FYI: Parts of Devil's Head climbing area are closed March 1- July 31 every year for Peregrine falcon protection. The official closure order and associated map can be found here: www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5280647.pdf.
For questions or more information, please contact the South Platte Ranger District office at 303.275.5610.
Devil's Head is a relatively new granite climbing area with perhaps the highest concentration of three star routes anywhere in the Front Range. While lying in the South Platte, Devil's Head granite presents a super fine-grain textured granite that only rarely reveals the typical South Platte crystalline matrix. The rock is remarkably featured with roofs, cracks, edges, and flakes that, unlike most of the South Platte, offer up tremendous amounts of excellent, exciting face climbing. Devil's Head climbing occurs largely on the South and East-facing slopes of Devil's Head mountain, and the climber could not ask for a more serene place to climb. The crags face South, West, or East and overlook Pike's Peak with all the rest of the Rampart Range hills spread out in unbroken splendor as far as the eye can see. The area possesses well over 100 routes with the balance of new route activity devoted to bolt-protected sport climbing, although nearly 20 of the routes are superb granite crack climbs on bomber trad gear. While the emphasis in climbing is largely on the upper 5.11 and 5.12 range, difficulty pretty much spans the gamut, and it is a good bet that some under-rated 5.13 lies on the hill as well. Development of new routes started nearly 8 years ago spearheaded by the relentless energy of Tod Anderson, author of the area's only guidebook, "The Devil Made Me Do It". The roster of first ascentionists that Tod dragged up the hill includes (in no particular order) Tom Hanson, Scott Sills, Rich Magill, Richard Wright, Alan Nelson, Mike Lane, Janice Harnak, Ernie Moskovitz (Ziggy), Frank (Tripp) Collins, Martin Birch, Dave Fields, Eric Leonard, Pat Burwick. Other notable developers include Pete Takeda, Ken Trout, and probably some more great climbers as well. Of more than a dozen developed crags, the most notable routes lie on the following crags: The Headstone; The Crimpfest Wall; The Red Wall; The Starcastle; and The Shaft.
Getting There
From Denver, the best way to reach Devils's Head is to take CO Highway 85 south to Sedalia. Then head west on CO Highway 67 to the North entrance of the park, about 10 miles. The ranger station booth marks the North end of FR 300, the Ramparts Range Road. Take this South for approximately 9 miles to the turn off for Devil's Head campground and the Fire Tower. Be aware that the Rampart Range Road will be closed from the first Monday in December to sometime in April due to snow pack. From Colorado Springs, FR 300 can be reached from the Garden of The Gods, but is a fairly torturous 20 miles North. Once at the parking lot, head up the tourist trail toward the Fire Tower about 1.5 miles. At a saddle well below the Fire Tower the trail forks right (to the tower) and left to the Zinn Overlook. Head for the Zinn Overlook along a well defined climbers trail. At the overlook, trails will fork directly toward the Headstone formation (left) and right, through the woods, toward the Red Wall, Starcastle, and The Shaft.
As of May 2012, a new guide to the South Platte that includes Devil's Head was published by Fixed Pin Publishing. "South Platte Climbing" by Jason Haas, Ben Schneider, and Craig Weinhold should be available in most climbing shops sometime in the latter half of May. It is also available directly from Fixed Pin at: fixedpin.com/The_South_Platte.html.
Guidebook
"Rampart Range Rocks" by Tod Anderson is available at Bent Gate.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Devil's Head:
As soon as you step from the dihedral onto the face, the business starts. A short-lived, thin crux leads to really fun edge climbing. All of a 60m rope is required to lower back to the ledge....[more]Browse More Classics in CO
On July 19, 2002 Devil's Head and most of the Pike National Forest reopened. Devil's Head was not burned and retains its previous natural character. The view from the firetower provides an amazing view of the now mostly burned South Platte area.
