Head of a Peregrine Falcon.

2023 Trapps Peregrine Falcon Closure Announced

The Mohonk Preserve has announced a temporary closure of climbing and bouldering in the Trapps to protect peregrine falcons starting February 1st.

  • Climbing – The sections between and including “Laughing Man” (5.11) and “Clunies Jollies” (5.12).
    • If you aren’t familiar with those climbs, the closure includes the climb after “Welcome to the Gunks” and before “Credibility Gap” — to the climb before “Simple Suff”.
  • Bouldering – The areas The Buddha, Nameless, Murray and Boxcar. This includes all problems from Atlas (V10) to Little Death

They are implementing a broader closure at the beginning of the breeding season to optimize successful nest site selection. Once a nest is established, they will adjust the extent of the closure based on the line-of-sight approach that they typically use. In 2022, they updated the closure to a smaller area in late March, and re-opened all of the Trapps in mid-July, but the timing depends on what the birds are doing.

For more details, go to the preserve’s Peregrine Watch page.