Looks like there is a chance I will be getting stationed there in about a year and wanted to see what the closest "good" climbing area is. Looking in the destination area it looks like somewhere in the Tahoe area. Does that sound about right?

Yes, you'll be about 2 hours from Tahoe and a little less than 4 from Yosemite Valley. There are a handful of other smaller local areas, like Mt. St. Helena in the Napa valley.

Finishing up my time over here in Korea and wanted to start trying to find places to climb and people to climb with. Any idea of gyms that are close to Travis? Not really a fan of pulling on plastic, but it's probably the best way to find a partner.

Bunch of very local bouldering, should be good to meet folks:

daviswiki.org/Nut_Tree_Boulders

The gym in Davis is a good bet for meeting partners. Pretty solid climbing community in that town. If you live in Vacaville it's not that far of a drive.
Lots of climbing to be had around Tahoe, but there are other climbing areas a bit closer, like in Auburn and Placerville, but more the closer you get to the lake itself.

Thanks for the info, not sure what town I will be living in yet. Leaning on something NE of the base that way I will be closer to the mountains...maybe something in the Dixon area?

The difference between Travis and Dixon is like 20 minutes, not really much closer to the mountains. I'd live where you get the best rent and closest to work. The exception would be Davis which is a really nice place to live but 2x as expensive and probably 35 min from Travis.

Winters is a really nice little place if you like the small town thing but I don't know how it is to rent there.

I've been stationed at Travis for the past few years and there's great options for climbing. I live right outside the main gate and climb at the Rocknasium in Davis a couple times a week, it's a great place to meet other climbers. My place is in slo-mo suburbia and I have to drive to climb but it's close to work and you won't find better without at least a 35 minute commute, so it depends on your priorities there. Dixon would be just as suburban and you'd still have to drive to climb, at least in Davis you'd have the rock gym and a college town feel. We have some guys who commute from Sacramento so that's doable if you want a more "city" experience, although Sac's not a city in the same sense as San Francisco.

Thanks for the additional info, that's that kind of stuff that will be really helpful when trying to figure out where to live. I have a motorcycle so I don't mind a longer commute if it means finding cheaper rental options and the whole city or suburban thing doesn't really make much of a difference. I do have a dog(Airedale) so finding a pet friendly rental(appt or home)is a must.

Mark: I may drop you a line to ask you some questions about the neighborhods near the base and other local info if you don't mind?

Not a problem, just ask

Made it to Vacaville...would love to meet some local climbers.

It might be useful to try to head over to Rocknasium in Davis, maybe 25 minutes east on I-80. This time of year, that's where a lot of locals will be trying to get ready for Spring.

Welcome to Caliphobia!

Info for all in this thread. For the better part of 2012, ODR (with the help of some of us dedicated volunteers) have been re-building the rock wall on base. Given the limited room, I think we've created quite a range of indoor training. Yes, Chad, the Nut Tree Boulders are only 10min from base and have an OK range from V0 to V9. Not the best (I prefer the Berkeley Boulders or Mt. Diablo for the local climbs), but it's nice to head to after work. There is also some nice neighborhoods in that area.
Also, the climbing community on base has a facebook page so you can keep up with anything going on. www.facebook.com/groups/171662039595587/
What AFSC are you? Heading here next year then?

Been living in the area for most of my life. Here's my take of the areas around the base.

Fairfield is ghetto, forget it. There are nice neighborhoods around but they tend to be on the very pricey side and you still run into the low lifes when you venture out to the stores and such.

Benicia, Concord, Pittsburgh and all other East Bay areas are nice and have good climbing near by (Diablo when dry, Berkly rocks etc..) but requires a toll ($6) when commuting to the base. Rent tends to be pretty high and steadily creaps up the closer you get to the City.

Suisun, Cordelia, Green Valley all have nice areas and are really close to the base, but the nearest gym is in Concord (toll). Green Valley is way out of the price range for anyone who serves their country, Cordelia is the windiest city you can imagine. It's always blowing, hard but has nice neighborhoods.

Vacaville has good bouldering, nice rolling hills with trails for the dog, affordable rent and not ghetto. There are two open space lands in the hills for Mt Biking, trail running, letting the dog run and one has decent bouldering. I live at the foot of the boulders. It's 18 minutes flat to the Davis gym, 2 minutes to the nearest boulders and trails, 4 minutes to the store, 5 minutes to the best burritos in town, 3 minutes to Pet Co., 2 minutes to the freeway and15 minutes to the base.

Dixon is a very boring, flat town with literally nothing to do. Home to the only Super Walmart in the area need I say more. Great farmers markets with great locally grown food and goodies. Pedricks Market on Pedrick road is the best and a frequent stop for me.

Davis is a College town. Tons of young adults running around. Lots to do if you're into fine arts, bars, and chilling at coffee shops. It tends to be very urban neo hippy with tons of the expected high taxes, regulations and permits that come along with that sort of mindset. The gym's near by and it's 20 minutes closer to real climbing.

You'll actually be really surprised how much climbing is there is within two hours of Travis. Donner, South Lake, Hwy 50 corridor, Auburn, Vacaville, Berkeley, Mt Diablo, St Helena, Hwy 88 corridor, Woodfords Canyon, Mickeys Beach and tons of little areas in the bay area and along the coast. Within 4 hours (doable in a weekend) you open up Pinnacles, Bishop, Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne and tons of little areas worth a visit once or twice.

More than a lifetimes worth.

Thanks for the info on everything guys! I made it to Vacaville last week and found a place that seems to be a decent neighborhood and is within my price range so I am waitin for the application to go through and should be moving in on the 26th...it's about 3-5 min from the nut tree boulders. Looking forward to meeting and climbing with yall.

No problem. Sounds like you picked a great location to live. Salamanizer is pretty much right on where to live. Hit us all up when you're ready to pull down.

Oh nice, sounds like we're neighbors.