Golden Gate Canyon State Park is a backwoodsy, subalpine, state park with multiple granite crags, some of which may never have been climbed, ranging from 50 to 450 feet in height. The area is 8000-10,000 foot altitude, but several of the crags face south so can be warm on a sunny day all times of year. People have been climbing here since at least the 1950s. There are both sport and trad climbs. Approaches range from 15 minutes to an hour. Rocks here include: Mount Thorodin, Ralston Roost, Son of Ralston, Raven Knob, Odin's Good Eye, Odin's Rib Cage, Tremont Mountain, The Bear, The Cub, The Rainbow Bridge, Odin's Throne, Squaw Spire, Dude's Throne, Little Dude's Throne, and The Grendel, among others.
To date, I have only climbed at Dude's Throne. Facing southwest and perched above Dude's Fishing Hole, this seemingly small crag yields some pretty big routes. With a few exceptions, most notably a historic 5.11 crack climb, the routes are bolt protected sport climbs ranging from 5.9 to 5.13.
The first time I climbed at Golden Gate Canyon State Park was in May 2023, a morning climbing 6 routes at Dude's Throne.
On this page, I give photos from climbing in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, organized by date. At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done in Golden Gate Canyon State Park.
