California · Rock climbing · Santa Barbara

Central Services Face

Central Services Face in California has 7 climbing routes across 6 grades, offering sport and trad options.

7 routes
5.8 – 5.11-
Sport · Trad

Is Central Services Face open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 2 alerts for Los Padres National Forest.

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

Best time to visit Central Services Face

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.

  1. Jan

    66° / 36°

    8 wet

  2. Feb

    67° / 36°

    9 wet

  3. Mar

    70° / 38°

    7 wet

  4. Apr

    76° / 41°

    4 wet

  5. May

    80° / 46°

    2 wet

  6. Jun

    88° / 49°

    0 wet

  7. Jul

    94° / 55°

    0 wet

  8. Aug

    96° / 54°

    0 wet

  9. Sep

    91° / 51°

    1 wet

  10. Oct

    83° / 45°

    2 wet

  11. Nov

    73° / 40°

    3 wet

  12. Dec

    64° / 34°

    6 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Gibraltar Dam #2, CA, 3.9 mi away at 1,558 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Central Services Face is a climbing area in Gould Park on city land within the Santa Barbara Ranger District of Los Padres National Forest in California. It sits among several named climbing areas, including the Upper Main Wall, Invisible Wall and Lower Main Wall, all within a tenth of a mile. The climbing here is a mix of sport and trad routes, with grades ranging from 5.8 to 5.11-. Sport routes dominate, and the Central Services route at 5.11- is among the hardest. The Hawk-Eye Surveillance route at 5.8 and the Rash-ional Thought trad route at 5.9 are two of the area's other options. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Gibraltar Dam show May highs around 80°F and October highs around 83°F, while July and August average in the mid-90s. The West Fork Cold Spring hike starts about 0.2 miles away, and the North Fork Cold Spring Trail is about half a mile off. For an overnight stay, Upper Oso Campground is about 8 miles away.

Routes (7)

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