Cliff Drive's Backside
- 8 routes
- V1 – V1+
- Bouldering · Trad · Sport
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- best months
Cliff Drive's Backside is a climbing area in Kessler Park, a city-managed park in Missouri. It sits among several other named climbing spots, including Fun Wall "AKA The Book" and The Overhang, each about 0.2 miles away. The area has eight routes, with four boulders, two trad climbs, one sport route and one top rope. The sport route, Charmander, is graded 5.7, and the trad route The Detonate Flake is 5.7+. The boulders run from V1- to V1+. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Kansas City show October highs around 68°F and May highs around 76°F, while July averages reach about 90°F. Roanoke Park, a climbing area about 4.5 miles away, and Swope Park Bouldering, about 8.9 miles away, are the closest other climbing options.
- Fun Wall "AKA The Book"Rock climbing0.2 mi
- Big and Small Crack Areas "AKA Lefty Wall"Rock climbing0.2 mi
- The OverhangRock climbing0.2 mi
- Roanoke ParkRock climbing4.5 mi
- Maple Woods NaHiking7.9 mi
- Fox Hollow TrailRock climbing8.4 mi
- Swope Park BoulderingRock climbing8.9 mi
- River Front TrailHiking9.3 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- Fun Wall "AKA The Book"Rock climbing · Next door
- Big and Small Crack Areas "AKA Lefty Wall"Rock climbing · Next door
- The OverhangRock climbing · Next door
- Roanoke ParkRock climbing · ~8 min drive
- WM: Wornall WallRock climbing · ~10 min drive
- Fox Hollow TrailRock climbing · ~14 min drive
- Swope Park BoulderingRock climbing · ~15 min drive
- Wudchuk BouldersRock climbing · ~15 min drive
- Pocket BoulderRock climbing · ~16 min drive
- No Hands BoulderRock climbing · ~16 min drive
Best time to visit Cliff Drive's Backside
Best months: March–May and September–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
40° / 22°
5 wet · 2 snow
Feb
45° / 26°
5 wet · 2 snow
Mar
57° / 36°
7 wet · 1 snow
Apr
67° / 46°
9 wet
May
76° / 57°
11 wet
Jun
86° / 67°
10 wet
Jul
90° / 72°
8 wet
Aug
89° / 70°
8 wet
Sep
80° / 61°
8 wet
Oct
68° / 49°
7 wet
Nov
55° / 36°
5 wet
Dec
44° / 27°
5 wet · 2 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Kansas City Downtown Ap, MO, 2.6 mi away at 742 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
