3 Classic Climbs for a Half-Day Bouldering in Joshua Tree

According to Mountain Project, Joshua Tree National Park has 7,600 routes. Most are trad routes, there a TON of boulders, and some are sport. Now, if you’re short of time to go bouldering in Joshua Tree, there are 3 boulders you just HAVE to try.

They’re super-classics, and they’re close to each other. Plus, all three are just a pleasure to climb! I tried these boulders when I visited the park, and it was a great single session rock climbing in Joshua Tree.

I’ll go over these 3 problems, but I’ll also mention a few other boulders I would have loved to try with more time.

Bouldering in Joshua Tree

When I went bouldering in Joshua Tree with Lala, our plan was to climb a lot more. It was late February and the weather was amazing in the sun… perfectly crisp.

That day, we were able to get on The Chube, Gunsmoke and Streetcar Named Desire. All three are Joshua Tree classics, and it was an amazing day of climbing.

Our plans came crashing down when a windstorm came in and brought the extreme cold. Instead of climbing, we spent one day in Joshua Tree hiking around and getting to know the national park. Our hope was to wait the storm out and climb the next day.

But the next day was still freezing and windy… and it’s all a little much when you’re car camping. So, we sadly packed up and left Joshua Tree. We would have loved to visit the Caveman Boulder and the JBMF Boulders. If you have time, check them out! I’ll talk more about those areas and some boulders there later.

3 Classic Boulders in Joshua Tree

1. The Chube

This is a gorgeous boulder that’s a great introduction to bouldering in Joshua Tree.

First of all, it’s a great warm-up (it’s rated V2). You start on jugs and climb up and right diagonally for about 15 feet. The jugs get worse but remain jugs the entire way as you tip-toe up on tiny feet.

You finally get to a hold you have to cross to to get into position for a long move to the sloper at the lip. This is where you get your J-Tree intro. The sloper leads to another sloper, both right at the lip, and a delicate mantle. It feels like you’re going to slide off – any lack of tension or mistake will throw you straight off. It’s not that hard but it’s a mind game for sure, since you’re kind of high off the deck!

I warmed up REAL good because I kept climbing to the lip and downclimbing in fear. I’m a low-ball kind of a guy, and The Chube is a little high for me. If your mind game is strong, you’ll have no issue. Especially with 2 or more pads.

2. Gunsmoke

The second boulder, the main one we wanted to try, was Gunsmoke.

It’s rated V3, but I think it needs a route grade because its 85 FEET LONG! You read that right… this traverse out-traverses all the traverses.

Most people start from the left, climb 50 feet, get to a dihedral move and then climb 35 feet more feet to the end. There are three cruxes, all on the first 50 feet of the boulder and a no-hands rest after the dihedral to relieve the pump and finish off Gunsmoke.

I felt like all the cruxes were long moves. I did long moves to get between good holds. And, though there are intermediate holds, they feel really bad (crimps, gross). Good luck if you’re shorter! Lala is just 3 inches shorter than me and there were some moves she couldn’t do at all.

Redpoint crux on a boulder? Yep. The end isn’t all that hard, but slopers and bad feet await. Finally, I felt like the boulder was harder going right to left. You get the hard moves closer to the end and some of the reaches felt a LOT harder in that direction.

All in all, an amazing rou… I mean, BOULDER!

3. Streetcar Named Desire

If you’ve researched bouldering in Joshua Tree at all, you’ve probably seen photos of this V6-7.

It’s a gorgeous rock climb that will test your climbing skills without requiring much finger strength. It’s technical and balancy and requires some mental fortitude. The mantle isn’t as scary as the one on The Chube, but you are about 18 feet off the ground.

This boulder is a puzzle to solve in a dihedral. There’s chalk everywhere because there’s a million different betas depending on your height, flexibility and comfort stemming. It’s so cool!

Thankfully, a juggy sloper waits at the top, which a lot of people jump to, but you can get statically. 2+ pads will help you feel A-OK for the mantle to victory.

And just like that, you had an amazing session bouldering in Joshua Tree! You start with a juggy but also heady warm-up, get flash-pumped on an 85-foot boulder and then still get to try something hard after that because Streetcar Named Desire is all pushing and hardly any pulling. Pretty awesome!

Bouldering in Joshua Tree with More Time

1. Caveman Boulder

The Caveman Boulder is home to another classic – Caveman. It’s another long boulder, although not nearly as long as Gunsmoke.

Caveman looks like you should be bouldering in Hueco Tanks. It starts deep under a boulder and then climbs out into flat holds and jugs in some huecos. The climb is SO featured, it looks like it would just be a pleasure to get on.

It has a bunch of variations, as a super featured long climb is bound to, but I was hoping to try the standard V7, Caveman.

2. JBMF Boulders

This area has a lot of easier but awesome climbs.

The most classic of them is JBMFP (V5). It’s a vertical climb going up a bunch of thin crimps to a big hold at the lop to mantle. It looks amazing.

Other than JBMFP, I was hoping to climb a lot that day on these climbs:

• False Up 20 (V0): kind of a high ball, but at least it’s easy. You lay back on a huge flake the whole way to the top. It looks SO fun, and I really wanted to get on it.
• Yardarm (V1): a short climb on a weird looking boulder. Seeing pictures, this rock is so Joshua Tree that I just wanted to climb it.
• Lechlinski Corner (V3): climb up an overhanging arete on a very photogenic boulder. It looks like there’s some slapping and heel hooking to be done, and I love that stuff.
• False Blockhead Sit Start (V5): looks like a powerful, short boulder with cool moves on an overhang. I also love that stuff!

These are just a few of the boulders I found that I wanted to climb in Joshua Tree. But there’s a huge guidebook full of boulders, and Mountain Project has hundreds as well. Even some campgrounds in Joshua Tree National Park have climbs right in the campgrounds.

Free Dispersed Camping Near Joshua Tree

Dirtbags that we are, we always sleep in our SUV at free sites to save money.

There is some great BLM land on a lakebed just north of Joshue Tree. It might be tough to tent camp there if it gets windy, but the same goes for camping in the park anyway.

The free camping near Joshua Tree is called North Joshua Tree BLM, but there are lots more!

If you’re planning any sort of trip in the Southwest, I actually made a free map with 70+ free car camping spots I found and vetted during my 2 years on the road. It’s my go-to resource whenever I’m planning where to sleep for the night.

👉 Grab the map for free below – I’ll email it to you right away!

If you’re looking for a more established campground, Joshua Tree National Park has incredible campgrounds.

A lot of them even have climbable boulders inside the campgrounds themselves.

It’s definitely more convenient to sleep there, since the BLM land is about 40 minutes from the park. However, camping costs $25-35 a night (some first-come, first-served and others with reservations).

All in all, Joshua Tree is one of the best American national parks, in my opinion, just because it allows rock climbing so freely. I’m want to go back already, this time just to boulder.

If you have any questions about bouldering in Joshua Tree, or about your trip in general, comment below and I’ll be sure to answer!