I took a trip to Turkey Rocks in Colorado to do some rock climbing a couple of weeks ago. Turkey Rocks reminds me a bit of Joshua Tree in the fact that the cracks are plentiful, the granite is course, and most routes are 1-3 pitches long, and the area has a ton of variety. We got on Ragger Bagger (5.8), Steppenwolf (5.9), and Gobblers Grunt (5.9 3P).

It was great to cut off civilization for a weekend and climb some solid rock. We camped in dispersed BLM sites at the bottom of the approach trail. It ended up being a bit warm and we climbed in the sun most of the time. But it’s a solid area worth exploration if you dig splitter cracks of varying sizes.

Routes Climbed:

Ragger Bagger: Great little route that has an awesome variety of lie backing, hand-jamming, stemming, and a short off-width section. Great rock, movement, and variety.

Steppenwolf: Awesome crack that moves through hands, fists, off-width, and has a bit of face climbing near the top. Solid route with the crux being the 4”-5” off-width crack section.

Too Much Crack: I gave this one a lead. Easy climbing leads to a move into a flaring finger crack (crux) about 30 feet up. It was the end of the day and I didn’t have the gusto or time to send it. So, after whipping, I bailed. Luckily, the first 30 feet are easy to downclimb and I didn’t need to leave any gear.

Gobbler’s Grunt: Solid route but challenging at the grade! We did the 5.9 pitch 1 variation. Pulling the roof on P1 felt 5.10, but otherwise, the pitch was solid hands the whole way. Pitch 2 ascended a bomber 5.9 dual finger crack system that eventually thinned out. You traverse right into a wide hand-fist crack eventually lie-backing a flake up to a roof. We opted to traverse left under the roof and climb some runout 5.6 face climbing to the belay. Pitch 3 was a fun 5.7 romp, up cracks and edges that led to the top.

Gobbler’s Grunt was a great route. I’d put the grade at 9+ if you take the 5.9 P1 variation. However, we were climbing it in hot conditions. So, that could have influenced my feeling of difficulty. Great protection and easy walk-off. Solid route.

  • Gobblers Grunt: Tyson near the top of pitch 2

Overall Turkey Rock’s is a hidden gem. There is plenty of rock to climb with just enough desolation to escape the crowds. If you’re looking for a unique area off the beaten path, go have a Turkey Rocks Sendwich!