Zephyrs Climbing

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

Forget everything bad you’ve heard about bouldering on the East Shore, because The Zephyrs are absolutely mega! The approaches are short, the views are great, and the rock quality is good. Another plus: The Zephyrs are located in a very dry, sunny area and are often climbable during wintertime dry spells. Stories of climbing here in T-shirts in January are legion. The Zephyrs consist of several highly concentrated areas spread across the steep hillsides behind the town of Zephyr Cove. Jay Sell and several friends started developing this spot in 2009, and from that point on the bou... Show more

This digital Zephyrs 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 Zephyrs days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Forget everything bad you’ve heard about bouldering on the East Shore, because The Zephyrs are absolutely mega! The approaches are short, the views are great, and the rock quality is good. Another plus: The Zephyrs are located in a very dry, sunny area and are often climbable during wintertime dry spells. Stories of climbing here in T-shirts in January are legion. The Zephyrs consist of several highly concentrated areas spread across the steep hillsides behind the town of Zephyr Cove. Jay Sell and several friends started developing this spot in 2009, and from that point on the bouldering scene on the East Shore of Tahoe was forever changed for the better. You will access the boulders using two different parking areas, one of which is adjacent to Whittell High School. Please be courteous and use common sense around the high school. Mecca is probably the best and most concentrated spot at The Zephyrs; its boulders are so close to each other they almost touch. It does have the longest approach in the area though, about 25 minutes up a semi-steep hill, but it is well worth it. All the other zones are worthy as well; each spot has something good to offer. To approach The Zephyrs, you will use two different parking areas: To access Easy Street, Mecca, The Charcoals, and The Briquettes from South Lake Tahoe drive to Zephyr Cove and reset your odometer at the stoplight. Drive north on Hwy 50 for 1.0 miles and park on the east side of the road just below a green gate blocking a fire road. Park off either side in the small parking area and be sure not to block the gate. There is room for about five cars. If this spot is full you can find parking on the highway. You will find detailed directions to each individual area on the following pages. To approach The Zephyr Boulders, The Archery Range, and surrounding areas, drive to the stoplight in Zephyr Cove and reset your odometer. Drive north on Hwy 50 for 0.3 miles and turn right on Warrior Way, then drive another 0.3 miles and park on the right next to a white gate. Walk up Warrior Way toward Whittell High School, and just before the entrance to the school, take a trail on your right next to a chain link fence. Follow the trail up and around the back of the school for a few minutes until it drops down at the end of a dirt road. The Archery Range boulders are the obvious cluster just above the end of the dirt road. You will find detailed directions for the other spots in the area on the following pages. Special Note: The best way to avoid getting lost at The Zephyrs is to remember that most of the boulders are on the ridge lines, not in the canyons. The approach trails follow gullies and canyons, and the boulders will be on either side of the gullies on the ridges. Generally, you will walk up a short, steep hill from a canyon floor to a ridge. Keep in mind that the boulders are spread over several square miles and there are lots of nooks and crannies. It’s confusing at first if you don’t have a tour guide. Read the approach directions very carefully and use a GPS if you have one. Also, keep an eye out for the video guide at the Tahoeboulderingguides YouTube channel. There are several hundred problems established so far. When it’s all said and done there could be hundreds more in this vast area. So start exploring!