All Locations > Colorado > Estes Park Valley

Big Thompson Canyon Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Big Thompson Canyon

Basic Training Wall 0 / 8 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8

Beige Tube Area / The Narrows 42 / 60 / 7 / 7 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 103

Bobcat Ridge 1 / 5 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Caddis Cliff 5 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8

Catch and Release Crag aka Montreat Crag 4 / 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Cedar Park Slab 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Combat Rock 26 / 18 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 32

Continuity Crag 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Crosier Mountain Crags 48 / 14 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 62

Daryle's Rock 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Elmer Fudd's Wok 0 / 7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7

Erid Weatherin 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Five Point to a Fist Crag 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Glen Comfort Crag 2 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Glen Haven Picnic Area 1 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Jug Dome aka Anne's Rock 0 / 13 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 13

Kafka on the Shore Boulder 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Linger Longer Rock 2 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Mary's Bust Area 15 / 42 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 53

Monastery, The 9 / 98 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 103

Palisade Mountain 80 / 29 / 17 / 4 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 109

Round Mountain 4 / 0 / 0 / 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

S and M Wall 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Salt Block Rock 2 / 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8

Stone Point 0 / 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Wind Tunnel, The 10 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 14

Wishbone Ridge 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

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:	5,318 ft	1,621 m
GPS:	40.4215, -105.22599 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	967,240 total · 3,417/month
Shared By:	Leo Paik on Feb 16, 2002
Admins:	Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC Page Updates (admin only)

See Weather Forecast

Access Issue: Access issue - Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc. - open since 2023 Details

Update: per Bruce Hildenbrand: the area has been open since 2023.

Per JF M: as of May 2022, there is no signage on-site, nor information on the USFS webpage for the Cameron Peak Fire (nor on their published map of closures) that indicates the area is closed.

Per Bruce Hildenbrand: it appears that the Forest Service has closed access to all the climbing areas accessed via Storm Mountain Road (Monastery, Cedar Park, Combat Rock, etc.) until they can clear all the dangerous dead trees from the Cameron Peak fire.

I worked this issue with Eric Murdock at the AF, and it looks like the Forest Service picked Devil's Gulch Road as the southern boundary even though all the climbing areas on MP.com were not burned.

Description

US 34, the Big Thompson Canyon, is lined with miles of all sorts of beautiful igneous rocks. Granite & gneiss crags draw the eye as you drive west from Loveland to Estes Park. For the rockhounds, there's all sorts of interesting rock strewn about this canyon. Some rock is solid and some is suspect, so you have to use good judgment climbing here. Little published information exists on routes in this area. Let's start an online guide to this area.

Note, the main part of this canyon is along US 34 connecting Loveland and Estes Park. There is a side canyon, where Devil's Gulch aka CR 43 goes with some additional climbing.

Apparently, like many places in our beautiful state, property issues can come into play. Please check things out so as not to create conflicts with owners.

FYI, the placement of this subarea in the hierarchy is based upon locating this area closest to a city/town and how folks may access it.

Getting There

From Estes Park, drive East on US 34. From Loveland, drive West on US Highway 34. Various crags line this beautiful stretch of canyon. Some crags like Combat, Monastery, & Seam Rock lie off US 34 a bit, up Cedar Park Rd. There is even a tiny bit of ice here.

Link to Big Thompson Canyon Ice

Link.

Crags (going uphill)

Thanks for your patience.

US 34

The Narrows - multiple crags 0-1.3 mi W of BST = 17.1 mi E of MR

-Steep Triangular Face - private property; do not climb here

-60 Degree Slabs - private property; do not climb here

-White Dike area - private property; do not climb here

-Bridge Wall North (aka Practice Rock)

-Bridge Wall South

-Between Shark's Fin Wall & Bridge Wall North (Practice Rock)

