Tahquitz Rock
Idyllwild, San Jacinto Mountains · near Idyllwild · Los Angeles / SoCal
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Grade range
- 5.4 (The Trough) to 5.12 (hard free routes)
- Best season
- April–November · Summer comfortable at 8,000ft elevation · Winter requires special conditions
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Permit required from the San Bernardino National Forest to climb Tahquitz Rock. Day use permit free but required. Contact the Idyllwild Ranger Station before climbing.
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Rock Climbing detail
- Nickname
- The Lily Rock
- Climb types
- trad · multi-pitch
- Rock type
- Granite (San Jacinto Pluton) — similar quality to Yosemite
- Route count
- 200+ routes on Tahquitz · 300+ on adjacent Suicide Rock
- Signature routes
- The Trough (5.4) · The Open Book (5.9) · Angel's Fright (5.6)
- First timer note
- Tahquitz is an excellent first multi-pitch trad destination with a guide. The routes feel like Yosemite in quality and character — because geologically they're similar granite. Guide service includes all gear; show up in comfortable clothes and hiking shoes if you don't have climbing shoes.
- Intl tip
- Idyllwild sits at 5,400 feet in the San Jacinto Mountains, an hour from Palm Springs and two from LA. The town is genuinely charming — coffee roasters, art galleries, and restaurants. Combine a Tahquitz climbing day with a Aerial Tramway ride from Palm Springs (which rises to the same mountain range) for a complete San Jacinto weekend.
The guide
Royal Robbins climbed here before he went to Yosemite. TM Herbert and Yvon Chouinard used Tahquitz as training before attemptin…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tahquitz Rock — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.765, -116.722