Corte Madera
Pine Creek Wilderness, Pine Valley · near Pine Valley · San Diego
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- advanced
- Grade range
- 5.5–5.11b
- Best season
- Fall–spring · Higher-elevation, pleasant when the coast is hot
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No fee. Voluntary raptor closure Feb 1–Jun 30 on the wall west of the main-wall center. Pine Creek Wilderness rules apply (no new bolting/motorized use). Long dirt-road drive up Corral Canyon (high-clearance helps) plus a 1.5–2 hour hike-in.
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Rock Climbing detail
- Climb types
- trad · sport · multi-pitch · top-rope
- Rock type
- Granite — a remote south-facing dome
- Route count
- ~41 routes
- Signature routes
- Sunset Streaks (5.10a) · South Buttress (5.10a) · Cakewalk (5.5)
- First timer note
- A full committing day with routefinding and a rappel/hike descent — go with someone who knows the approach, and check the raptor-closure dates before you drive out.
- Intl tip
- This is a full committing backcountry day — go with someone who knows the approach and descent, and check the Feb–Jun raptor closure before driving the rough Corral Canyon road.
The guide
A remote south-facing granite dome deep in the Pine Creek Wilderness, Corte Madera offers the county's best moderate multi-pitc…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Corte Madera — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.7555, -116.591