-Iron John/Little Tree area

-The Ledges

Round Mountain - 3.5 mi W of BST = 13.6 E of MR => 2.25 mi hike

Palisade Mountain - N side - 5.1 mi W of BST = 12 mi E of MR

- Nancy's Rock / Cyclops Slab

- Jewel of the Nile Wall

- Unknown Crag at Palisade Mountain

- Gully Block

- Fairview Wall

- Saddle Tower

The town of Drake ~5.1 mi W of BST = 12 mi E of MR

Linger Longer Rock - N side - 6.1 mi W of BST = 11 mi E of MR

Erid Weatherin - N side - 6.5 mi W of BST = 10.6 mi E of MR

Five Point to a Fist Crag - N side - 6.6 mi W of BST = 10.5 mi E of MR

Salt Block Rock - 8.1 mi W of BST = 9 mi E of MR

Unknown Ridge - 9 mi W of BST = 8.1 mi E of MR

- Continuity Crag - S side

Daryle's Rock - 9.3 mi W of BST = 8.1 mi E of MR

Mary's Bust, Moonlight Rock - N side - 9.4 mi W of BST = 8 mi E of MR

- The Sugar Cube - just below Mary's Bust - N side

- Tick Rock - N side

- Moonlight Rock - N side

Stone Point - N side - 9.6 mi W of BST = 7.5 mi E of MR

- Stone Rock - N side

- Stone Slab - N side

Jug Dome/Anne's Rock - N side - 9.7 mi W of BST = 7.4 mi E of MR

Handicapped Fishing Access - ~10 mi W of BST = 7.1 mi E of MR

The Beach - N side - 11.1 mi W of BST = 5.2 mi E of MR

Caddis Cliff - N side - 11.4 mi W of BST = 4.7 mi E of MR

Glen Comfort Crag - ~13.6 mi W of BST = ~3.5 mi E of MR

Catch and Release Crag aka Montreat Crag, 16 mi W of BST, 1.1 mi E of MR

off Devil's Gulch Road aka CR 43 (joins US 34 near Drake) - Forest Service Rd (0.

Combat Rock - W side - 1 mi from CR 43

Basic Training Wall - W side - 1 mi from CR 43

Elmer Fudd's Wok - W side - 1 mi from CR 43

Bobcat Ridge - E side - 1 mi from CR 43

S and M Wall - W side - 1.25 mi from CR 43

Cedar Park Slab - 2.5 mi from CR 43 -> L -> next major R

The Monastery - 2.5 mi from CR 43 -> L 5.1 mi up FS 128

Glen Haven Picnic Area - S side - ~1 mi E of Glen Haven

Town of Glen Haven

abbreviations: BST = Beige Siphon Tube; MR = Mall Rd in Estes Park.

Webcams

You may find this webcam helpful to look at conditions: cotrip.org/roadConditions.htm. Click on the camera icon.

566 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Big Thompson Canyon

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

5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c 189 ● The Hot Zone Sport Monastery > Catacomb
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 108 ● Diagonal Trad 2 pitches Combat Rock
5.10a/b 6a+ 19 VI+ 19 E2 5b 29 ● Neighsayer Trad 2 pitches Palisade Mountain > Horseshead
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 29 ● Saigon to Pearl Harbor Trad 2 pitches Combat Rock
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 415 ● Tabula Rasa Sport Monastery > Vestibule
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 21 ● Friendship Seven Sport Beige Tube Area… > Friendship 7 Wall
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 133 ● The Brown Palace Sport 6 pitches Mary's Bust Area > Mary's Bust - main bu…
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 13 ● The Temple Trad Palisade Mountain > Skull Rock Area > Skull Rock
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a 139 ● Stolen Land Sport Monastery > Vestibule
5.12d 7c 28 IX 28 E6 6b 122 ● Psychatomic Sport Monastery > Vestibule
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c 19 ● The Shortening Sport Monastery > Vestibule
5.13- 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E7 6c 8 ● Over the Rainbow Sport Mary's Bust Area > Golden Hall
5.13c 8a+ 30 X- 31 E7 7a 18 ● The Quickening Sport Monastery > Vestibule
5.13d 8b 31 X 32 E8 7a 9 ● Third Millennium Sport Monastery > Vestibule
5.14b 8c 33 X+ 33 E9 7b 6 ● Grand Ol' Opry Sport Monastery > Vestibule