California · Rock climbing · Twentynine Palms

The Safe Zone

Safe Zone, The in California has 5 climbing routes.

5 routes
5.5 – 5.11-
Sport · Trad

Is Safe Zone, The 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 · Source: NPS · Joshua Tree National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit The Safe Zone

Best months: October–April. 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

    63° / 42°

    3 wet

  2. Feb

    67° / 44°

    3 wet

  3. Mar

    74° / 49°

    2 wet

  4. Apr

    81° / 55°

    1 wet

  5. May

    90° / 63°

    1 wet

  6. Jun

    99° / 71°

    0 wet

  7. Jul

    104° / 77°

    2 wet

  8. Aug

    103° / 76°

    2 wet

  9. Sep

    96° / 69°

    2 wet

  10. Oct

    85° / 58°

    1 wet

  11. Nov

    72° / 47°

    1 wet

  12. Dec

    62° / 40°

    2 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Twentynine Palms, CA, 2.5 mi away at 1,975 ft. The station sits about 1,400 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.

The Safe Zone is a climbing area in California's Joshua Tree National Park, within the Joshua Tree Wilderness. The National Park Service manages the land, and the area sits inside the park's wilderness boundaries, which makes it a destination for climbers looking for routes in protected backcountry. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to climb here. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Twentynine Palms, about 2.5 miles away, show March highs around 74°F and October highs around 85°F. That station sits roughly 1,400 feet lower than the climbing area, so expect temperatures up high to run cooler. The climbing at The Safe Zone runs from about 5.5 to 5.11- in the YDS system, with three sport routes and two trad routes among the five listed. Water Babies Crack is a trad route at 5.5, and Water Babies Arete is a sport route at 5.11-. GoldenEye Spire and Goldfinger Rock are both about 0.1 mile away, and Indian Head Area is about half a mile off. The California Riding and Hiking Trail lies about 1.7 miles away for a walk.