Joshua Tree Rock Climbing

Backcountry - Spring Itinerary:

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• Day 1 Meet your fellow climbers at our campsite for an orientation, dinner and gear check before heading into the backcountry tomorrow.

  Your trip begins today in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. Meet your guides and other group members at Ryan Campground by 3:00 p.m. inside Joshua Tree National Park. We'll have an evening trip orientation, a wonderful dinner, and a brief gear check before retiring for the night. Dinner included.

• Day 2 Rock Climbing instruction begins! After hiking into the park, we learn new techniques and improve your skills for climbing.

  After breakfast, we'll quickly shuttle from Ryan Campground about a mile down the road to the trailhead where we'll park our cars for the duration of the trip. Once our packs are on and properly fitted we'll begin our journey into the backcountry. After traversing about 3 miles of undulating terrain we'll spend half a day climbing. Climbers will enjoy instruction on ropes, knots, rappelling, and climbing. Ropes will be set up on various routes from absolute beginner to more advanced, depending on the experience level and goals of the group. After a rewarding day of learning and practice we'll hike an additional 1 ½ miles to our backcountry site, where we'll set up camp, spend time relaxing, reflecting on our accomplishments and enjoying a great dinner. Breakfast and dinner included. Bring your own variety of quick foods to be eaten as lunch and grazed on constantly throughout the day each day. Energy bars and drinks as well as trail mix, bagels, salami, etc. are all good choices. Mileage: 4 1/2 miles; Elevation gain: 800 feet.

• Day 3 Practice the skills you learned yesterday and further your climbing techniques on more challenging routes and before departing.

  After breakfast, we'll pack up camp and join our guides again for a second day of climbing instruction and exploration. We'll travel to some slightly more challenging rocks today, where everyone will get a chance to test their skills from the previous day and push themselves to whatever level they feel comfortable. After a full final morning of climbing and instruction we'll complete our loop hike, returning to our cars by around 5:00 p.m. If you are flying home after the trip, consider booking a hotel night in Palm Springs and flying out in the morning if you cannot get a flight home tonight after 8:30 p.m. Breakfast provided. Mileage: 4-5 miles.

Backcountry - Fall Itinerary:

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• Day 1 Meet your fellow climbers at our campsite for an orientation, dinner and gear check before heading into the backcountry tomorrow.

  Your trip begins today in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. Meet your guides and other group members at Ryan Campground by 3:00 p.m. inside Joshua Tree National Park. After acquainting yourself with your campground for the evening all cars will caravan to the trailhead we'll be departing from on the morning of Day Two. We'll then shuttle back to the Ryan Campground in the group van and enjoy an evening trip orientation, a wonderful dinner, and a brief gear check before retiring for the night. Dinner included.

• Day 2 Rock Climbing instruction begins! After hiking into the park, we learn new techniques and improve your skills for climbing.

  After breakfast, we'll begin our four mile hike from Ryan Campground to our backcountry camp. After establishing camp we'll take a short walk to our climbing site and spend the rest of the day rock climbing. Climbers will enjoy instruction on ropes, knots, rappelling, and climbing. Ropes will be set up on various routes from absolute beginner to more advanced, depending on the experience level and goals of the group. At the end of the day, we'll reconvene at camp to relax and enjoy a great dinner. Breakfast and dinner included. Bring your own variety of quick foods to be eaten as lunch and grazed on constantly throughout the day each day. Energy bars and drinks as well as trail mix, bagels, salami, etc. are all good choices. Mileage: 4 miles; Elevation gain: 800 feet.

• Day 3 Practice the skills you learned yesterday and further your climbing techniques on more challenging routes and before departing.

  After breakfast, we'll join our guides again for a second day of climbing instruction and exploration. While we'll be visiting the same site as our day two adventure, our routes will be different today, which will provide us the opportunity to utilize and build on new and existing skills based on comfort level. After a full final morning of climbing and instruction we'll return to our backcountry camp and pack up. Shortly thereafter we'll hike the four miles out to Ryan Campground, giving us a last chance to absorb the beauty of this desert landscape and reflect on our experience. We will arrive back at our cars by around 5:00 p.m. If you are flying home after the trip, consider booking a hotel night in Palm Springs and flying out in the morning if you cannot get a flight home tonight after 8:30 p.m. Breakfast provided. Mileage: 4 miles.

