COVID-19 Information

Flatten The Curve

Empty The Crags

Protect Yourselves, Protect Your Community, Stay At Home!

BACC and our partners are cancelling all upcoming events in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll do our best to reschedule as soon as we are confident we are able to host an event that is safe and fun for all participants. We’re grateful for our energetic community of volunteers and appreciate your understanding during this time. 

Even if you’re young and feeling healthy, now is not the time to go on a climbing trip. Please be conscious of your impact and the stealth spread of this virus, and respect the gateway communities and our crags in the Bay Area and beyond by staying home. The temptation to go climbing outdoors – especially in light of gyms being closed – may be higher than ever, but we each have a responsibility to play our part in limiting the impact of this pandemic. The best way to ensure we all can get back to climbing as soon as possible is by choosing to stay home now.

Areas Closed to Climbing

We will be maintaining the following list of closed Bay Area crags as we receive updates from land managers. We implore you to do what’s best for everyone, even if a crag remains open, by staying home and helping to flatten the curve.

RegionCrag
East BayMortar Rock closed until further notice
South BaySummit Rock open weekends and holidays
Last Updated 12/17/2020

Remaining Active Outdoors

While the areas above are closed to climbing, there are still options for exercising outdoors. The San Francisco Chronicle has put together a helpful map listing parks, beaches and nature trails in the Bay Area and Northern California, including statuses and restrictions.

As Climbing Reopens

Some climbing areas are beginning to re-open, and while we still urge folks to avoid unnecessary risk and endangerment of others, if you decide to climb, please consider these precautions:

Illustrations courtesy of Coit Creative and the BCC
  • Stay local – Avoid putting undue strain on other communities and obey state and county rules
  • Manage risk – Nobody expects to require SAR, emergency facilities or hospitalization, but during this time we must take extra care to make sure we aren’t adding burden to an already strained system.
  • Wear a mask – Masks remain an excellent way to help mitigate the risk of transmission.
  • Keep your plans flexible – It may be disappointing to arrive at the crag only to find it too crowded to stay, but be prepared to move on to another spot or try another day.
  • Maintain social distance – By now, we’ve all heard we need to maintain a minimum of 6 feet of distance. Sometimes this will mean limiting the number of routes available at a given time. Avoid the temptation to squeeze your climb in.
  • Leave no trace – Avoid contamination and keep our climbing areas beautiful. Now more than ever, and especially with Adopt-a-Crag events being postponed, we need to do everything we can to reduce our impact.

Information From Partner Organizations

As we receive information about neighboring climbing destinations, we will provide updates here.

Tahoe Climbing Coalition

The community of Tahoe has been asking people not to visit and has been discouraging group outdoor activities.

TCC has a COVID-19 notice available on their website.

Here are some more links about traveling to Tahoe and U.S. Forest Service closures in the area: