What are the top 5 Trad destinations in the U.S.A?

What are the top 5 Trad destinations in the United States of America in your opinion?

Here is mine:

1. Yosemite

2. Gunks

3. Joshua Tree

4. Red Rocks

5. Indian Creek

Freemont Canyon 

1) Yosemite is a bigwall destination; that's different. 

2) The Gunks is a myth perpetuated by NYC gym climbers so they can lure westerners to the east coast and harvest their kidneys

3) Joshua Tree is just a silly pile of crumbling boulders

4) Red Rocks doesn't have anything harder than 5.8, and you have to win a blackjack tournament at the BLM Casino to be awarded an entry permit that's good for 69 minutes of climbing.

5) IC is sport climbing on gear

But other than that, good list!! :)

Eldo

How about Colorado front range?

1. Tuolumne Meadows (Deserves its own mention!)
2. Squamish (Yeah, sure, Canada is an independent country)
3. Yosemite Valley
   (Only if you like aiders and pin scars)
4. Index
   (Better cragging than the valley, but so hard)
5. Joshua Tree or Red Rocks (Depending on if you like pebble wrestling or choss)

Dont come to NC.  There's no good climbing, that's for sure

I'm kind of surprised nobody said Eldorado Canyon.

That certainly belongs.

Steve Williamswrote:

I'm kind of surprised nobody said Eldorado Canyon.

That certainly belongs.

I did

Personally I think cathedral ledge should be up there, trad all the way from 5.6 to 5.14a 

Little falls, NY. It's the yosemite of the east!

Steve Williamswrote:

I'm kind of surprised nobody said Eldorado Canyon.

Eldo is choss. Change my mind.

Colton Lawsonwrote:

Eldo is choss. Change my mind.

Nah

Just one human's opinion:

I never got the Gunks thing.  Climbed there for years because it was local (Albany, NY) and did most of the "great" routes through 5.12 and boulders through V11.

Every time I traveled to NH or the Adirondacks (High Peaks) I thought the climbing was so much better.  Heck the bouldering in CT was better.

I guess I find the rock and routes in the Gunks uninspiring...and the atmosphere is not my cup of tea.  It makes sense why people from NYC like it...they don't have many local options.  

If you have the time, I recommend driving past the Gunks and heading toward Keene Valley and experience climbing in nature without crowds and climb on real cracks :)

Side note: often I see photos of Gunks climbs and think wow that looks spectacular!  It never actually looked like that when I was there and on those climbs.

Lyndsy Gallinswrote:

Freemont Canyon 

Shhhh, Wyoming blows. Don’t go there...

1) RMNP - Lumpy

2) Eldo (I don't mind choss)

3) Black Hills Needles - Devils Tower

4) City of Rocks

5) Little Cottonwood Canyon

1) Eldo

2) RMNP - Diamond

3) Indian Creek

4) Vedauwoo

5) Red Rock

Isaac Gromackiwrote:

Shhhh, Wyoming blows. Don’t go there...

Seriously, I almost blew off the top of the Nautilus yesterday... 

One way I think about it...is, if you had friends from outside the US who were climbers, and they wanted to hit the US for a trad climbing roadtrip, where would you send them?

Yosemite.

Tetons.

Wind Rivers.

RMNP.

Probably toss up between Joshua Tree/Red Rocks to round out the list.  

Roadside or long approaches might be a discriminator...

Maybe toss Indian Creek/Moab in there.  

Cochise/Tuscon.

Never been, but, Devil's Lake might make the list, depending on the grade range.  Ditto Cathedral/Whitehorse.  I'd probably count the Gunks too.  Eldo.  COR and LCC/BCC if could base out of SLC for awhile.

Be nothing wrong with a tour of NC crags...Looking Glass, Stone, Rumbling Bald.

Nice to have choices....

Colton Lawsonwrote:

Eldo is choss. Change my mind.

The booty is solid

There's no top 5, there's a class of crags/areas that are special for their own unique attributes, with the complete list being greater than 5, but less than 50. Missing from the list are several areas that reside along the Appalachian Mountain chain.

I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret called the "High Sierra". It's nearly as cool as RMNP but you have to deal with better scenery, better rock, and better weather. Maybe doesn't hold a candle to, uh (checks notes) Little Falls NY, but it's pretty cool!