*Established in 2008*
CRAGS - Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento - is a nonprofit organization protecting access to Northern California climbing areas, advocating for climbers’ interests, constructively addressing the concerns of landowners and other land users, and working to keep climbing areas clean, safe and healthy.
CRAGS was founded in 2008 in response to the closure of all climbing at the popular Auburn Quarry in Auburn State Recreation Area in the Sierra Foothills. CRAGS is the Sacramento to Tahoe climbers’ coalition and represents diverse climbers from the Central Valley area around Vacaville and Davis through Greater Sacramento into the Sierra Foothills and classic granite climbing areas along Highway 50 and 88 west of Lake Tahoe.
CRAGS is the LCO - local climbing organization - affiliated with the national Access Fund. CRAGS works with the Tahoe Climbing Coalition (TCC) and Bay Area Climbers Coalition (BACC) as well as other non-profit climbing and outdoor organizations, as well with land managers from the US Forest Service, BLM, California State Parks and various other municipal parks and recreation departments.
From 2008 through the present, CRAGS has worked to advocate for legal climbing access and responsible climber use of climbing areas throughout northern California.
Our work includes a focus on:
Policy advocacy and relationship building with land managers
Maintaining and constructing trail infrastructure
Trash and graffiti removal
Climber education
Fundraising
Bringing together other conservation groups and industry stakeholders
Our work is conducted on a rotating regular basis through the year, focused primarily in the Spring, Summer and Fall seasons.
Spring season work is focused in the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills
Summer season work is focused in the Highway 50 and Highway 88 corridors in the Sierra region west of Lake Tahoe
Fall season work is focused in the same Highway 50/88 region and in the Sierra Foothills.
CRAGS has regular monthly board of directors’ meetings locally in Sacramento. Some summer meetings happen on location at various climbing areas.
CRAGS has regular monthly climber socials at a rotating list of local climbing gyms as well as occasional climber coffee meetings at local climbing areas.
CRAGS activities and meetings are posted online on our website, communicated via email and posted to various social media accounts.
All participants in trail activities sign appropriate waivers and CRAGS maintains liability insurance coverage for our work.
All trail activities are conducted with permission and in some cases under formal volunteer services agreements (VSA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU) with land management agencies.
Some fundraising activities are conducted in conjunction with our national partner organization - the Access Fund - with whom we engage in various trail maintenance activities.
2008-Present: Originally founded to re-open climbing access at Auburn Quarry in the Auburn State Recreation Area, CRAGS continues to work on projects at the Quarry. Currently we’re working on improving the trail infrastructure to the Upper Quarry and re-opening the climbing at Horseshoe Canyon which is currently temporarily closed due to rockfall.
2017-Present: Currently we have a major project underway on Highway 50. This is a multi-year, stewardship initiative sponsored by CRAGS and the Access Fund which will address critical maintenance, stewardship and access improvement needs at popular crags along Highway 50. The three crags that will be addressed during this project are Lovers Leap, Phantom Spires and Sugarloaf. The first and largest phase of this project will be at Lover’s Leap. Join us again this summer as we continue work there. \
We have many other smaller projects throughout the year. Join us to help support climbing in the Greater Sacramento, Sierra Foothills and the west side of Lake Tahoe along Highway 50, Highway 88 and beyond.