Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is developing a climbing management plan, which will address rock-based recreation including climbing, bouldering, highlining, and slacklining.

Explore the resources below for an overview of Joshua Tree National Park and its rock-based recreation:

•  Joshua Tree National Park website .
•  Background information  on Joshua Tree National Park.
•  Glossary of climbing terms .
•  Photos of rock-based recreation at the park .
• Interactive reference maps. The map below displays the park's four visitor centers and numerous campgrounds. Additional interactive park maps related to the climbing management plan (e.g., a heat map of climbing activity and locations of proposed formal trails) can be found throughout this document.

The purpose of this plan is to guide the management of rock-based recreation activities for the protection of cultural resources, natural resources, and wilderness character, and to support the public’s desire to enjoy the park through climbing and related activities. 

• The park's Backcountry and Wilderness Management Plan (2000) guides climbing management, but it falls short when considering that visitation has more than doubled and many bolts and anchors currently need to be replaced or will need to be replaced soon.
• Previous plans are not sufficient to protect sensitive park resources and respectfully consider sacred landscapes of traditionally associated tribal communities.
• The official park trail system does not include trails to climbing and bouldering areas making it difficult for the park to fund trail improvements.
• Current management practices are not consistent with new agency guidance on fixed anchors in wilderness.

• Lack of delineated trails to rock formations and bouldering areas has negatively affected vegetation, cultural resources, and soil crusts. Open desert terrain makes it very challenging to manage trampling from foot traffic.
• A transparent and repeatable process for evaluating the appropriateness of recreational climbing or related activities around cultural sites is needed to better inform management actions.
• A Climbing Management Plan is needed to address the park’s unique resource challenges to find an appropriate balance between recreational use and the preservation of cultural and natural resources.
• Bouldering, highlining and slacklining activities have not been evaluated for their appropriateness at the park. This is required by agency policy for any new forms of recreation in parks.

The interactive map below shows the Bolt Allowed Zone and Climbing Route locations within Joshua Tree National Park. Zoom in to view the Climbing Route locations. Click on a Climbing Route location to view its rock formation name. Names are not official nor designated by the National Park Service; they come from first ascensionist and guidebook authors.

In the context of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, "issues" can be problems, concerns, conflicts, obstacles, or benefits that would result if the proposed action (ie, the Climbing Management Plan) or alternatives, including the no-action alternative, are implemented.

 Joshua Tree Wilderness  contains more than 660,000 acres, about 85% of the park. The interactive map below shows designated wilderness areas.

The  Wilderness Act  established the National Wilderness Preservation System and instructed federal land management agencies to preserve wilderness character. 

Section 4c of the Wilderness Act (last updated in 2013) prohibits certain uses, including installations, except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area: (c) Except as specifically provided for in this Act, and subject to existing private rights, there shall be no commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area designated by this Act and except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of this Act (including measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons within the area), there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area. 

The National Park Service recognizes climbing as a legitimate and appropriate use of wilderness  (Section 7.2, Director's Order #41) .

• The use of removable anchors may reduce, but does not in every case eliminate, the need for fixed anchors.
• Fixed anchors are primarily used when rock features will not accommodate removable anchors.
• Occasional placement of a fixed anchor does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of wilderness or violate the  Wilderness Act .
• Fixed anchors or fixed equipment may be appropriate, but must be closely managed under the direction of an approved plan.
• The establishment of bolt-intensive face climbs, commonly known as “sport climbs”, is considered incompatible with wilderness preservation and management.
• Parks must complete a “minimum requirements analysis” to document the determination of whether a prohibited use—such as a permanent installation of a bolt or anchor, if proposed as part of a project—is necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of wilderness  (Section 6.4, Director's Order #41) .
• NPS Wilderness Policy defines an installation as anything made by humans that is not intended for human occupation and is left unattended or left behind when the installer leaves the wilderness. Fixed anchors are installed and left behind.
• The park issues special use permits to climbers to install and replace fixed anchors; however, there has not been a process to evaluate the necessity of fixed anchors in wilderness including consideration of "bolt-intensive" routes.

 More information about National Park Service Laws, Policies, and Regulations 

The climbing community has a growing desire to replace older bolts on existing routes in and outside of designated wilderness.

Aging and potential deterioration of bolts present safety concerns. The park must rely on the public and public partners to conduct bolt replacement efforts. 

