This Bouldering area is the best close-in bouldering area in the bay. Located just west of the parking area, it's a pretty easy walk from the parking area.
Offering nearly 360 degrees of overhung bouldering fun, this rock reaches 20 feet high in some places, and offers moves of all variety. Some people choose to top rope the highest section, as it's a fairly long drop to the ground from high up on the rock.
All routes can be walked off, as one side of the rock runs into the gentle hillside.
Getting There
From the main parking area, walk through the rightside gate and go up the paved road past the large pink mansion that was recently built. The pavement will end and the top of meatball rock will just out of the trees 50 feet right of the path. Continue on a smoothly graded gravel path that will take you up to the crest of the hill. From the crest, there is a large right offshoot, which you should take. This will head gently downhill to Turtle Rock, which is another 200 yards further.
Begin at the South Eastern extreme of Turtle. There is a flake that juts out and points towards Angel Island at the base. There are two small moons right next to each other right above this flake. Use these moons as the starting hand holds, and use the flake as the starting foot hold. Start traversing counterclockwise (the next move should be to a downwards horn underneath an outcropping out the rock. Traverse until you come to a cavity in the...[more]
This site only lists the traverse, but one of the really cool things about Turtle, is the endless potential to make up your own routes. I think that Turtle is really a great place to work on precision instead of power. If you're looking for an arete (sorry I don't have the accent marks in place) or for some dyno practice Turtle's got it. One route I made up that starts on the south east side of the rock called "Harmony" is a great problem to get you comfortable with a variety of moves and with height for soloing (Harmony goes up the tallest part of Turtle). The lower moves are techincal for beginners but not impossible (i.e, V2) and the top part is V0, if even that. Anyway I just thought I'd put in a good word of this amazingly rock. If you want a really groovy bouldering session I highly recommend it. P.S. To the creaters of this website thank you, this has really helped me find some more climbing opportunities locally.
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