Elkland Climbing

This digital Elkland 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 Elkland days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

Climbers have been bouldering at the base of Window Rock for years. In fact the area is featured in the old Phillip Benningfield Colorado Bouldering book, as the Nicky’s Boulders. It has also been referred to previously as The Billiards. Only a handful of marginal-quality boulder problems had been done before 2001. This little corner of RMNP then sat quietly for almost 10 years, before several Estes locals began trying what would become Memory is Parallax. One of Colorado’s most prolific developers, Dave Graham, was tipped off to its existence by Cameron Maier. Dave eventually fin... Show more

This digital Elkland 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 Elkland days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Climbers have been bouldering at the base of Window Rock for years. In fact the area is featured in the old Phillip Benningfield Colorado Bouldering book, as the Nicky’s Boulders. It has also been referred to previously as The Billiards. Only a handful of marginal-quality boulder problems had been done before 2001. This little corner of RMNP then sat quietly for almost 10 years, before several Estes locals began trying what would become Memory is Parallax. One of Colorado’s most prolific developers, Dave Graham, was tipped off to its existence by Cameron Maier. Dave eventually finished off that first ascent, and went on to put up a number of quality lines on this scrubby hillside. Although the rock is rough granite, it remains a fairly popular RMNP area when the higher zones are buried in the snow, due to the decent concentration and relatively short approaches. Climbers looking for relatively easy access, good views, and fairly flat landings can have an enjoyable session nearly year round, and just minutes from the hustle and bustle of downtown Estes Park. Season: Elkland is best from November through early April, although brutally cold temperatures and heavy snow are a possibility in winter. It is best to completely avoid Elkland in the late spring and summer, when it becomes infested with ticks. The author pulled off 26 ticks crawling over his body over the course of the day once in early May. Conditions this time of year can be difficult on the coarse stone. It should be noted that although this zone is basically in the town of Estes Park, a number of wild animals have been seen here by climbers including deer, elk, sheep, mountain lions, and black bears. From the intersection of Hwy 34 and Hwy 36, head north on Hwy 34 for 1.5 miles. Park on the right side of Hwy 34 at a small dirt pullout. The boulders here are in Rocky Mountain National Park, but the entire area is surrounded by private property. It is imperative that climbers use the correct parking areas and approaches when accessing the boulders.