California · Rock climbing · Desert Center

The Back Rocks

Back Rocks, The in California has 9 climbing routes across 7 grades.

Photo: ogwen, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

9 routes

5.6 – 5.10c

Sport · Trad

Is Back Rocks, The open right now?

Alert in the area

The National Park Service lists 3 alerts for Joshua Tree National Park.

Partial Trail Closure of West Side Loop
Park alert covering Joshua Tree National Park · NPS · Joshua Tree National Park
Inaccurate Third-Party Apps
Park alert covering Joshua Tree National Park · NPS · Joshua Tree National Park
Oasis of Mara Trail Partial Closure
Park alert covering Joshua Tree National Park · NPS · Joshua Tree National Park

As of Oct 24, 6:30 pm PDT · Source: NPS · Joshua Tree National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit The Back Rocks

Best months: October–May. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

Jan
58° / 38°
4 wet
Feb
61° / 39°
3 wet
Mar
67° / 40°
3 wet
Apr
73° / 46°
2 wet
May
82° / 52°
1 wet
Jun
91° / 59°
0 wet
Jul
96° / 66°
2 wet
Aug
96° / 68°
2 wet
Sep
89° / 60°
2 wet
Oct
80° / 50°
1 wet
Nov
66° / 41°
2 wet
Dec
58° / 34°
4 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Yucca Valley, CA, 23.7 mi away at 3,249 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

The Back Rocks is a climbing area in Joshua Tree National Park in California, managed by the National Park Service. It sits among a cluster of other climbing spots, with Torre Del Sol and White Tank Campground each about 0.1 mile away and Bovine Dome about 0.4 mile off. The area is a compact hub of sport and trad routes, with grades ranging from 5.6 to 5.10c. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Yucca Valley show April highs around 73°F and October highs around 80°F, while July and August average about 96°F. The Back Rocks has nine routes, eight of which are sport and one is trad. The hardest is Uncle Anesthesia, a 5.10c trad route first climbed by Chris Miller, George Armstrong and Gary Burgess in January 1993. Sport climbers can try BDE (aka don't fuck this up) at 5.6 or Rachel at 5.10a. For a change from the rock, Skull Rock Nature Trail and Split Rock Trail are both about 3 miles away. Sheep Pass Group campground is about 6 miles off.