As the sport of rock climbing continues to grow in popularity, more and more Coloradans are seeking out top-notch crags around the state. While places like Shelf Road, Clear Creek Canyon, and Rifle Mountain Park regularly get listed among the best places for rock climbing in the Centennial State, Climbing.com went with another option when drafting up their list of the ‘50 best climbing areas in America,’ which included one spot in each state.

For the well-known publication’s Colorado pick, reporter Owen Clarke went with The Bastille in Eldorado Canyon State Park, found about six miles south of Boulder. Here’s why that was a great selection:

Between its north face and west face, Mountain Project reports that The Bastille has a total of 65 routes, described as a “cornerstone of climbing in Eldorado Canyon State Park.” Routes on this sandstone crag range from 5.7 to 5.12 in difficulty, and while most represent trad climbing, sport and top-rope options are available, too.

The spot’s highest-rated and most popular route falls on the easier side of the crag’s offerings – The Bastille Crack, a 5.7 five-pitch trad route that climbs 350 feet. While difficultly as it relates to the handholds and footholds found along this route would generally be considered beginner-intermediate, tackling the route means a long day of scaling multiple pitches for most – and that’s what a lot of the Eldorado Canyon climbs are all about.

It’s also worth noting that while The Bastille is a well-recognized climbing area in Eldorado Canyon State Park, its 65 routes are dwarfed by the 345 routes found on the Redgarden Wall, which is a massive cliff that stretches a few thousand feet wide. In total, Mountain Project lists 1,300 routes at the greater park, which is on par with the 1,334 routes found at Shelf Road in the Cañon City area.

The big difference between Eldorado Canyon State Park and Shelf Road is that Eldorado Canyon skews heavily toward trad-style climbing (70.9 percent of its 1,300 routes) while Shelf Road skews heavily toward sport-climbing (91.3 percent of its 1,334 routes). Because climbing in Eldorado Canyon State Park is quite a bit more technical and due to its proximity to Boulder and the Denver metro, most would probably say it’s played a larger role in the history of Centennial State climbing culture compared to any other local spot. Because of this, The Bastille getting dubbed the ‘best climbing area’ in Colorado makes sense.

Find the full list of America’s best climbing spots from Climbing.com here.

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