Colorado · Rock climbing · Estes Park

Switchback Crags

Switchback Crags in Colorado has 6 routes across 5 grades, offering bouldering pads, mixed, and trad climbing.

6 routes
5.7 – 5.10b/c
Trad · Bouldering · Mixed

Is Switchback Crags open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 4 alerts for Canyon Lakes Ranger District.

As of · Source: USFS · Canyon Lakes Ranger District. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Switchback Crags

Best months: May–June and September. 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

    37° / 16°

    7 wet

  2. Feb

    38° / 16°

    8 wet

  3. Mar

    45° / 21°

    9 wet

  4. Apr

    52° / 26°

    10 wet

  5. May

    61° / 35°

    12 wet

  6. Jun

    74° / 43°

    10 wet

  7. Jul

    80° / 48°

    13 wet

  8. Aug

    78° / 46°

    13 wet

  9. Sep

    70° / 39°

    9 wet

  10. Oct

    57° / 30°

    7 wet

  11. Nov

    44° / 23°

    6 wet

  12. Dec

    36° / 16°

    7 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Estes Park 3 Sse, CO, 6.5 mi away at 7,812 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Switchback Crags is a climbing area in the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Colorado, managed by the Forest Service. It sits within the national forest lands that make up the district, and the nearest town is Estes Park, about 6.5 miles away. Summer is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Estes Park show July highs around 80°F with lows near 48°F, while winter highs stay in the mid-30s. Several other destinations are close by. The H Bar G Ranch Trail is about 0.7 miles away and the West Creek Trail about a mile. Pulpit Rock, another climbing area, is about 2.1 miles off. For an overnight stay, Rocky Mountain National Park's Aspenglen Campground is about 7.3 miles away.

Routes (6)

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