San Luis Obispo Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in San Luis Obispo

Artificial/Man-made Walls 1 / 1 / 4 / 10 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 14

Bishop Peak 74 / 102 / 59 / 60 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 233

Boosinger Rock 0 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Cabrillo Peak 14 / 17 / 30 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 42

Cayucos 0 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Cerro Romauldo 2 / 13 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 13

Cerro San Luis Obispo 1 / 5 / 13 / 7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 18

Hollister Peak 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Morro Bay Harbor 0 / 1 / 0 / 8 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 10

Morro Creek Karst 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Old Stagecoach Road 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Pirate's Cove 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Roof Route at Pirates Cove? 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Explore this area in 3D

Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Elevation:	310 ft	94 m
GPS:	35.3063, -120.678 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	727,238 total · 2,496/month
Shared By:	Anonymous on Dec 31, 2000 · Updates
Admins:	andy patterson, Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes Page Updates (admin only)

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Introduction

San Luis Obispo, or "SLO" as the locals call it, is situated along the Central Coast of California, roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The town is best known for its university, Cal Poly. SLO is also the home of the regionally famous (and very pink) Madonna Inn, as well as the turning off point for tourists visiting the Hearst Castle. The town itself has a population of around 45,000.

Morro Rock is the most famous of the nine main "morros", or small peaks, which include; Morro Rock, Cabrillo Peak, Black Hill, Hollister Peak, Cerro Romauldo, Chumash Peak, Bishop Peak, San Luis Peak, and Ishlay Hill that define the quaint and bucolic landscape around San Luis Obispo. Even John Muir, famed naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club, made note of them in his 1883 travel diary:

"The trail brings the traveler suddenly in sight of
Bishop Peak...
The town is fairly encircled with beautiful hills...
the one just named being most conspicuous."

Climbing

Bishop Peak is the primary climbing area and offers several dozen (mostly) single-pitch routes as well as some of the best bouldering along the Central Coast.
Cabrillo Peak (Cerro Cabrillo) lies just south of Morro Bay and overlooks the scenic Morro Bay estuary. Cabrillo is a beginner-friendly area that's well-suited for toproping and larger groups.
Cerro Romualdo, which lies on some 500+ acres leased by the National Guard (Camp San Luis) affords excellent slab-to-steep face climbing.

As of January 2006, CERRO ROMUALDO IS ENTIRELY CLOSED TO CLIMBING. There are ongoing talks with the National Guard, and progress is being made. The hope is that a "win-win" solution can be achieved. For now, future access is uncertain. PLEASE RESPECT CLOSURES AS NOT TO JEOPARDIZE THE EFFORTS OF LOCAL CLIMBERS THAT ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO RESTORE ACCESS.

There is **NO PUBLIC ACCESS** to Hollister Peak or Chumash Peak, as these are entirely on private property.

Resources

The best climbing shop in town is Mountain Air Sports, located downtown at the corner of Marsh and Broad.
The Downtown Brewing Company has a good variety of locally-brewed beer as well as good eats.
The Firestone Grill downtown is the place to go for tri-tip, burgers, and fries. The steak cobb salad is highly recommended.
Farmer's Market happens every Thursday downtown.

338 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at San Luis Obispo

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

V3 6A 86 ● Mushy Boulder Bishop Peak > Bishop Peak Bo… > Chlorissa
V4 6B 32 ● Peanuts Boulder Bishop Peak > Bishop Peak Bo… > Boulder In The Woods
V5 6C 20 ● Pete's Problem Boulder Bishop Peak > Bishop Peak Bo… > Pete
V5 6C 46 ● Mushy SDS Boulder Bishop Peak > Bishop Peak Bo… > Chlorissa
V6 7A 26 ● Slot Boulder Bishop Peak > Bishop Peak Bo… > Hummingbird Boulders
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c R 79 ● Shadow Sport, TR Bishop Peak > Shadow Rock
5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c 126 ● P-Crack Trad Bishop Peak > P-Wall
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 89 ● Civilized Evil Trad, TR Bishop Peak > Cracked Wall
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 63 ● Epidural Trad, Sport, TR Bishop Peak > P-Wall
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 24 ● Senior Moment Trad Bishop Peak > P-Wall
5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 147 ● Camel Sport, TR Bishop Peak > Cracked Wall
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 99 ● Only Way To Fly Sport, TR Bishop Peak > Cracked Wall
5.10c/d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 72 ● Llama Trad, TR Bishop Peak > Cracked Wall
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 60 ● Western Airlines Sport Bishop Peak > Cracked Wall
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a R 5 ● Mickey B Way Trad Bishop Peak > True Summit Block