The Needles
Sequoia National Forest (above the Kern River, near Kernville) · near Kernville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Rock Climbing
At a glance
- Skill level
- advanced
- Grade range
- 5.7 to 5.13+ · Classic trad multi-pitch
- Best season
- Summer and early fall · High elevation, so snow-free only in the warm months · The lookout access road opens seasonally
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Sequoia National Forest — no climbing permit, but check current access (wildfires and road conditions have periodically closed the area). The historic fire lookout and its access road are the gateway. Remote: come fully self-sufficient.
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Rock Climbing detail
- Nickname
- Honnold's Home Crag — Remote Granite Spires
- Climb types
- trad · multi-pitch
- Rock type
- High-quality granite spires
- Route count
- Dozens of world-class trad routes across several granite spires (Warlock, Sorcerer, Witch, etc.)
- Signature routes
- Thin Ice · The Sorcerer & Warlock spires
- First timer note
- This is not a beginner area — it's remote, advanced trad and multi-pitch climbing that rewards experience and self-sufficiency. Alex Honnold has called it his home crag. The approach past the Needles fire lookout is spectacular in its own right.
- Intl tip
- The Needles are above Kernville — pairing with the Kern River's whitewater (rivers guide) and the Cannell Plunge MTB (MTB guide) for a Kern River Valley multi-sport trip. The Needles fire lookout (when staffed/open) is a spectacular destination hike in itself. Confirm access before the long drive.
The guide
The Needles, a cluster of soaring granite spires high above the Kern River in Sequoia National Forest, are one of California's …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to The Needles — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.137, -118.499