California · Rock climbing · Lee Vining

Dinosaur Crag

Dinosaur Crag in California has 9 climbing routes with 6 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad styles.

Photo: Seth Tisue, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

9 routes

5.7 – 5.12b

Trad · Sport · Mixed

Is Dinosaur Crag open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 4 alerts for Inyo National Forest.

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions in Effect
Agency alert covering Inyo National Forest · Order 05-04-50-26-23 · USFS · Inyo National Forest
Help Halt Golden Mussel Invasion
Agency alert covering Inyo National Forest · USFS · Inyo National Forest
Ansel Adams and John Muir Wilderness Campfire Restrictions
Agency alert covering Inyo National Forest · Order 05-04-50-25-04 · USFS · Inyo National Forest
Golden Trout and Hoover Wilderness Campfire Restrictions
Agency alert covering Inyo National Forest · Order 05-04-50-25-05 · USFS · Inyo National Forest

As of Oct 23, 7:30 pm PDT · Source: USFS · Inyo National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Dinosaur Crag

Best months: June–September. 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
41° / 13°
Feb
38° / 12°
Mar
42° / 15°
Apr
45° / 22°
May
54° / 27°
Jun
65° / 33°
Jul
71° / 38°
Aug
70° / 36°
Sep
65° / 32°
Oct
57° / 26°
Nov
47° / 20°
Dec
40° / 12°

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Tuolumne Meadows Rs, CA, 7.7 mi away at 8,694 ft. The station sits about 1,000 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.

Dinosaur Crag is a climbing area in the Mono Lake Ranger District of Inyo National Forest in California, managed by the Forest Service. It sits among a cluster of other crags, with Demonology Cliff Band about 0.1 mile away and Ellery Dam Spillway Crag about 0.2 mile away, so it works well as one stop in a day of climbing the surrounding area. The crag has nine routes, with six of them trad and two sport. The YDS grades run from 5.7 up to 5.12b, with the median at 5.11b. Among the named routes are Lizard Princess at 5.7, Vaino's Arête at 5.12b, and the Dinosaur TRs at 5.11b. The mixed route Acid House is 5.10a. Summer is the most comfortable time to climb. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Tuolumne Meadows, which sits about 1,000 feet lower, show July highs around 71°F and lows near 38°F. Winter is much colder, with January highs around 41°F and lows near 13°F. Ellery Campground is about a mile away, and the Warren Fork Trail is also about a mile off. Junction Campground and the Bennetville Loop Trail are both roughly 1.4 miles away.