Quail Springs / Trashcan Rock
Joshua Tree National Park (near West Entrance) · near Joshua Tree · California Desert
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- beginner
- Grade range
- 5.0-5.6 (a few to ~5.11)
- 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 · top-rope · bouldering
- Rock type
- Quartz monzonite
- Route count
- ~30 routes on Trashcan Rock
- Signature routes
- Right On · B-1 · Karpkwitz
- Intl tip
- The park's classic first-timer formation, right past the West Entrance - easy 5.0-5.6 routes and simple top-rope setups. Popular with guided classes, so come early or midweek. Fall-spring only.
The guide
Trashcan Rock, the first big formation past Joshua Tree's West Entrance, is where countless climbers have tied in for the very …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Quail Springs / Trashcan Rock — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.0401, -116.197