I've been climbing for about a year now but mostly in the gym and TR'ing outside. I would like to start leading outside but every area that I have found on MP is a little above my grade and I don't want to be climbing at my limit while still getting comfortable climbing above bolts.

Where would you go (within a 2-3 hour drive of SF) if you were just starting to lead? (looking for easy climbing in the 5.0(?) to 5.10- range)

castle rock state park

Finding good crags within the couple of hours of the Bay Area can be hard. For getting started I'd recommend Mt. St. Helena to start (mountainproject.com/v/mount-st-helena/105733881) and Table Mountain for stuff that's a little harder (mountainproject.com/v/table-mountain/105733998).

Some new stuff might be in development. Ask around at your gym. When I lived in the Bay sport crags were pretty rare.

There's Pinnacles NM down south near Gilroy that has some routes in that range. The rock there can be an adventure but a lot of the stuff on the East side of the park, Discovery Wall and the Monolith in particular, are pretty well cleaned up.

Mickey's Beach near Stinson has a couple of tens, but they don't really fit the bill.

Get comfortable leading in the gym, then go to Table Mountain (find the Gold Wall if you can) and start leading the 9's to upper 10's. The thing is, the whole point of sport climbing is leading at your limit, so you may as well get into it early. If you are on an overhanging route, there is no more danger than gym climbing, really.

Pinnacles has a fair amount of stuff but it's an acquired taste and isn't what I'd call a sport area.

Amazing Face on Diablo is a fine route and is a modern sport route and one of the few I can think of in your grades around the Bay. The Egg at Mickey's has some easier lines on it, but again that's kind of an acquired taste.

There are lots of places around the Bay to set up TRs and getting laps on something is way better than nothing.

The first guy answered your question perfect. Castle Rock.

I'd avoid Castle Rock these days, the bolt ban is taking its toll and many routes have suspect bolts that we're not allowed to replace. Plus, the rangers are less than supportive of the whole idea of climbers.

Do lots of leading in the gyms, then drive 5 hours over to Clark Canyon near Mammoth, or Owens RIver Gorge near Bishop (that's more like 6 hours). Loads of fun, tightly bolted routes in the 5.6-5.9 range, nice scenery, etc. There's nothing in the 2-3 hour range that really fits the bill (you want to be a 5.10 leader at the Table Mountain areas ie Grotto, Gold Wall, etc).

There are many newer routes in Tuolumne that are well bolted for Tuolumne (such as many on Dozier Dome), but they are still pretty run out compared to Clark, Owens, etc - and many need at least a few cams and nuts.