Nevada · Rock climbing · Caliente

Rainbow Canyon

Rainbow Canyon in Nevada has 7 climbing routes across 5 grades, offering sport and trad options.

Rainbow CanyonPhoto: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
7 routes
5.10 – 5.11b
Trad · Sport

Best time to visit Rainbow Canyon

Best months: February–May and October–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

    54° / 30°

    5 wet

  2. Feb

    58° / 33°

    7 wet

  3. Mar

    66° / 37°

    7 wet

  4. Apr

    72° / 41°

    5 wet

  5. May

    83° / 48°

    3 wet

  6. Jun

    94° / 55°

    2 wet

  7. Jul

    100° / 63°

    3 wet

  8. Aug

    98° / 62°

    4 wet

  9. Sep

    90° / 56°

    3 wet

  10. Oct

    77° / 44°

    3 wet

  11. Nov

    63° / 35°

    3 wet

  12. Dec

    53° / 30°

    4 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Elgin, NV, 1.9 mi away at 3,422 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Rainbow Canyon is a climbing area in Nevada on Bureau of Land Management land within the Caliente Field Office. It sits among several other climbing areas, with The Pyramid (a.k.a. Midway Area) and The Arêtes (a.k.a. the Road Area) each about 0.1 mile away, and Sandy Cove Area at a similar distance. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Elgin show April highs around 72°F and October highs around 77°F, while July averages climb to about 100°F. The area has seven routes, six of which are trad and one sport. Grades run from 5.10a to 5.11-, with Up the Junction at 5.10a and Flagstaff Crack at 5.11- as two of the more notable options.

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive