California · Rock climbing · Desert Hot Springs

Hemingway Buttress

Hemingway Buttress in California has 10 climbing routes across 8 grades, offering bouldering, sport, and trad.

Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

10 routes

V0 – V2

Bouldering · Trad · Sport

Is Hemingway Buttress open right now?

Alert in the area

The National Park Service lists 3 alerts for Joshua Tree National Park.

Partial Trail Closure of West Side Loop
Park alert covering Joshua Tree National Park · NPS · Joshua Tree National Park
Inaccurate Third-Party Apps
Park alert covering Joshua Tree National Park · NPS · Joshua Tree National Park
Oasis of Mara Trail Partial Closure
Park alert covering Joshua Tree National Park · NPS · Joshua Tree National Park

As of Oct 23, 7:30 pm PDT · Source: NPS · Joshua Tree National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Hemingway Buttress

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.

Jan
58° / 38°
4 wet
Feb
61° / 39°
3 wet
Mar
67° / 40°
3 wet
Apr
73° / 46°
2 wet
May
82° / 52°
1 wet
Jun
91° / 59°
0 wet
Jul
96° / 66°
2 wet
Aug
96° / 68°
2 wet
Sep
89° / 60°
2 wet
Oct
80° / 50°
1 wet
Nov
66° / 41°
2 wet
Dec
58° / 34°
4 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Yucca Valley, CA, 14.1 mi away at 3,249 ft. The station sits about 1,100 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.

Hemingway Buttress is a climbing area in Joshua Tree National Park in California, managed by the National Park Service. It sits among a cluster of other climbing spots, including the East Face Left of Hemingway Buttress, the Copenhagen Wall and the IRS Wall, all within about a tenth of a mile. The area also draws hikers, with the Quail Springs Historic Trail about 0.2 miles away and the Cow Rock hike about 0.7 miles off. The climbing here is a mix of bouldering and traditional routes. Of the 10 routes listed, seven are boulders, two are trad and one is sport. The boulders range from V0 to V2 on the V scale, and the trad routes sit around 5.9 on the YDS scale. The most straightforward boulders include The Laying of Hands at V0 and The Undertaker at V0+. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Yucca Valley show April highs around 73°F and October highs around 80°F, while July and August average about 96°F. That station sits roughly 1,000 feet lower than the buttress, so temperatures on the rock run cooler. A fee is charged for park use. For an overnight stay, Sheep Pass Group campground is about 3.8 miles away.