One of the interesting side areas that I found on Devils Head is on the west side, just to the east of the gully opposite Topaz Point. Or, for those who have been in the area for more than 10 years, Virgin's Bath. The Forest Service had to change the name on the sign because unthoughtfull city slickers and their cousins keep tearing down and stealing the signs to take home and hang on their bathroom door. But for those of you that are here because they love what I call 'Extreme Hiking', follow Rampart Range Road to the sign leading to the trailhead parking area, but take the route to the right.After a couple of zig-zags and big 'S' curves, you'll come up to the area marked Topaz Point. Stop, you went too far. Back up about 100 yards or so and take the usable 2 wheel drive trail that takes you to the dig site of Topaz Point. Leave the non-climbers here to dig in the dirt for findable quartz and topaz crystals while you take the short 10 minute wall across the small gully due east. Once you hit the face, it doesn't matter if you go left or right, there's a fresh assortment of granit cracks and chimneys that will test your will and patience all day long, and give you fantastic views into the Westcreek / Deckers area.There is plenty of climbs on this side of the rock that havent been destroyed yet. All I ask is Please pickup your trash so my kids dont have to.
The new guidebook to Devil's Head is now complete and available in stores. There are over 200 routes listed. The book contains many new topos and pictures as well as all of the details on how to find the new climbs. So far it's available at The Bent Gate, Mountain Sports, Mountain Miser, & Neptunes. Hope to see you up there this summer.
DH crew, just wanted to say what a great job you have done creating and marking the trails around here. I have been to DH several times over the years and it is one of the more complicated places to figure out where the hell you are. I've been climbing in the West Valley the past three weeks and along with the new guide it has been a piece a cake getting around back there. Thanks for the back breaking work.
Regarding a new bolted line put up on the Headstone on Saturday, September 11 ... PUT UP SOME ANCHORS. Your new route probably goes at 10c (onsightable for most 5.11+ climbers) and is well-cleaned, but it stops well before the top of the wall without anchors. If you're going to bolt a route and not finish it, leave out the first few bolts, not the anchors. Climbers are likely to mistake the route for something marked in the guidebook and wind up having to traverse down to the anchors on the arete when they reach the last bolt.
You might be talking about h-flake, 30' left of rock nazi. I was unable to finish pitch 2 due to weather, hope to get up there in the next few weekends. I'll post it here when it's finished. Sorry for the inconvenience.-JH
Went back to The Head on Sunday. I truly can't believe that areas like The Sport Park, Clear Creek, The Monastary, even Shelf get so much action when Devils Head has, by far, the best sport climbing in the state. This is, of course, my humble opinion. But really, The Head has about two hundred and twenty sport climbs (5.9 - 5.13) and dozens of stellar trad lines. The rock is the best granite face climbing I've seen in Colorado. It must be the forty minute approach that keeps everyone away. It's too bad that a mere forty minute approach would prevent people from experiencing what is the best sport climbing in The Front Range. If you haven't climbed at The Head you are cheating yourself. Make it your next destination.
Went there on 7/30/06 and the flies were everywhere. If you were silent, it sounded like you were in the middle of a beehive with all the swarming. They were not black flies but annoying nonetheless and swarming all over you as you climbed.
By Sorden From: inside the Bubble, Colorado Jul 31, 2006
Hey you forgot to mention how hot it was there yesterday! (Other than the swarms of flys and ants). What a cool place! I'd like to know what the locals know; but in the future I will avoid Devil's Head during hotter months. Dirty quality rock, bolted cracks, obscure trails, no water; I loved it! I'll be back in Autumn.
In my 15 years of climbing at Devil's Head, the flies were by far the worst I've ever seen. However, if you stayed in the shade there were very few of them. I've also experienced way more flies in Aspen and Tensleep Canyon recently than ever before too, maybe they're the cause of global warming.
Bolts are too close together and the routes are rated on the easy side although you will still find me clipping them. We measured the distance between bolts at the Starcastle to be 42 inches apart, clipable from almost the same stance.
Yes, there is a raptor closure but I don't know the specifics of which formations.
By Shane Neal From: Colorado Springs, CO. Jul 10, 2008
I believe the raptor closure is on Devils Head proper- the trad climbing destination in Hubbels book. Aka- the Dariush of Balanat. A great must do 5.9+. Closed March 1st to July 31st. The sport area has no closure that I am aware of.... Have fun!!
Does anyone know when the Rampart Range Road (access road for D.H.) will reopen for 2009? Also, does it only reopen when conditions allow, or is it based on a mandatory minimum date?
