The Secrets Climbing

This digital The Secrets 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 The Secrets days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

Overview: Let there be no mistaking it, The Secrets are unique. The otherworldly landscape feels like it’s straight out of a psychedelic hallucination, complete with Dr. Seuss trees and surreal rock formations, all set to a soundtrack of barking sea lions. We’ve been climbing for decades, on an uncountable variety of rock spread across six continents. We don’t say this to brag, but rather to add context to the following statement: The Secrets have an eccentric character that is unique unto itself.

The Secrets were once simply “a secret” among a handful of climbers, yet wi... Show more

This digital The Secrets 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 The Secrets days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Overview: Let there be no mistaking it, The Secrets are unique. The otherworldly landscape feels like it’s straight out of a psychedelic hallucination, complete with Dr. Seuss trees and surreal rock formations, all set to a soundtrack of barking sea lions. We’ve been climbing for decades, on an uncountable variety of rock spread across six continents. We don’t say this to brag, but rather to add context to the following statement: The Secrets have an eccentric character that is unique unto itself. The Secrets were once simply “a secret” among a handful of climbers, yet with some of the most photogenic climbing on the coast, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable social media takeover. The desire for secrecy was well intentioned. The coastal sandstone is fragile and requires a gentleness that you don’t typically associate with an interaction between human and stone. In addition to being generally soft rock, the sandstone is criss-crossed with thin tafoni flakes and runnels. Remember, each small piece of rock you break is a small piece that’s gone for everyone else. Conditions: As long as the rock has had a few days to dry after the rain, you can climb year round. The cool ocean air keeps the ambient temperature down, but the full sun will still feel hot. A few of the boulders are tide dependent, so look ahead if you have a particular project in mind. Fortunately, there are enough other boulders to keep you occupied while you wait for the water to recede. Rules: Open sunrise to sunset. No poodles (or any other dogs) allowed. No climbing for 3-5 days after rain. No wire brushes. Bathrooms: The Gerstle Cove Campground to the south has the only toilet in Salt Point State Park. Land Manager: Salt Point State Park Parking: Park in a pullout on the left by a gate, 3.9 miles north of Gerstle Cove and about 23 miles north of the intersection of CA-1 and CA-116. Approach: From the parking, step through the gate and follow the dirt trail for 1/2 mile to the coast. Take the largest trail whenever it forks, and you will end up across a small inlet from the Triceratops Boulder. Accessibility: Although it has the longest approach on the North Coast, the hike isn’t particularly strenuous. You will have to scramble across boulders to access the peninsula, and getting to the Triceratops Boulder requires a bit of stemming between two large boulders. You’ll also have to downclimb a few feet on your way to Fish Lips.