Climbing Near Midpines, California

South facing winter area.Short, steep, fun climbing on high quality sedimentary rock.5 routes. Park just downstream from Dirt Flat Campground on Incline Road, west of El Portal.From the attractively named Dirt Flat Campground on the hillside above is nice looking orange pillar with a large Grey Pine just left.Head straight up the steep, grassy hillside. 10 minutes max.

Directly opposite the Yosemite View Motel a good dog-friendly crag to know about during government shutdowns, road closures, bad traffic, cold weather. Across the highway from the hotel office, go up from behind the little pump house. 

Downstream from the Yosemite Valley, but still inside the park boundaries, there are numerous rocks that are mostly less famous, and therefore somewhat less crowded, than the legendary areas to the east. I followed Don Reid's Yosemite guide sections to put this page together. Bryan G shared these excellent notes on how the crags fit together. "And here is rough approximation of what the left/right sorting would be. First, the north side starting at El Portal running east: Parkline Slab Narrow Escape Cliff U.S.G.S. Wall Arch Rock Short Circuit Boulder Finger Lickin' Area Roadside Attraction Kat Pinnacle Sunshine Cliff Cookie Cliff, The Cookie Sheet, The Wildcat Falls & Above the Cookie Knobby Wall Cascade Area Knob Hill Owl, The This and That Cliff Generator Station New Diversions Goldrush Reed's Pinnacle Area Five and Dime Cliff Mojo Tooth Area, The Highway Star Last Resort Cliff Then the south side as you move down canyon: Pulpit Rock Wawona Tunnel Wawona Tunnel West Cream Rostrum, The Jungle Gym, The Elephant Rock Hand Out Cliff It's not a perfect geographical representation because I tried to clump some areas together which have a similar approach. This and That, Generator Station, and New Diversions are all approached from the 140 so I think it's better to list them in a sequence, even though Goldrush is technically between them. Hope this helps." On both sides of the Merced River, between Mariposa and the Valley. Many of these areas are reached from State Route 140, which parallels the river, but some areas are easier to reach from other roads. Many guide books that focus on the Valley itself also include climbs here. ?? ?? ??