemite or tahoe. But if you can't, then, well....at least climbing something outside man. don't go to the gym. aye caramba.