California · Rock climbing · Pollock Pines

Loon Lake

Loon Lake is a climbing area in California with 7 routes.

Loon LakePhoto: UncleVinny, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
7 routes
V3 – V11
Bouldering · Trad

Is Loon Lake open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 3 alerts for Eldorado National Forest.

As of · Source: USFS · Eldorado National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Loon Lake

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

    37° / 22°

  2. Feb

    38° / 22°

  3. Mar

    43° / 25°

  4. Apr

    49° / 27°

  5. May

    58° / 34°

  6. Jun

    69° / 40°

  7. Jul

    77° / 46°

  8. Aug

    76° / 46°

  9. Sep

    69° / 41°

  10. Oct

    58° / 34°

  11. Nov

    44° / 27°

  12. Dec

    38° / 21°

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Tahoma, CA, 11 mi away at 6,315 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Closures we've recorded since August 2026

  • Fire Restrictions are in Effect Forest Wide

    Eldorado National Forest · Order dated September 22, 2026; seen Aug 23, 2026, no lift recorded · Forest Service

Loon Lake is a climbing area in California's Eldorado National Forest, within the Pacific Ranger District. The Forest Service manages the land, and the crag sits close to several campgrounds, with Northshore Campground about a third of a mile away and Red Fir roughly 0.4 miles off. The area is a bouldering and trad climber's destination, with seven routes listed, five of them boulders and two trad climbs. The boulders range from V3 to V11 on the V scale, with Time For Action at the top of that range, and the trad routes sit around 5.7 on the YDS scale. The bouldering includes Silverback at V3-4 and The Gatekeeper at V4. Summer is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from the nearby Tahoma weather station run to highs around 77°F in July, with lows near 46°F. Winter is cold, with January highs around 37°F and lows near 22°F. The Rubicon River offers canoeing about 1.2 miles away, and the Lower Buttress climbing area is about 1.8 miles off. Farther afield, October Wall lies about 8 miles away.

Routes (7)

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