New Mexico · Rock climbing · Arroyo Hondo

River Wall

River Wall in New Mexico has 7 climbing routes with sport and trad options.

7 routes
5.7 – 5.12a
Sport · Trad

Best time to visit River Wall

Best months: May–June and August–October. 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

    42° / 12°

    3 wet

  2. Feb

    46° / 19°

    3 wet

  3. Mar

    55° / 25°

    4 wet

  4. Apr

    63° / 31°

    4 wet

  5. May

    73° / 37°

    5 wet

  6. Jun

    84° / 47°

    5 wet

  7. Jul

    87° / 53°

    8 wet

  8. Aug

    84° / 51°

    10 wet

  9. Sep

    78° / 45°

    6 wet

  10. Oct

    67° / 32°

    5 wet

  11. Nov

    53° / 22°

    4 wet

  12. Dec

    42° / 14°

    4 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Taos, NM, 11.9 mi away at 6,965 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

River Wall is a climbing area on Bureau of Land Management land in the Taos Field Office in northern New Mexico, about 12 miles from the town of Taos. It sits among a cluster of other climbing areas, with John's Wall about a tenth of a mile away and Old Stagecoach Road about 0.2 miles off, so it pairs easily with those for a full day on the rock. The routes here run from about 5.7 to 5.12, with sport climbing making up most of the options and trad climbing accounting for a couple of the routes. The hardest of the named routes is Swallow Your Karma at 5.12, a sport climb first ascended by Jay Foley. The area also includes Aurora's Diving Board, a trad route at 5.7, and Shake-n-Bake, a sport route at 5.12a. Late spring and early fall are the most comfortable times to climb. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Taos show May highs around 73°F and September highs around 78°F, while July and August bring highs in the mid-80s and more wet days. Winter is cold, with January highs near 42°F and lows around 12°F. Other climbing nearby includes the John Dunn Bridge Area at 0.3 miles and the Horsethief Loop hike at 1.2 miles. For an overnight stay, Lower Hondo campground lies about 9 miles away.

Routes (7)