Summer Bouldering Destinations Recommendations for family with a young child

Help!! My wife and I just had our first baby. We are both teachers (summers off) and spend 2.5 months on the road roped climbing.  It seems like  bouldering is probably the way to go this year.  Most bouldering Meccas that I know of (Joe's, Moe's, Red Rock, Leavenworth, Hueco, Buttermilks, JTree...) are not ideal in the summer.

Of course bouldering in the alpine fits the bill, but lugging a baby several miles at elevation doesn't seem fun.  Any recommendations for bouldering destinations?  Places we can go to for at least a week that are easy with a baby?  We are located in the Colorado front range and willing to travel. 

Who has done this before?  Any recommendations? Thanks.

Hello, I am your twin. My wife and I are both teachers and we typically spend our summers roped climbing. We now have a 10-month-old, and consequently, a small trailer. We are looking to boulder this summer. So far, we are planning to visit Tahoe. I've heard that Christmas Valley meets the bill for flat, roadside, family-friendly bouldering. I bought a guidebook for the area, and it seems much bigger than what's on MP. I'm also open to other suggestions. 

Congrats! 

I will say, if your kid is going to be 3-4 months this summer, you can still squeeze in some roped climbing, maybe. Until they can roll over, it's possible to stick them on a pillow, in the shade, out of rockfall danger, and sport climb. We did this at Wild Iris and some other summer crags and it worked quite well. Your baby may vary, of course. And physical recovery from birth varies a lot person-to-person. Good to have a flexible approach, keep expectations in check, and be ready to exercise self-compassion.

For bouldering, Christmas Valley in Tahoe is great, but I haven't been there since the fire so I don't know how much shade survived. Some of the Mammoth area bouldering is tolerable in the summer; Rock Creek and the Dreamers come to mind. Tuolumne, too though the camping situation this summer is non-ideal due to the campground being closed for  renovations. Squamish!

One more unsolicited tip for climbing with babies at elevation - double up on sun protection. Most docs say no sunscreen before 6 months. But up high, your baby can get burned even in the shade if there are thin clouds and/or light colored rock to refract/reflect the sun. an umbrella and extra blankets for shade are key parts of the kit. 

Have fun!

Squamish. Tons of good bouldering, decent summer conditions, short approaches. Good town/amenities - civilisation is always nearby. Nice lakes to hang out at for rest days.

The coastal forest environment is generally gentler and more comfortable than alpine environments, so probably an easier place to handle a baby. For instance, sun isn't as strong and most boulders are in the shady forest. And no alpine thunderstorms to worry about. 

You could quite reasonably just spend your entire summer in Squamish without going anywhere else. Many people do. This also means there is a great scene/community there.

Never been, but I would imagine Gold Bar or Leavenworth would be nice in the summer.

Hey, thanks for the suggestions and ideas!  I've climbed donner pass, but never checked out the bouldering.  It's nice to have a friendly MP thread for a change. 

 You could spend a lot of time in Northern California. Tahoe, bear Valley,  Tuolumne, mammoth, Marin coast, Sonoma Coast, Humboldt coast, Lassen and Shasta areas.

hmmm, maybe i could be a teacher

Also a teacher and my wife takes July off (self employed). We’re having a baby and can’t wait to spend time in Squamish bouldering. Lots of camping with lakes to swim and tons of hikes too

IJMayerwrote:

Also a teacher and my wife takes July off (self employed). We’re having a baby and can’t wait to spend time in Squamish bouldering. Lots of camping with lakes to swim and tons of hikes too

I love Squamish, and we will definitely spend time there in the future. For this summer, we want to be closer to home. Our little dude gets wild in the car. 

Upper Upper Chaos is nice with kids. Their soft bone structure really fills in the talus gaps well.

Tuolomne

Bump for summer destinations.

Gold Bar could be reasonable early summer, but usually too hot by June. Leavenworth is a little warmer, so I wouldn't count on that.

There are a few other western washington bouldering areas that would be better in June/July like Sasquash, Morpheus, Treasury. Not sure they are really destinations thou.

Last summer I saw quite a few families in Rocklands. Would require quite a bit more logistics to get to South Africa, but the bouldering is rad. 

I am a teacher, have two kids (a bit older now) and have been through your search for summer climbing areas. It is not as easy and carefree as it sounds in the west. Tuolumne is rad for family bouldering (and routes!) but really only in July and then the mosquitos are out and about (which is a real issue for family camping). We actually found Vedauwoo to be one of the best places for family camping, bouldering and climbing. Most of the approaches are easy, objective hazards are low and there is a mix of bouldering (so-so) and routes (rad!). 

The truth is, the best summer bouldering/climbing for a family is in Europe. Think of areas like the Peak District in the UK (my kids LOVED it there and the bouldering is stellar), Switzerland and France (we did Font in July and morning/afternoons were still great and it was perfect for the kids). 

Sorry to say but family bouldering in the west kind of sucks in the summer. In Europe, it is stellar!

One summer in the early 1970s my wife and I and young daughter hiked into the small park facing the steep Incisor Pinnacle in the Needles of S. Dakota. Pam, my daughter, rode on my shoulders. We were accompanied by Royal Robbins, his wife and infant daughter. The kids played, more or less, and Royal and I did some bouldering on the face. We had a picnic in this lovely place. I recommend the Needles of the Black Hills.

Squamish or Leavenworth both are great options.

I've spent a little bit of time in Leavenworth the last two summers bouldering with kids. It can get a little hot mid day, with everything so close and easy access it is not hard to work around. We would get earlyish starts, and climb until it started getting hot. We'd then hang at the river, or head into town for a while, and then head back out for an afternoon session. Plenty of short hikes, swimming holes, polka bands and pastry shops to keep kids entertained. 

I've spent most of my climbing career in Texas and Arizona, so I have pretty good tolerance for climbing in heat. But if the focus is family adventures outside, and not pushing your absolute limits, Leavenworth is fantastic.