California · Rock climbing · Big Bend

Central Area

Central Area in California has 11 climbing routes with mixed, sport, and trad styles.

11 routes
5.9 – 5.11d
Sport · Trad · Mixed

Is Central Area open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 2 alerts for Tahoe National Forest.

As of · Source: USFS · Tahoe National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Central Area

Best months: May–October. 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.

  1. Jan

    44° / 25°

  2. Feb

    46° / 26°

  3. Mar

    51° / 27°

  4. Apr

    56° / 30°

  5. May

    64° / 37°

  6. Jun

    75° / 43°

  7. Jul

    82° / 48°

  8. Aug

    82° / 47°

  9. Sep

    76° / 44°

  10. Oct

    65° / 37°

  11. Nov

    51° / 30°

  12. Dec

    43° / 25°

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Lake Spaulding, CA, 6.7 mi away at 5,156 ft. The station sits about 800 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 Central Area is a climbing area in California's Tahoe National Forest, within the Yuba River Ranger District. The Forest Service manages the land, and the area sits alongside other climbing and camping spots within a short drive, so it works well as a base for a day or a longer stay in the region. The climbing here ranges from trad routes on the easier end of the scale to sport and mixed climbing, with the hardest routes reaching 5.11d. There are 11 routes in total, with six of them sport and four trad. Jumping Jack Flash is a sport route at 5.10b, and Amazing Grace and Jack the Ripper both sit in the 5.11 range. Light Special is a mixed route at 5.10c. Summer is the warmest stretch for a visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Lake Spaulding show July and August highs around 82°F with lows in the upper 40s. That station sits roughly 750 feet below the area, so temperatures on the rock itself run cooler. Left Side and Rainbow are both climbing areas about 0.1 mile away, and Big Bend Campground is also about 0.1 mile off. Loch Leven, a hike, is roughly 0.3 mile away.

Routes (11)