Cottonwood Area
Cottonwood Area in California has 8 bouldering routes across 5 difficulty grades.
Photo: RuggyBearLA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- 8 routes
- V2 – V4
- Bouldering
Best time to visit Cottonwood Area
Best months: February–June and October–November. 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
60° / 31°
7 wet
Feb
61° / 32°
8 wet
Mar
65° / 35°
8 wet
Apr
69° / 38°
5 wet
May
75° / 43°
3 wet
Jun
85° / 46°
1 wet
Jul
92° / 53°
1 wet
Aug
93° / 54°
1 wet
Sep
89° / 49°
2 wet
Oct
79° / 40°
3 wet
Nov
68° / 34°
5 wet
Dec
60° / 30°
7 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Henshaw Dam, CA, 17.6 mi away at 2,700 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
The Cottonwood Area is a bouldering destination in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, managed by State Park and Recreation. It sits among a cluster of other climbing areas, with Vector Crack Area and Vector Boulder both about 0.1 mile away and Wolf Area about 0.2 mile off, making it easy to string several spots together in one visit. The area is a bouldering-only zone. OpenBeta lists eight routes, all boulders, with grades from V2 up to V4. Icarus, Microchip and Pinch Back are all V2, and Friction Test runs V3-4. The climbing is compact and close to the trails that pass within a mile, so it works well as a stop on a longer walk through the park. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Henshaw Dam show highs around 75°F in May and 79°F in October, with summer highs climbing into the low 90s. That station sits a few hundred feet lower than the park, so temperatures at the climbing area run a bit cooler. The California Riding & Hiking Trail and Culp Valley Trail are both about a mile away. Peña Springs Trail is just beyond, at about 1.1 miles.
Routes (8)
Charred Timber boulder(1)
Freeman Crack, The(1)
Friction Test(2)
Icarus Boulder(1)
Rock Hard Boulder(1)
Table Top boulder(1)
Unity Gap Boulder(1)
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