Hidden Valley Campground
Joshua Tree National Park · near Joshua Tree · California Desert
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- all-levels
- Grade range
- 5.4-5.12d; bouldering V0-V5+
- Best season
- October-April (summer dangerously hot)
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Joshua Tree NP entrance fee (~$30/vehicle, 7 days); no climbing permit required for day climbing. Watch for seasonal raptor closures (typically Feb-June) on some formations - check the NPS Joshua Tree climbing page.
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Rock Climbing detail
- Climb types
- trad · bouldering · top-rope
- Rock type
- Quartz monzonite
- Route count
- ~198 routes plus dense bouldering
- Nickname
- The Camp 4 of Southern California
- Signature routes
- The Bong · The Eye · Double Cross
- Intl tip
- The historic hub and the best base for a first J-Tree trip - camp here if you can (first-come and seasonally reservable) and walk to dozens of classics. Fall through spring only; summer is brutal.
The guide
Hidden Valley Campground is the Camp 4 of Southern California - the historic beating heart of Joshua Tree climbing, where gener…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Hidden Valley Campground — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.0162, -116.1614