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California · Rock Climbing
Barstow sits at the edge of the Mojave Desert, and the Calico Mountains just northeast of town are the main draw for climbers passing through or making a dedicated trip.
6 spotsUpdated weeklyFree to access
View on mapRock Climbing · 6 spots
Barstow sits at the edge of the Mojave Desert, and the Calico Mountains just northeast of town are the main draw for climbers passing through or making a dedicated trip. The rock here is rhyolite and conglomerate — colorful, textured, and occasionally unpredictable — which means footwork matters more than raw strength on most lines. The six routes and areas listed on Roamze cover a range of styles: named routes like Abel, Cain, Lock Down, Josh'n Around, and The Real McCoy suggest a mix of traditional and sport climbing problems rather than a single-discipline crag. Calico is not a destination on the scale of Joshua Tree, but that's part of the appeal — crowds are thin, the approach times are short, and the desert scenery is legitimately striking. The trade-off is that route information is less standardized here than at more developed areas, so coming prepared with a downloaded topo or a conversation with someone who's climbed the specific route recently is worth the effort. If you're driving through on I-15 and have a half-day to spare, Calico Mountains climbing is a legitimate stop, not just a consolation prize.
Fall and spring are the most comfortable seasons, roughly October through April. Summer temperatures in the Mojave regularly exceed 100°F, which makes midday climbing genuinely dangerous rather than just unpleasant. If you visit in summer, start before sunrise and be off the rock by mid-morning.
The named routes listed — Abel, Cain, Lock Down, Josh'n Around, and The Real McCoy — don't come with published grade ranges in our current data, so we won't guess. What we can say is that Calico Mountains climbing generally skews toward intermediate climbers, and the conglomerate and rhyolite rock rewards solid technique over brute strength. Verify grades on a current topo or a site like Mountain Project before committing to a route.
Calico Mountains
~1 min drive
Desert climbing in California's colorful Calico Mountains with varied rock formations.
Cain
~1 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
The Low IQ
~43 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
Valentine Wall, The
~43 min drive
California climbing crag with varied routes and approachable access.
The Real McCoy
~1 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
The Hall
~43 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
White Face
~43 min drive
California crag with white rock offering varied climbing for multiple skill levels.
Abel
~1 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
The Portal
~43 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
Intersection Rocks
~43 min drive
Accessible California crag with varied climbing for developing climbers.
Lock Down
~2 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
Right Nut
~43 min drive
A worthwhile stop near California.
Also worth it near here
The Calico Mountains fall within the Bureau of Land Management's Barstow Field Office jurisdiction. Day use for climbing does not require a permit under current BLM rules, but regulations can change and some specific areas may have seasonal closures for raptor nesting. Check with the Barstow BLM office before your trip if you're visiting between January and July.
Bring more water than you think you need — a minimum of one liter per hour of activity in warm weather is a reasonable baseline in the Mojave. A standard trad or sport rack depending on the route, approach shoes for the rocky desert terrain, and sun protection are all essentials. Cell service in the Calico Mountains is unreliable, so download your maps and topos before leaving Barstow.
The Calico Mountains are about 10 miles northeast of downtown Barstow via Ghost Town Road off I-15. The Calico Ghost Town Regional Park entrance is a common landmark, but climbing access points vary by route and are not all through the park. A 4WD or high-clearance vehicle is useful for some of the rougher dirt roads leading to the crags, though not always required.
