Clear Creek Canyon Climbing

This digital Clear Creek Canyon climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Clear Creek Canyon days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

Clear Creek Canyon is one of the finest destinations on the Front Range. This 14 mile-long gorge offers over four hundred problems and more than a thousand routes; it's no surprise that the area remains extremely popular year-round. The sheer variety of gneiss and schist granite is part of what makes Clear Creek such an enjoyable place to climb, especially for boulderers. There is not another place in Colorado where it is possible to climb on bullet, water polished features and square-cut, blocky horizontal roofs just beside one another, let alone almost ever... Show more

This digital Clear Creek Canyon climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Clear Creek Canyon days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Clear Creek Canyon is one of the finest destinations on the Front Range. This 14 mile-long gorge offers over four hundred problems and more than a thousand routes; it's no surprise that the area remains extremely popular year-round. The sheer variety of gneiss and schist granite is part of what makes Clear Creek such an enjoyable place to climb, especially for boulderers. There is not another place in Colorado where it is possible to climb on bullet, water polished features and square-cut, blocky horizontal roofs just beside one another, let alone almost every other style of granite imaginable. Bouldering in Clear Creek requires very low commitment. The heavily trafficked US-6 provides easy access to every problem in the canyon, despite the constant yammer of trucks engine-braking down the entire length of the road. There isn't a single problem here which requires an approach longer than thirty minutes (although most are under ten), making it a premier after-work destination or quick hit during a time constraint. Additionally, three different gyms are located within fifteen minutes from the entrance of the canyon, which climbers often utilize for warming up, or bailing in the case of inclement weather. One aspect of the canyon that isn't seen much elsewhere on the Front Range is the area's weirdly urbanized atmosphere. Some rocks have suffered from graffiti, while others are just close to the highway and the road noise is obnoxious. Although the most accessible, trafficked boulders certainly don't have a pristine feel, Clear Creek can still be wild and remote. I encourage people to take interest in those problems that are slightly further from the car; they can provide a nice and quiet change of scenery from the usual popular zones. SEASON: Bouldering in Clear Creek is possible through every season. Spring is likely the best time to boulder here, because temperatures are slightly warmer than during the dead of winter, but ice bridges still grace the river. Summers are hot, with eighty-ninety degree days on the regular. By chasing shade or climbing at night, a few still make it happen. The fall season is similar to spring in terms of temperatures, although creek-crossers will have to wade until early December usually. The shady aspects of the canyon are difficult in the months of December-February, but many hillsides receive sun all day and are the first blocks to dry on the Front Range. Alternatively, the Nomad Cave attracts swarms of climbers when every other boulder in the state is wet. TRAVEL INFO: Clear Creek Canyon is a part of Jeffco Open Space, meaning the land is an outdoor recreation park and private property isn't ever an issue. Overnight parking/camping is not allowed in the canyon (not that it would be enjoyable), but Golden and Idaho Springs both have several amenities for those staying in the area for an extended period of time. Clear Creek Canyon is east-west running and access is incredibly easy from either side. From downtown Golden, take State Highway 58 west to the intersection between SH-58 and SH-93/US-6. Head straight (west) into Clear Creek. From Boulder, it will be a right turn onto US-6, and from Denver a left. To enter the canyon from the west (upper) side, head along I-70 East from Idaho Springs. Take exit 244, which is a left exit, onto US-6 and follow it into the canyon, passing the huge Albert Frei & Sons Mine.