In the context of NEPA reviews, "issues" can be problems, concerns, conflicts, obstacles, or benefits that would result if the proposed action (i.e., the Climbing Management Plan) or alternatives, including the no-action alternative, are implemented.

•  Social trails  develop where hikers try to access rock formations by walking off trail.
• Social trails reduce vegetation cover and increase erosion.

• Walking off trail results in a long-term decrease of cover and abundance of  biological soil crust . This causes a significant decrease in nitrogen fixation, making it difficult for seeds to germinate and access nutrients. Loss of biological soil crust reduces surface stability and increases soil erosion.
• Erosion from trampled biological soil crust and vegetation can result in the exposure and loss of context to buried archeological resources. This loss of context (data potential) diminishes the ability to learn from and study the pre-contact history unique to the park. 

• Staging rock-climbing gear, chairs, backpacks, and crash pads on top of sensitive biological soil crust and native vegetation can cause a loss of plant life and wildlife habitat. These staging areas can get bigger over time as users continue to spread out into native vegetation or group sizes increase.

• Unlike other NPS recreation facilities, trails to rock formations and climbing routes are created by climbers, not the National Park Service; therefore, none of these trails and routes are evaluated for wilderness, cultural, or biological resource concerns when they are created.

The map below is a "heat map" that shows estimates of climbing activity in the park based on four characteristics: 1) accessibility (distance to parking), 2) route difficulty, 3) popularity (star) rating, and 4) climbing style. This allows visualization of climbing activities, with blue reflecting the least amount (e.g. long hike in, less popular) and red most (easy access, variety of high quality climbs) This data can inform how different areas might be managed based on intensity of recreational activity.

In the context of NEPA reviews, "issues" can be problems, concerns, conflicts, obstacles, or benefits that would result if the proposed action (i.e., the Climbing Management Plan) or alternatives, including the no-action alternative, are implemented.

• Joshua Tree National Park has a high density of Native American rock art and sacred sites, including some in popular climbing areas.

• Rock art can be hard for an untrained eye to see, and climbing and bouldering routes have been established on or near these sensitive images. 

• Contact from shoes, oils from hands, and chalk can obscure and hasten the erosion of rock art. 

• Joshua Tree National Park is the ancestral lands of the Chemehuevi, Serrano, Cahuilla, and Mojave people. These sacred places hold  ethnographic  significance and climbing on or near them can be disrespectful to traditionally associated Native American communities.

• Systematic surveys are needed to identify archeological and ethnographic resources. Recreation in areas that have not been surveyed may be impacting unidentified cultural resources.

 More information about Joshua Tree National Park's history and culture 

Climbers can potentially trample lichens and sensitive plants, cause loss of soil crust, increase erosion and impact nesting raptors (birds of prey).

 More information about Joshua Tree National Park's natural resources 

The park proposes to address climbing bolt installations and replacement with the following actions:

• Continue to permit fixed anchors only in the existing Fixed Anchor Allowed Zone.
• Require permits for installation or replacement of fixed anchors and associated equipment in all locations.
• Assess fixed anchor installation or replacement for consistency with the Wilderness Act, including minimum requirements analysis and compliance with DO-41. Use Joshua Tree  climbing style categories  as a guide for the assessment process.
• Assess fixed anchor installation or replacement for impacts to natural and cultural resources.

The park proposes to address the problem of user-created social trails with the following actions:

• Close and rehabilitate non-suitable social trails using fencing, vertical mulch, rocks, and other physical obstructions.
• Formalize, construct, and manage appropriate access trails, according to NPS trail standards. See the map below to view proposed formal trails within the park.
• Add new trails into official park management system.
• Add signs to new trails directing visitors to climbing formations; require visitors to stay on trails in areas where resource protection is needed.

The interactive map below displays proposed formal trails, existing trails, and parking areas with the park. Zoom in to view an aerial photo basemap.

The park proposes to manage the impacts to sensitive natural resources with the following actions:

• Implement surveys, mapping, and monitoring of sensitive natural resources—including plants, lichens, and wildlife—in climbing and bouldering areas.
• Implement education programs regarding sensitive species for climbers. Limit the establishment of new climbing routes in areas with sensitive natural resources.
• Continue seasonal closures to protect nesting raptors; review sensitive resource data for impact trends; and consider additional actions necessary to protect these resources such as re-routing access trails to avoid further damage.

