Too crowded Tgiving week?

I've been talking about going to Red Rocks for years and finally have a trip planned for 11/19-22. So I'm bummed to hear a friend weigh in that it will likely be too crowded to be enjoyable the weekend before Thanksgiving, considering that we do not want to wake up very early to beat the crowds (would likely be up by 7am). We also don't have camping reservations - from what I can gather the best option for dispersed camping is in Lovell Canyon. Thoughts? I suppose we could re-route to St. George or elsewhere...but I had my heart set on Red Rocks! 

FYI we're looking ideally for moderate multipitch sport or easier multipitch trad but would be fine with single pitch as well. 

Thanks in advance! 

It's always "busy" but you can spread out with a wise choice of route and day.

Unless you're dead set on camping, you'll find many AirBnBs available for reasonable prices making the long nights much more pleasant.

Thanksgiving week here is an absolute shit show. 2 years ago my partner and I got to the gate at 5:45 am and were about the 40th car in line, without exaggerating. We walked past Birdland and ran into a pair who had just come down from the start, where they would have been the 9th party in line after also arriving at the gate before it opened. Expect the same sort of thing on any 3-star or better easy/moderate multi-pitch. 

Bummer. Thanks for the input. Would you say it's better to stay out of the loop (maybe head for Black Velvet Canyon) if we're getting a "late" start? Or maybe head for somewhere like Calico Hills where there are lots of single-pitch options in case there are long lines for the multi-pitch routes? 

Generally the further away you get from the loop the less crowded it gets. Also, the longer the approach the less crowded the route, like most places. The calico hills will be slammed all day, so expect to wait for parking and wait in line for single pitch routes if you get a late start. Black velvet is nice as there are many high quality, easier multi-pitch routes near one another, so you can usually get on something without waiting.  Something like jubilant song is a good option, the approach sucks and you need high clearance to get to the close parking. Even with those obstacles there will be other parties on the route over thanksgiving, but you'll have less of a line up than something like birdland for sure.

There isn't much in the way for multipitch sport... Only a few exist and they are sure to be busy. The two well known ones are big bad wolf and unimpeachable groping. but you can definitely find solitude in the trad routes. Most folks that say it will be busy are usually only referring to the classics and star routes. There are thousands of routes here to pick from and many hardly see a few parties per year. Find a few good classics and then make a backup plan with some "less popular" routes and I'm sure you will be climbing!

Agree with the above...shoot for trad lines with longer approaches, natural belays (no bolts), and fewer stars. 

Red Rock is always crowded on popular classic routes during the high season. Fortunately there are many underrated routes and adventures to be had. Scrape together whatever beta you can find, hike a bit more, and you will see that there are always options. Or, go pitch out Big Bad Wolf like everybody else and complain about it being crowded. 

I was thinking about some options for a friend recently that are not quite classic status, or are but are less popular for some reason:

• Sandy Hole (or it into Tunnel Vision if it isn't busy)
• Healy's Haunted House (rating scares people away)
• Middle Earth
• Linda's Route
• Aquarium
• One Armed Bandit
• Strawberry Fields Forever
• Smooth Operator
• Chimney Cricket
• Ernest Stemmingway
• Sweet Thin
• Requiem for a Tadpole
• Sunburn
• Sunspot Ridge

A few of these you could also link together for a very long day.

What Jordan said. Based on my experience, you probably can climb some of the more obscure routes without having to wait in line. You just need to hike longer and do a bit of research.

A few days after Thanksgiving 2019, we were at the base of Jubilant Song by 9 AM, and beat the only other party to the climb by a couple of hours. This was the first real dry day after a wet period, and folks definitely were itching to get back out and climb. It was a great day; definitely much more fun the other days we spent shuffling around the popular crags, looking for an open route.

Hey Kaeli, you guys should join our group site!  And there are so many good ez and moderate multipitch trade routes that are just as good as the classics that don't have lines, hmu!

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/119890580/group-campsite-sharing-at-red-rocks-119-to-1113

Red rocks is always crowded and never crowded. Just depends on where you go. Regardless, get up early. You'll avoid the reservations and you're here to climb not sleep in. Plus it's dark at 5pm now so if you really want to maximize your day...

For multipitch sport in Calico besides Big Bad Wolf, a few routes come to mind:

• Reservations Required near Great Red Book, second pullout (have to get there early). 3 pitches, 10a, could also get on the classic GRB
• Bewitched at The Observatory, near Stone Wall, second pullout. 2 pitches, 5.5 bolted trad climb (runouts between bolts on easy ground)
• Yippee Kay Yay MF at The Overlook on Calico Basin side, Kraft parking lot. 2 pitches 11a/10a, will not be crowded and other routes/crags nearby too
• Adventure Guppies at Coco Crag on Calico Basin side, Red Springs parking, 2 pitches 5.8, other fun sport routes at Coco as well.

First pullout parking lot is quite large and usually has open spaces at any given time, but the popular crags from this lot are always crowded (Civilization, Panty, etc.)

I enjoy the way that climbers like to describe themselves in the mass as a "community" until the density of the community encroaches on them personally. That's when other climbers become nothing but "crowds."

You can always find something to do at Red Rocks that few or no other people are doing on any given day. Bear in mind that a lot of the "classic" routes aren't, really. Another way to put it would be that something less famous that has some aspects that are enjoyable for you makes it your own classic experience.

Another thing about those "crowds." Among them you sometimes meet some really nice people. That can make it a good day, too.

By the way, I was out in Lovell Canyon a couple of weeks ago and was astounded by how, er, crowded it was.

I've never seen First Creek Canyon fill up. I really enjoyed sunset slab and would like to go back for a few other routes. Go there with several routes in mind and you are bound to find one that you'll be alone on all day.