Cortez - Hawkins Preserve Bouldering

Do you happen to be in Cortez for the day and are itching to climb? Are you en route to Mesa Verde and have some time to kill? Check out Hawkins Preserve!

Hawkins Preserve is a city-run mixed-use area with substantial natural, cultural, and recreational resources on the south side of Cortez, including a small Pueblo II-period Anasazi pueblo occupied from AD 900-1250. Climbing at the preserve takes the form of bouldering along a nearly half-mile-long sandstone escarpment on the north bank of McElmo Creek. The height of this rim band ranges from approximately 6 to 30 feet, with a large number of local-knowledge boulder problems and room for further development. Individual boulders fallen off the rim dot the slope and creek bed and beautiful patinated slabs abound.

Incorporating beta from other climbers (thanks Mike!), there are three general bouldering areas at Hawkins, with lots of room to explore:

• The East Area is the more developed bouldering area in the preserve. It is ~200 yards east of where the trail from the parking lot meets the rim and features a number of problems between V0-4 including the dope overhanging route seen in the photos. See Mike W.'s comment below for more info.
• The Central Area is immediately west of where trail meets rim. The distinguishing features here are two long (30-50 feet) walls formed by splits in the bedrock of the rim. The longer wall is exposed and overlooks the creek; past climbers have traversed this wall as a warm-up. The T-crack Warm-Up and Indoor Pinch problem are off the edge of the shorter, western split.
• The West Area is the area from around Patrick's Point west along the cliffline to the boundary fence of the Preserve. A couple of monster boulders have split off from the rim around Patrick's Point, and The Van - one of the best lines in the preserve - is found in this area. See Mike W.'s comment below for more info.

The quiet nature of the preserve makes it an ideal spot to practice technique, develop a route or two, and maybe even see a deer or other critters if you’re lucky!