Bouldering in Colorado

By Amanda May
Staff Writer
Rockies.com

Do you daydream of boulder fields under perfect bluebird skies? Then Colorado is your dream come true. While there are plenty of rock climbing gyms across the state- and the country for that matter- it’s just not the same as getting your hands on Mother Nature’s handiwork.

A rock climber chalks up his hands before beginning a climb. (Colorado Tourism Office)

Read below for a few ideas of places to go bouldering in Colorado.

Rocky Mountain National Park – Rock n’ Roll
You can find a countless number of bouldering spots along the Rock n’ Roll 350-mile trail system in Rocky Mountain National Park. There are numerous trailheads that lead to rock features of granite and sandstone in the serene wilderness of Colorado backcountry. Just ask a park ranger and they’ll point out a trailhead!

Buena Vista Boulder Garden
From the big opportunity of Rocky Mountain National Park to small in-town climbing, we take you to Buena Vista, Colorado. Two boulders sit between north of South Main in Buena Vista River Park. Natural and set routes have good overhung terrain. Bring a picnic and a kayak to fully enjoy this Buena Vista park!

Mount Sanitas
This is a mellow bouldering spot with lots of easy to moderate problems. There are safe landings throughout, but bring a crashpad just in case. Warm up by jogging to the top of Mount Sanitas. This is a great place for new climbers that are ready to graduate from the gym to the great outdoors. The range is V0 to V5-6.

Morrison
Head further out into the Front Range to get to these interesting boulder problems. The difficulty level ranges from V0 to V11. See if you can work out Wisdom Simulator or one of the other sticky routes that locals can point out. Park along Colorado 8/Morrison road east of town for an easy walk to this bouldering spot.

Flagstaff Mountain
Cloud Shadow
This area has lots of climbing routes for climbers of every level (V0-V12) and has southern exposure so can even be climbed in the winter.

Monkey Traverse Wall
Here there are only a couple of routes, but the namesake Monkey Traverse is worth checking out. This trail is long varied and popular year-round! It ranges from V1 to V4. Its about 1.5 miles up Flagstaff Road past Cloud Shadow.

Red Wall
V1 to V9 routes await you on some of Flagstaff’s tougher boulders. There are tiny holds that may take you some time to send, but it catches sun all day, so you can sneak off and try it even as temperatures dip.