California · Rock climbing · Los Gatos

Waterfall Cliff

Waterfall Cliff in California has 18 routes with 11 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad climbing.

Waterfall CliffPhoto: Vadim Manuylov, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
18 routes
5.6 – 5.12b
Sport · Mixed · Trad

Best time to visit Waterfall Cliff

Best months: April–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

    55° / 41°

    14 wet

  2. Feb

    55° / 40°

    14 wet

  3. Mar

    58° / 41°

    13 wet

  4. Apr

    62° / 43°

    10 wet

  5. May

    67° / 47°

    7 wet

  6. Jun

    75° / 52°

    3 wet

  7. Jul

    81° / 58°

    1 wet

  8. Aug

    81° / 59°

    1 wet

  9. Sep

    79° / 57°

    2 wet

  10. Oct

    71° / 52°

    6 wet

  11. Nov

    60° / 44°

    11 wet

  12. Dec

    54° / 40°

    15 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Skyline Ridge Preserve, CA, 7.4 mi away at 2,270 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Waterfall Cliff is a climbing area in Castle Rock State Park in California, managed by State Park and Recreation. It sits among several other climbing spots, with Lower Muffins, The Muffins and Last Temptation Cliff all about 0.1 mile away. The Ridge Trail and Saratoga Gap Trail are also close by, within a third of a mile. The area has 18 routes, with sport climbing the most common style. Mixed climbing and trad routes round out the options. Grades run from 5.6 up to 5.12b, with The Falls at 5.10c and Dendritis at 5.12b as two of the more notable climbs. Summer is the driest and warmest stretch. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show July and August highs around 81°F with only about one wet day a month, while winter brings highs in the mid-50s and rain on roughly 14 to 15 days a month.

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