Eldorado Canyon, an 885-acre Colorado state park southwest of Boulder, is Colorado’s most famous climbing area with over 2,000 established routes ascending sandstone cliffs that tower above rushing South Boulder Creek. About 70% of the park’s annual 250,000 visitors come to climb its colorful cliffs. Eldorado, usually called “Eldo” by climbers, offers traditional-style climbing routes that require gear for protection and belay anchors. Major cliffs in the deep canyon include 700-foot-high Redgarden Wall, The Bastille, and Wind Tower. Eldo’s cliffs are usually busy on weekends and in the summer, so the classic climbs get lots of traffic. When you’re climbing at Eldorado, remember stuntman and wirewalker Ivy Baldwin who frequently crossed a high wire 500 feet above the creek between 1906 and 1949.
Pro Tips
While Eldorado Canyon boasted the state’s hardest routes in the 1960s, it now offers a wealth of moderate routes for competent climbers. Recommended climbing routes include Bastille Crack, Wind Ridge, Calypso, The Bulge, T2, Hair City, The Naked Edge, Ruper, Rewritten, and The Yellow Spur. If you’re a beginner and want to try climbing, hire a guide to get high on the rocks. Descriptions for routes are in guidebooks, including Rock Climbing Colorado.Eldorado Canyon is a traditional climbing area, with almost all the routes requiring climbers to bring a rack of cams and nuts, have the ability to place gear, establish belay anchors, safely lead pitches, and have a nose for routefinding. Only occasional bolts are found for protection, although most rappel anchors have beefy bolts. A single 200-foot (60-meter) rope is fine for climbing and rappelling.Parking is limited in Eldorado Canyon State Park. Arrive early on weekends or you might have to park outside the park and walk in. Also remember that all fires, camping, and swimming in the creek are prohibited. The park is a fee area.Good access trails lead to all the cliffs. Other park activities are hiking and mountain biking on several good trails, including Rattlesnake Gulch Trail, Fowler Trail, Eldorado Canyon Trail, and Walker Ranch Loop. Watch for rattlesnakes on trails in the warm months. The park has trout fishing, picnicking, educational programs, and overlooks to watch the climbers. Below the canyon is 76-degree Eldorado Hot Springs.Recommended season(s): Year-round.
—Stewart M. Green
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