Turtle Island
Turtle Island in Washington has 13 climbing routes across 9 grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad styles.
- 13 routes
- 5.6 – 5.11b
- Sport · Trad · Mixed
Best time to visit Turtle Island
Best months: April–June and September–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
34° / 23°
Feb
42° / 26°
Mar
54° / 31°
Apr
64° / 37°
May
74° / 44°
Jun
79° / 50°
Jul
88° / 55°
Aug
87° / 54°
Sep
77° / 46°
Oct
61° / 37°
Nov
44° / 29°
Dec
34° / 24°
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Tonasket 4 Nne, WA, 7.1 mi away at 960 ft. The station sits about 700 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.
Turtle Island is a climbing area in Washington on Bureau of Land Management land within the Spokane Wenatchee Field Office. It sits among several other climbing spots, with Mount Hull - Lower SW Face (Oroville) and West Wall both about 0.3 miles away and Big Butte - West Face about 0.4 miles away, so it works well as a base for exploring the cluster. The climbing here runs from sport and trad routes to mixed, with 13 routes in total. Grades range from 5.6 to 5.11b, and the hardest is Shape Shifter, a sport route at 5.11b. Lightning Bolt Crack is a mixed route at 5.6, and Ghost Dance is a sport route at 5.9. For timing, late spring and early fall are the most comfortable. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Tonasket show May highs around 74°F and September highs around 77°F, while July and August average in the upper 80s. That station sits about 670 feet lower than the area, so temperatures on the island run cooler. Nearby, the Whistler Canyon Trail is about 1.5 miles away. Paddlers can head to Tonasket Creek, about 5 miles off, and the Similkameen River is about 7 miles away. Spectacle Lake, a fishing spot, is about 7.6 miles away.
Routes (13)
Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
Photo: Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, Public Domain Mark (via Flickr)West Face
~3 min drive
West Face in Washington has 4 sport climbing routes at 4 difficulty grades.
Photo: Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, Public Domain Mark (via Flickr)South Side
~3 min drive
South Side in Washington has 8 routes with 7 difficulty grades, offering sport and trad climbing.
Photo: Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, Public Domain Mark (via Flickr)West Side
~3 min drive
West Side in Washington has 5 climbing routes on 4 difficulty grades.
Photo: BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)East Side
~28 min drive
East Side in Washington has 5 sport climbing routes ranging across 5 difficulty grades.
Photo: BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)Little West Canyon
~28 min drive
Little West Canyon in Washington has 3 climbing routes ranging from easy to hard.
Big Butte - West Face
~1 min drive
Big Butte - West Face in Washington has 6 climbing routes across 5 grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad styles.
Big Butte - South Face
~1 min drive
Big Butte - South Face in Washington has 13 routes with 8 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad climbing.
Bowsaw Ridge - South End
~1 min drive
5 routes at Bowsaw Ridge - South End in Washington span 4 grades, offering sport and trad climbing.
Upper Canyon - South Side
~2 min drive
South-facing Washington canyon climbing with varied routes and scenic canyon walls.
Upper East Canyon
~3 min drive
Upper East Canyon in Washington has 8 routes across 4 grades, offering sport and trad climbing.
