Ancient fossils still lie hidden in the bold and bronzen buttes of Badlands National Park, a protected wilderness penetrated by hiking and biking trails.
Cannon City is might as well be called Pleasantville with its 325 annual days of sunshine basking in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The weather is consistently much warmer than any other city in Colorado and the climbing isn't half bad either. In fact, Cannon City is a very popular fall, winter, and spring destination because it's nice and sunny when everywhere else is filling in with snow.
The main climbing area in Cannon City is Shelf Road where many new routes have recently been established putting the count up to around 900 established climbs! The climbing is on good vertical limestone and fills the whole range from novice to expert climbs. There is a good mix of both trad and bolted routes as well so really, there's no reason not to climb here unless you don't like limestone or no crowds.
Details
Location
45 miles southwest of Colorado Springs
Rock Type:
Limestone
Hazards:
Several penitentiaries in the area make you wonder
Routes:
Lifetime
Season:
Year round
Map + Directions
Basic Directions
From Colorado Springs take HWY 115 south for 30 miles until junction with HWY 50. Take 50 west for 10 miles until you hit Cannon City.
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