California · Rock climbing · Los Gatos

Yabo Zone

Yabo Zone is a 7-route bouldering area in California using bouldering pads.

Photo: Doug Olson, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

7 routes

V0 – V8

Bouldering

Best time to visit Yabo Zone

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.

Jan
55° / 41°
14 wet
Feb
55° / 40°
14 wet
Mar
58° / 41°
13 wet
Apr
62° / 43°
10 wet
May
67° / 47°
7 wet
Jun
75° / 52°
3 wet
Jul
81° / 58°
1 wet
Aug
81° / 59°
1 wet
Sep
79° / 57°
2 wet
Oct
71° / 52°
6 wet
Nov
60° / 44°
11 wet
Dec
54° / 40°
15 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Skyline Ridge Preserve, CA, 7.7 mi away at 2,270 ft. The station sits about 800 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.

Yabo Zone is a bouldering area within Castle Rock State Park in California, managed by State Park and Recreation. It sits among a cluster of climbing spots, with Dog Dish Boulders and Mrs Magoo Boulder just 0.1 mile away, and Castle Rock Trail also within a tenth of a mile. The area is a compact, close-together set of boulders rather than a long route, and the closest trails make it easy to pair a climb with a walk. The climbing here is all bouldering, with seven routes spread across the V0 to V8 range. The easiest are Down Climb at V0 and Castle Chasm at V0+, while Yabo Problem (right) reaches V6-7 and Pitbull is the hardest at V8. Yabo Problem (Sloper Arete Stand/Sit) is a V4 route with a first ascent by Yabo Yablonski. 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 days a month. That station sits about 850 feet lower than the park, so temperatures at the boulders run cooler.