Devil's Punchbowl

Review

Intro

Devil's Punchbowl Park is not a well-known climbing area in Los Angeles County, but it absolutely should be.  It is a gorgeous park managed by the County of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department and is surrounded by US Forest Land and the San Gabriel Mountains.

What Makes It Great

The rock formations here at Devil's are very soft in composition and provide mostly slab style climbing, which makes it a great place to train for you bigger slab climbs in places like Tuolumne Meadows. The sport routes here range mostly in the beginner and intermediate range from 5.6 – 5.11. There are also some trad routes here, and even some bouldering to mix it up. 

Top Ten Routes

1) Upper Bolt Route 5.7 (South Area: Very Direct Wall) Sport 2-pitches

2) Water Cracks 5.8 (South Area: Very Direct Wall) Trad, Sport 

3) Tree Corner 5.8 (South Area: Very Direct Wall) Trad, Sport 2-pitches

4) Joke Book 5.9 (North Area: Attitude Wall) Sport

5) Velcro 5.9 (South Area: Very Direct Wall) Sport

6) Overhanger 5.9 (South Area: Very Direct Wall) Sport

7) Taboo 5.10b (South Area: Behind the Scenes) Trad

8) No Philosophy 5.10c (South Area: Purgatory Wall) Trad 2-pitches

9) Lower Bolt Route 5.10c/d (South Area: Very Direct Wall) Sport 

10) Black Listed 5.11b (North Area: Little Attitude Wall) Sport

Who is Going to Love It

Devil's Punchbowl is a beautiful and unique natural setting where the mountains meet the high desert, and it's a popular spot for climbers as well as hikers and nature seekers.

Directions, Parking, & Regulations

You can get to Devil's Punchbowl from either the 5, 15, or from Pearblossom. See MountainProject.com for specific directions.

There is no camping in the park, but there are a couple sites nearby on US Forest Land, which require you to have an Adventure Pass, and one of them charges a fee.