New Mexico · Rock climbing · Las Cruces

Sugar Bowl

New Mexico climbing area with 8 trad routes across 6 grades.

Photo: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM, CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

8 routes

5.7 – 5.9

Trad

Best time to visit Sugar Bowl

Best months: March–May and 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.

Jan
56° / 23°
3 wet
Feb
62° / 26°
2 wet
Mar
69° / 32°
1 wet
Apr
77° / 39°
1 wet
May
85° / 47°
3 wet
Jun
95° / 59°
3 wet
Jul
94° / 66°
9 wet
Aug
91° / 64°
9 wet
Sep
86° / 56°
5 wet
Oct
77° / 42°
3 wet
Nov
66° / 31°
3 wet
Dec
55° / 23°
4 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Las Cruces 20 N, NM, 10.6 mi away at 4,327 ft. The station sits about 1,000 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Sugar Bowl is a climbing area on Bureau of Land Management land in the Las Cruces District Office in southern New Mexico, about 10 miles from the town of Las Cruces. It sits among a cluster of other climbing areas, with Checkerboard Wall and Nauty Boulders each about 0.4 miles away and the Felsenmeer Area about half a mile off. The climbing here is all trad, with eight routes spread across the area. The grades run from 5.7 to 5.9, with the easiest being Anything but Sun at 5.7 and the hardest Fire Escape at 5.9. The routes are named with a mix of straightforward and slightly more technical options, including Stairs at 5.7+ and Backdoor at 5.8. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Las Cruces show April highs around 77°F and October highs around 77°F, while July and August average highs near 94°F with more wet days. That station sits roughly 1,000 feet lower than the climbing area, so temperatures at Sugar Bowl run cooler. Mountain bikers can find Three Arroyos about 1.3 miles away and Push It about 1.8 miles away.