Clark Canyon
Near Crowley Lake, south of Mammoth · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- all-levels
- Grade range
- 5.7-5.12b
- Best season
- Spring and fall best; at 7,200 ft, shaded walls work on summer mornings
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Inyo NF - no climbing permit. Access crosses an active cattle-grazing allotment via dirt roads and gates - leave every gate as you found it. Approach roads can be rough or muddy when wet (high-clearance helpful).
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Rock Climbing detail
- Climb types
- sport · bouldering
- Rock type
- Volcanic tuff (Bishop Tuff)
- Route count
- ~112 routes
- Signature routes
- Wild Will's Arete · Borrowing From Tradition · Maltese Falcon
- Intl tip
- The best beginner-to-intermediate sport climbing near Mammoth - lots of moderates and multi-directional walls for temperature control. Spring and fall are ideal. Leave the cattle gates as you found them, and avoid the dirt approach roads when muddy.
The guide
Clark Canyon is Mammoth's go-to sport crag - a pocketed volcanic-tuff canyon near Crowley Lake with over a hundred bolted route…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Clark Canyon — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.7849, -118.9153