Shelf Road Rock Climbing – A Winter Sport Climbing Mecca in Colorado
If you like single pitch sport cragging, you’ll love Shelf Road rock climbing! Sport climbers from the Front Range flock to Shelf Road in the winter for the warm temps and limestone lines for days. Along with the excellent climbing, you’ll find stellar views and convenient camping which make Shelf Road such a popular climbing destination.
A Guide to Shelf Road Rock Climbing
Shelf Road is a popular climbing area for a winter escape in the Colorado Front Range. Here’s everything you need to know about this cragging area that sometimes feels like an outdoor gym.
Where is Shelf Road?
Shelf Road is located near Cañon City, Colorado which is about an hour away from Colorado Springs. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from Denver to Shelf Road, so it makes a great day trip or a weekend getaway.
Shelf Road Climbing Guidebooks
There are a couple of guidebooks for Shelf Road rock climbing. The most recently updated is Shelf Road Rock by Rick Thompson, with a new edition that came out in 2020, while Bob D’Antonio’s Shelf Road Climbing was last updated in 2011. So Shelf Road Rock is the best option, but it has some quirks and inaccuracies, so you’ll probably want to use it in conjunction with Mountain Project.
Shelf Road Rock Climbing
Shelf Road offers 1,200 sport climbs from 5.7-5.13, so there’s something for everyone here. The routes are mostly vertical with lots of limestone pockets and cracks. This is definitely a sport climbing destination, so you can typically leave your rack at home and just enjoy all the bolts..
Best Season for Shelf Road Rock Climbing
Shelf Road is a cold-weather climbing destination that is most popular in late fall, winter, and early spring. Shelf consists of cliff bands that are mostly in full sun which, combined with the desert climate of the area, make Shelf feel significantly warmer than you might expect on sunny days. Even if it snowed the day before, if the forecast is sunny, you can usually climb at Shelf Road.
Shelf Road Climbing Areas
Here are the main climbing areas at Shelf. There are a few other smaller areas as well, but these areas encompass the majority of Shelf Road Rock climbing.
The Bank
The Bank is the biggest climbing area at Shelf with over 400 routes. It’s organized into crags to help find routes, but you can mostly just walk along from one area to the next. The Bank is mostly sunny, but you can find a little shade here in certain spots.
Classic climbs at The Bank include jasonbecker.com (10a) for fun movement and Number One Super Guy (11a) for the hero roof. If you’re looking for several excellent 5.12s, check out the Surreal Estate and Back to the Future areas (which are right next to each other).
Cactus Cliff
Cactus Cliff is one long cliff band that faces south to southwest so it gets soaked in the sun. Even if it’s a busy day at Shelf, you can just keep walking along the cliff until you find something fun to jump on. You’ll find a variety of grades here, but if you’re breaking into 11s, it has a few especially good 11a’s – Muscle Beach, Funkdamental, and I Claudius.
Note: Both The Bank and Cactus Cliff areas are accessed from the trail starting at the parking lot at The Bank campground.
Sand Gulch
Sand Gulch is full of great moderate climbs, and its various walls face different aspects so you can find shade or sun here. Some of the routes in Sand Gulch have a little spicier bolting than the rest of Shelf, so have your lead on head on straight here. Some of the most popular routes here include Spinney Dan (10c), Regroovable (11b), and Freeform (12a).
The Gallery
The Gallery consists of The Far Side, Menses Prow, and Mural Wall. The Far Side is a good place to chase shade on hot afternoons with fun climbs in a variety of grades. Menses Prow has an excellent collection of 5.8s and plenty of good 10s and 11s, too. Mural Wall is the place to go for good 12s, including namesake The Mural, a 12b testpiece.
Note: Sand Gulch and The Gallery are accessed from trails that start at the Sand Gulch campground.
Camping & Lodging Near Shelf Road
You’ll find plenty of options to stay at Shelf Road, from two large campgrounds to budget hotels and Airbnbs in Cañon City.
Shelf Road Camping
Shelf Road has two campgrounds – The Bank and Sand Gulch. Most of the sites need to be reserved in advance on recreation.gov, but Sand Gulch has a few first-come/first-serve sites. All standard sites are $20 per night and group sites are $40/night (plus an $8 non-refundable reservation fee).
The campgrounds have pit toilets but no potable water, so plan to bring your own. Each site has a picnic table and campfire ring, and you can hike to the climbing areas right from the campgrounds.
Note: The dirt road to The Bank campground and climbing area is steep and can be rough. Sometimes it can be done in small sedans, but it depends on the conditions, especially after snow.
Hotels in Cañon City
While camping is great at Shelf in the fall and spring, in the dark days of the dead of winter when daylight is short and the nights are cold, the budget hotels in Cañon City offer a warm escape. Especially if you share a room with your climbing partner or a group, you can find a cheap room that’s totally worth it.
Note: The Econo Lodge has a hot tub, which is perfect to soak your tired muscles after a day of trying hard.
Airbnbs
For a group of climbers, Airbnbs can be a great option in Cañon City. You’ll find plenty of options, especially because prime climbing season at Shelf is the opposite of tourist season in the area.
Where to Eat, Drink, & Rest in Cañon City
Cañon City is not the loveliest mountain town you’ll ever find, but it definitely has its charms. Main Street has some great local restaurants for post-climbing meals, and there are plenty of stores like Walmart if you forget something on your trip.
Start your day in Cañon City at Cafe Belay, which will satisfy both your coffee and climbing gear fix. This cafe caters to climbers with incredible freshly roasted coffee and delicious breakfast burritos that are perfectly portable to take to the crag. Plus, they have a small selection of climbing gear for sale from quickdraws to helmets to guidebooks.
You can’t beat pizza after a day of climbing, and Pizza Madness right on Main Street has reasonably priced pies and pints of local beer. They offer several sizes of pizza from mini to large, so everyone can get their own and have leftovers to bring for a crag lunch the next day.
If you need a rest day or a pit stop on your way out of town, Desert Reef Hot Springs is a unique oasis less than half an hour from Cañon City. The property was renovated a few years ago to create more beautiful pools for soaking and even some spots to stay the night.
Hope this guide to Shelf Road rock climbing has you stoked on a trip to try some of these awesome limestone routes! Outpost Wilderness offers guided days at Shelf so we can show you around and get you climbing here.