New Mexico · Rock climbing · Las Cruces

The Citadel

The Citadel in New Mexico has 19 climbing routes across 12 grades, offering sport and trad options.

The CitadelPhoto: uıɐɾ ʞ ʇɐɯɐs, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
19 routes
5.6 – 5.11a
Trad · Sport

The Citadel is a climbing area in the Organ Mountains Wilderness of southern New Mexico, on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management's Las Cruces District Office. It sits within the wilderness, and its name points to a cluster of rock faces rather than a single route. The area has 19 routes, with 16 of them trad and 3 sport. The YDS grades run from 5.6 to 5.11, with the median at 5.9. Among the named routes are Murray's Crack at 5.8, Anticipation at 5.9, and Hercamur Snurd at 5.11. The sport route Finger Breakers is the easiest at 5.6. Several other climbing areas lie within a few tenths of a mile, including Rabbit Ears Slabs, Lambda and North Organs. For a change from the rock, Aguirre Spring Recreation Area and Campground is about 1.8 miles away.

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The Low Horns

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The High HornsPhoto: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM, CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

The High Horns

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Cactararium

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The Tooth

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Little Squaretop Massif

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Needle and SquaretopsPhoto: uıɐɾ ʞ ʇɐɯɐs, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Needle and Squaretops

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