California · Rock climbing · Nevada City

Elder Wall

Elder Wall in California has 5 sport climbing routes ranging across 5 difficulty grades.

5 routes
5.9- – 5.11-
Sport

Is Elder Wall 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 Elder Wall

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, 0.7 mi away at 5,156 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Elder Wall is a sport climbing area in the Yuba River Ranger District of Tahoe National Forest in California, about 0.1 mile from The Dollar Store and Chalkporium. The two climbing areas sit right next to each other, making it easy to pair routes on different walls in one visit. The climbing here is all sport, with five routes ranging from 5.9- to 5.11-. The median grade is 5.10b/c, and the hardest is The Fin at 5.11-. The routes were all first ascended by Brad Johnson and John Robinson, with the exception of The Fin, which was done by Brad Johnson and John Robinsin. Summer is the most comfortable time to climb. Typical averages from the nearby Lake Spaulding weather station, at 5,156 feet, show July and August highs around 82°F with lows in the upper 40s, while winter highs sit in the low to mid 40s. Spaulding Lake Trail is about a mile away, and the Sierra Discovery Trail is about 1.5 miles off. Rucker Lake campground is about 2.3 miles away, and Fall Creek offers canoeing about 3.4 miles from the wall.