Ryan / Saddle Rocks
Joshua Tree National Park (Lost Horse Valley) · near Joshua Tree · California Desert
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Grade range
- 5.6-5.13a
- 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
- No
Rock Climbing detail
- Climb types
- trad · sport · multi-pitch · top-rope
- Rock type
- Quartz monzonite
- Route count
- ~56 routes on Saddle Rocks
- Signature routes
- Walk on the Wild Side · Right On · Where Have All the Cowboys Gone
- Intl tip
- J-Tree's best moderate multi-pitch - Walk on the Wild Side (5.8, 3 pitches) is the classic, with a rappel descent. A 15-20 min approach buys length, exposure, and solitude. Base at Ryan Campground; fall-spring only.
The guide
Saddle Rocks, rising off the flank of Ryan Mountain above Lost Horse Valley, is Joshua Tree's multi-pitch headquarters - the pl…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Ryan / Saddle Rocks — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.9942, -116.14