The park proposes to manage the impacts to cultural resources with the following actions:

• In consultation with Native American communities, identify historic properties, assess any negative impacts to these properties, design and implement protection measures to address impacts; develop an effectiveness monitoring plan; and draft individual site protection plans where necessary.
• Implement archeological/ethnographic stewardship education programs for climbers, including opportunities for involvement by interested traditionally associated Native American communities.
• Continue efforts to document the history of climbing in Joshua Tree National Park by conducting inventories and identifying historically significant climbs/routes and completing a historic resources study of the history of recreational rock climbing.
• Continue efforts to document and acknowledge the significant role Joshua Tree National Park has held in the history of recreational climbing.

The park proposes to manage the impacts of bouldering, highlining and slacklining in the park with the following actions: 

• Designate appropriate locations for use of crash pads.
• Designate appropriate frontcountry locations for highlines and slacklines. 
• Identify appropriate slacklining and highlining practices, including anchoring practices.
• Identify appropriate bouldering practices, including use of tick marks and crash pads.
• Require permits for installation or replacement of fixed anchors in frontcountry areas, and review permit requests for potential impacts to natural resources, cultural resources, or other recreational activities.
• Prohibit the installation of fixed anchors for highlining or slacklining in wilderness.

The park proposes to manage commercial use authorizations, to bring climbing guides into compliance with the Wilderness Act. Commercial use authorizations would distinguish authorized uses in wilderness versus nonwilderness.

The park is exploring actions to address issues with access trails, fixed anchors, and social trail rehabilitation in climbing and bouldering areas of the park. Public input this past year identified a few areas as priorities to initiate these actions, including the Astro Domes and Geology Tour Road Area. Additional priority areas could be considered with public input, however, ultimately all climbing areas will be managed according to the final plan. Details will be further described in the draft plan/environmental assessment. Public input is requested regarding the proposed treatment areas described below.

Trails. In areas of heavy climbing use, the park would establish and formalize a limited number of trails as described above. The park would rehabilitate social trails not incorporated into the formalized trail system. 

Anchors/bolts. In cooperation with climbing partners, the park would implement bolting/rebolting projects on select routes in priority areas that would (1) replace fixed anchors where needed for climber safety (including in wilderness, where appropriate); (2) evaluate and, if determined inappropriate, remove bolt-intensive routes to comply with the Wilderness Act and address natural and cultural resource concerns; and (3) fill and camouflage abandoned bolt holes. Climbing style categories would inform decision making on the installation or replacement of fixed anchors on routes in wilderness. Here are proposed style categorizations for the  North Astro Dome ,  South Astro Dome , and the  Geo Tour  treatment areas. Most of the wilderness routes do not meet the proposed definition of a sport climb within Joshua Tree National Park, and therefore would be considered for bolt replacement as needed.

Chalk. Partner with climbing groups to educate the public and work to immediately clean chalked tick-marks, which is difficult to remove when left uncleaned.

Communication. Implement a communication / education program including signs, social media, park publications, targeted outreach to climbing gyms, commercial use permit holders, and guide book authors. 

Monitoring. Monitor the areas post-treatment. 

The interactive map below shows proposed treatment areas in the park. Zoom in to view rock formations with climbing routes. Rock formation labels will display as you zoom in.

The map below contains every data layer displayed in this document's previous interactive maps. Click the Expand button in the upper right corner for a full-screen view of the map. Data layers can be checked on and off from the Layers list in the upper-right corner next to the Map Key.

To comment online, visit:  https://parkplanning.nps.gov/JOTRclimbing . The park will accept comments from January 13 through February 27, 2022. For additional information, including information about an upcoming public meeting on February 8, 2022, please visit the Climbing Management Plan website at:  https://www.nps.gov/jotr/getinvolved/climbingplan.htm .

 Glossary of Climbing Terms 

Proposed style categorizations:  North Astro Dome ,  South Astro Dome  and  Geo Tour 

 Joshua Tree National Park website 

 Background information on Joshua Tree National Park 

 Director's Order #41: Wilderness Stewardship (DO-41) 

 The Wilderness Act 

 Joshua Tree Wilderness 

 NPS Laws & Policies 

 NPS NEPA Handbook 

 NPS Office of Native American Affairs