There are several new routes in the alcove that lies immediately to the west of Digital Tower. Some are on the west face of Digital Tower itself and others (8 total) are on the east-facing wall adjacent to that. Any information regarding the names, ratings, etc. would be most appreciated.
New guide book is out! "Rampart Range Rocks" by Tod Anderson is available at Bent Gate right now. You may be able to get a copy from Tod if you see him at the crag.
There a bunch of books now available at Thrillseekers for those on the south side of Denver and they were also shipped to Mtn. Chalet in the Springs and should be available there sometime during the week of July 26th.
David, there's only part of one DH crag in the Rock Climbing Colorado book, and of the 60 or so crags there, it's among the lower 1/4 in overall quality. A quick scan of the book at one of the local shops should be enough for you to decide if it's a worthwhile purchase.
FYI: Parts of Devil's Head climbing area are closed March 1- July 31 every year for Peregrine falcon protection. The official closure order and associated map can be found here: www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5280647.pdf.
For questions or more information, please contact the South Platte Ranger District office at 303.275.5610.
South Platte Ranger District- considering that most of the crags in the closure area are adjacent to Jackson Creek Road and camping areas, wouldn't it make sense to close that road off to motorized vehicles, especially the bikes? I'm sure that BRAAAPPPP BRRAAAAPPP BRRRRAAAPPP from sunrise to sunset every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday doesn't help the peregrines.
By Monomaniac Administrator From: Morrison, CO Mar 10, 2011
Good point, Mike. Unfortunately those folks actually have lobbying power in DC, so it's not so easy for the Feds to push them around.
David - be careful using the Climbing Colorado by Green. It's full of misinformation, like sometimes when it should be 1.5 miles in the book, it will say 4 miles... careful, I threw mine away after several discrepancies leading to ruining several climbing outings. It really shouldn't be on any shelves.
The road is now open to Devil's Head, about a month earlier than normal, but you have to go in via Jackson Creek Road as the north gate to Rampart Range Road is still closed for tree removal. The amount of snow is trivial, even on north facing slopes. See pictures for a couple of season opener shots.
Despite the link on some of the DH routes to a raptor closure, none of the routes listed on MP are affected by that closure. In fact, none are even within a mile of the closure boundary. Jackson Creek Road and the activity there are actually closer to the raptor closure area than the routes listed on MP. For reference, there is a crag listed in the old Hubble Book, labeled as Devil's Head that is within the area affected by the raptor closure.
I don't think an inaccurate bolt count equates to a safety concern... if you run out of draws, just lower and get some more... it is a sport route, remember?
Nor would "route color-coding" equate to a safety concern.
Tod did a great job on this book, in my humble opinion. But then again, I have never been the type to trust or even read the bolt count in a guidebook.
The climbing here is absolutely stellar - amazing, fine-grained, grippy granite that is highly featured and often coated in beautiful map lichen. The setting is scenic, there are always shady climbs, and there are few other climbers.
If you're used to the stout, old school, grading and ground up bolting in other areas of the S'Platte (Turkey rock, Wigwam Creek) you may be (pleasantly?) surprised by the softer grading and lack of runouts.
Considering the recent Climbing Magazine article and the incomplete information contained in it, one could be misled to believe that there is no current guidebook available for Devil’s Head; when in fact, there is a recently published, comprehensive, full color guidebook for the entire area – Rampart Range Rocks. Rampart Range Rocks is available in almost all outdoor retailers in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. It should be noted that ALL OF THE PROCEEDS from this book go back to the climbing community primarily in the form of new routes and maintenance of existing ones.
Furthermore, there is an existing core community of climbers dedicated to the area, some of whom who have been climbing there for decades. Everyone is pitching in to help with stewardship of the area and new additions to the group are always welcome.
SEASON OPENER - As of 4/13/12 the road is open to Devil's Head. Be advised that the very north end of Rampart Range Road is still closed for a tree cutting operation, so you have to go up Jackson Creek Road instead. As usual the USFS kept the road closed as long as possible, so there isn't any of the winter snowpack left & the trails are all in great shape, enjoy.
Heppherd- The closure encompases a group of lesser known crags on the far east side of the mountain. None of the areas described in Tod's guidebook, Rampart Range Rocks, are affected.
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