California · Rock climbing · Columbia

Lower Arboretum

Lower Arboretum in California has 11 bouldering routes across 7 grades.

Lower ArboretumPhoto: Genista, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
11 routes
V1 – V8
Bouldering

Best time to visit Lower Arboretum

Best months: October–June. 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

    56° / 33°

    10 wet

  2. Feb

    58° / 34°

    10 wet

  3. Mar

    62° / 37°

    10 wet

  4. Apr

    67° / 40°

    6 wet

  5. May

    76° / 45°

    4 wet

  6. Jun

    85° / 51°

    1 wet

  7. Jul

    93° / 57°

    0 wet

  8. Aug

    92° / 56°

    0 wet

  9. Sep

    87° / 51°

    1 wet

  10. Oct

    76° / 43°

    4 wet

  11. Nov

    63° / 36°

    7 wet

  12. Dec

    55° / 32°

    10 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Sonora, CA, 4.6 mi away at 1,675 ft. The station sits about 500 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Lower Arboretum is a bouldering area in California, about 0.7 miles from the town of Columbia. It sits right next to the Upper Arboretum, which is just 0.1 mile away, and Waterway West and Waterway Caves are each about 0.3 mile off. The area is a cluster of bouldering problems, with 11 routes in total, all rated on the V scale from V1 to V8. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Sonora show May highs around 76°F and October highs around 76°F, with only a few wet days in each. July and August average highs in the low 90s, and the station sits about 550 feet lower than the boulders, so temperatures on the rock run a bit cooler. The routes here are all bouldering, and the grade range runs from V1 to V8. Justin Case is a V5, Lobster Claw is a V4, and No More Wonder is a V7.

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