HWY 50 Revival: Lover’s Leap

Posted on by webbacc

BACC is a proud supporter of CRAGS’ multi-year stewardship initiative, HWY 50 Revival: Lover’s Leap!

HWY 50 Revival by CRAGS logo. Lover's Leap is pictured in the background.

A favorite rock climbing destination from the Bay Area and the world over, Lover’s Leap has become enormously popular over the past twenty years. This growth has had a serious impact on the natural environment, leading to a degraded climber experience and threatening the future of climbing in the area.

CRAGS has been working with the El Dorado National Forest (U.S. Forest Service) and the Access Fund for years to develop and approve a plan to address erosion, stability, and difficulty of navigation. This multi-year initiative has an initial funding goal of $100,000, needed to cover the cost of tools, supplies, and trail crew fees.

The Lover’s Leap improvement project will:  

  • Close & restore redundant access paths
  • Provide stabilization improvements to access & descent routes
  • Harden climbing staging areas
  • Assist with vital maintenance of the Slippery Ford Trail
  • Construct multiple stone retaining walls and stair structures, reroute unsustainable sections of several current approach routes and install numerous erosion control structure
  • Provide appropriate directional and educational signage

BACC will be helping with fundraising and with volunteer coordination for weekend workdays throughout the summer of 2020. Volunteers will have a chance to work side-by-side with professional trail crews from one of the Access Fund’s Jeep Conservation Teams and from AmeriCorps.

“On any given weekend, many of the parties on the wall at Lover’s Leap are from the Bay Area,” says BACC President Maura LaRiviere. “Recognizing our impact on the land, the Bay Area Climbers Coalition is psyched to work with CRAGS and support the stewardship project to protect and preserve this important climbing area!”

Stay tuned for more details regarding volunteer opportunities. In the meantime, for more details and to make a donation, please visit www.hwy50revival.norcalcrags.org.