Base Camp Itinerary:

Show more for all days

• Day 1 Meet your fellow climbers at our campsite for an orientation, dinner and gear check before an exciting day of climbing tomorrow.

  Your trip begins today in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. Meet your guides and other group members at Ryan Campground by 3:00 p.m. inside Joshua Tree National Park. We'll have an evening trip orientation, a wonderful dinner, and a brief gear check before retiring for the night. Dinner included.

• Day 2 Rock Climbing instruction begins! After a Class 3 scrabble, we set up to learn new techniques and improve your skills for climbing.

  After breakfast, we'll hike only about 15 minutes from camp to a short boulder scramble (3rd class rock hopping) to the base of our climbing site for the day. Climbers will enjoy instruction on ropes, knots, rappelling, and climbing. Ropes will be set up on various routes from absolute beginner to more advanced, depending on the experience level and goals of the group. At the end of the day, we'll reconvene at camp to relax and enjoy a great dinner. Breakfast and dinner included. Bring your own variety of quick foods to be eaten as lunch and grazed on constantly throughout the day each day. Energy bars and drinks as well as trail mix, bagels, salami, etc. are all good choices.

• Day 3 Practice the skills you learned yesterday and further your climbing techniques on more challenging routes and before departing.

  After breakfast, we'll join our guides again for the second day of climbing instruction and exploration right from the comfort of our base camp set up. We'll get a chance to test skills from the previous day and push to whatever level you feel comfortable. After a full day of climbing and instruction we'll wrap up the gear and discuss our experiences and goals for climbing in the future. We should be all done by 4:00 p.m. Breakfast provided.

Although we do our very best to adhere to the schedule listed above, this itinerary is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control.  This includes changes to routes and climbing areas to be used when circumstances or conditions warrant.  This trip is operated rain or shine.

Contact REI Adventures prior to purchasing your airline tickets to confirm that the trip has the minimum number of participants required to operate.

Professional rock climbing instruction and guided backpacking; all rock climbing gear (harness, helmet, ropes, shoes and more); meals as noted on the daily itinerary; mixes for energy drinks; group cooking gear; group first-aid kit, water filters; campsite and backcountry permit fees.

Transportation from your hometown to group meeting point; park entrance fees where required; insurance of any kind; alcoholic beverages (please do not bring); 2 lunches; soft drinks; guide gratuities and items of a personal nature.

This trip is rated Moderate Plus(3-4). The climbing portions of the course warrant a Moderate (3) rating, as you may elect to rest at any time and will never be required to climb anything that you do not wish to attempt.  Backpacking portions of the course warrant a Moderate Plus (3-4) rating. Participants will be carrying their own backpacks with weights of 30-40 lbs. over terrain with 1,200’ or more of elevation gain/loss on some days. Please make sure your backpack is fitted to your body before the trip. Trip members need to in good physical condition. To maximize your enjoyment of the trip, we strongly encourage participants to be involved in a training regimen before the trip. The better shape you are in, the more you’ll enjoy all that Joshua Tree National Park has to offer.  

Daytime temperatures usually range between 60^o - 90^o F but can sometimes drop lower.  Evening temperatures typically drop into the 40^o - 50^o F range or lower.  While rain is rare in Joshua Tree, it is always a possibility so adequate raingear is important, even in this arid landscape.

Palm Springs, CA 45 miles, 1 hour; Los Angeles, CA 155 miles; 2.75 hours; or San Diego, CA 175 miles, 3 hours. 

There is no reliable transfer service from any airport to our meeting place.  Anticipate renting a car if flying in for this weekend getaway. The directions above are from major interstates to our meeting point. Consult a map and plan ahead to ensure that you can find the interstate highway or major road indicated in the directions as you are leaving the airport.

This trip is subject to the booking information set forth in the current REI Adventures Weekend Reservation Information. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A full gear list and detailed pre-trip information is sent upon sign-up. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance through REI Adventures. If coverage is purchased at the time of your initial reservation, the 'Pre-existing Conditions Exclusion' is waived (certain exclusions apply).

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Why wait? Space is limited, reserve your adventure today.

The key to staying comfortable while on an active trip is layering.  To obtain maximum comfort with minimum weight, you need versatile layers that mix and match to create the right amount of insulation, ventilation and weather protection.  This gear list has been created to help you choose equipment for the trip.  Try to bring only what is necessary - this will help you and the field staff. 

Gear Checklist