Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Northern California → Big Sur → Wagon Caves

Location: East of Big Sur, California

Distance: varies depending on activity

Elevation Gain: ~100 feet

Time Required: 2 hours – all day

Red Tape/Notes: Last I read, there’s a bolting ban on the area, but current bolts can be maintained (there are also some top rope routes which you can be sure of). Additional information on climbing routes in the area can be found here.

What’s Nearby?: Mission San Antonia de Padua

The Wagon Caves area is a beautiful, rarely visited spot in the Los Padres National Forest. The area is very pretty for exploring, and has loads of shallow caves and cool rock formations, including one large cave (large enough for a wagon to shelter under…hence the name of the area). It’s also home to some fun climbing spots – the rock faces are covered in huecos of varying  sizes, ranging from perfect finger-sized holes to big two-hand jugs. The area is definitely kind of out of the way, so you pretty much have to go here on purpose, but there’s a fabulous campsite just off of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road with the prettiest little stream running beside the campsites, and you drive through Fort Hunter Liggett, which means you pass by some cool military training spots. And in the fall there are occasionally tarantulas migrating through the area, which is kind of cool if you’re into that sort of thing. We didn’t actually see any in the Wagon Caves area, just on Nacimiento Fergusson Road, so if you don’t like them, I don’t think they’re unavoidable.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Northern California → Big Sur → Wagon Caves