California · Rock climbing · Santa Barbara

Hat Creek Cattle Company

Hat Creek Cattle Company in California has 6 bouldering routes across 5 grades.

Hat Creek Cattle CompanyPhoto: bdearth, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)
6 routes
V1 – V8+
Bouldering

Is Hat Creek Cattle Company 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 Hat Creek Cattle Company

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, 4.1 mi away at 1,558 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Hat Creek Cattle Company is a bouldering area in the Santa Barbara Ranger District of Los Padres National Forest in California, managed by the Forest Service. It sits among a cluster of climbing and hiking spots, with San Ysidro (Bouldering) just 0.1 mile away and Tunnel 0.2 mile off. The area has six bouldering routes, all rated on the V scale from V1 to V8+. The easiest is Blue Duck at V1, and the hardest is No Pigs For Rent at V8+. Other routes include Blue Canard (V2-3), McCrae Corner (V3) and Newt (V4). Andy Patterson is the first ascender of several of these, and Matt Macrelli of Newt. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from the nearby Gibraltar Dam weather station show April highs around 76°F and October highs around 83°F, while July and August average in the mid-90s. For more climbing, Lower Mission Canyon / Seven Falls is 0.3 mile away. Hikers can try the 3 pools Trail at 0.6 mile. Upper Oso Campground, about 6.5 miles off, offers a place to stay.

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive