California · Rock climbing · Santa Clarita

The Panhandle

The Panhandle in California has 14 sport climbing routes across 7 grades.

14 routes
5.8 – 5.12a
Sport

Is Panhandle, The open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 7 alerts for Angeles National Forest.

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

Best time to visit The Panhandle

Best months: February–May and October–November. 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

    59° / 31°

    5 wet

  2. Feb

    62° / 34°

    5 wet

  3. Mar

    67° / 40°

    4 wet

  4. Apr

    73° / 45°

    2 wet

  5. May

    82° / 53°

    1 wet

  6. Jun

    91° / 61°

    0 wet

  7. Jul

    98° / 67°

    1 wet

  8. Aug

    98° / 65°

    0 wet

  9. Sep

    91° / 57°

    1 wet

  10. Oct

    80° / 46°

    1 wet

  11. Nov

    67° / 35°

    2 wet

  12. Dec

    58° / 30°

    4 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Lancaster Wm J Fox Fld, CA, 19.1 mi away at 2,338 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

The Panhandle is a climbing area in the Los Angeles Gateway Ranger District of Angeles National Forest, managed by the Forest Service. It sits among a cluster of named climbing areas, including Tower of Babel, Temple of Ishtar and Hatchery, The, all within about a tenth of a mile. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show April highs around 73°F and October highs around 80°F, while July and August average about 98°F. Zuni Campground is about 2.9 miles away. The Rosa Canyon Truck Trail and Rowher Truck Trail are both within about 2.2 miles.

Routes (14)

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive

Vasquez RocksPhoto: Philipp Litvin philipplitvin, CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Vasquez Rocks

~9 min drive

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Carousel RockPhoto: Oran Viriyincy, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Carousel Rock

~35 min drive

Carousel Rock in California has 12 climbing routes on 6 difficulty grades.

Back WallPhoto: Oran Viriyincy, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Back Wall

~35 min drive

Back Wall in California has 13 climbing routes across 9 grades.

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Nabisco Canyon

~35 min drive

Nabisco Canyon in California has 13 climbing routes across 9 grades, offering bouldering, mixed, and sport styles.

Spiral BoulderPhoto: jxson, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Spiral Boulder

~35 min drive

Spiral Boulder in California has 6 bouldering routes with 6 difficulty grades.

Mommys BoysPhoto: Pintsmasher, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Mommys Boys

~35 min drive

Mommys Boys in California has 6 bouldering routes across 5 grades.

Jesus WallPhoto: Pintsmasher, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Jesus Wall

~35 min drive

Jesus Wall in California has 5 climbing routes across 4 grades.

Addendum to the Guidebook

~0 min drive

Addendum to the Guidebook is a California climbing crag with 10 sport routes.

Tower of Babel

~0 min drive

Tower of Babel in California has 20 climbing routes across 12 grades.

Temple of Ishtar

~0 min drive

Temple of Ishtar in California offers 14 climbing routes with sport and trad options across 12 difficulty grades.