Northeast California Climbing

Northeast California is dominated by the Shasta Cascade, which comprises a vast and diverse part of Northern California's interior. In the center of the region is Mount Shasta (14,179 ft.), the second highest peak in the Cascade range. This massive volcano is visible from all of the highest peaks in the region.

From the thick, temperate forests in the western portion, to the sagebrush desert and volcanic tablelands in the east, the area offers an amazing potential for year around adventures. Reaching from the granitic Trinity Alps on the western boundary, north to the Oregon border, east to the Nevada border and south to Mount Lassen National Park, climbing opportunities can be found on Limestone, Rhyolite, Basalt and Granite.

Split by Interstate 5, the Shasta Cascade is easy to get to from the Northwest or Central California. Once you leave I-5 your adventure begins as most of the climbing destinations are reached by winding 2 lane highways and/or multi-hour to multi-day approaches. Without major population centers in the region, many of the areas see little traffic. Although some of the crags offer sport climbing on world class limestone and rhyolite, many of the areas such as the Trinity Alps and Castle Crags have a long history of traditional adventure climbing and a minimum impact, wilderness ethic prevails. When visiting the gems of the Shasta Cascade, please do your best to leave it as wild as you found it!

Also included here is the northern end of the Sierra Nevada.