The size and vastness of this massive chunk of granite dwarfs the human form. Located a stone’s throw away from U.S. Highway 50, the superb walls of Lover’s Leap loom over the hamlet of Strawberry, 40 miles east of Placerville and 18 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe.

The Leap's steep, north-facing walls are at least a half-mile wide, and several climbing routes on its main and western walls rise dramatically to 600 feet. Rugged points of rock form a cliff band that separate into four distinct and forbidding bluffs.

The walls are part of the reason why some of North America’s most famous climbers have made first ascents at Lover’s Leap. They include: Warren Harding, Galen, Rowell, T.M. Herbert, Eric Beck, Jay Smith, and John Bachar.

Since 1954, when Phil Berry and Robin Linnett recorded their first ascent on the central wall of "East of Eeyore" (5.8), close to 140 other routes have been free-climbed on the Leap’s exposed crags.

A large part of Lover’s Leap appeal is its unique rock composition. Long ago, before it was even exposed to the earth’s surface, the rock was intensely fractured along horizontal planes.

Flows of a molten mass from deep inside the earth were squeezed into the fractures: there is solidified into veins geologists call "dikes." Rich in feldspar and quartz, these outcroppings are slow to erode, and they are great edges to grasp—ranging from a fraction of an inch to a foot wide.

"They're bomber holds. The big ones are like grabbing a dinner plate," explains Truckee resident and veteran climber, Gene Drake. Drake has made seven first ascents at Lover’s Leap, including the popular "April Fools" and "Vanishing Point" routes.

In 1968 Tom Higgins and Frank Sarnquist free-climbed on the East Wall, including an overhanging crack called "The Line" (5.9). They ushered in a new era of possibilities in free climbing. This was a climb that was first made “with aid” by T.M. Herbert. Aid climbing is when progress is made using pitons, bolts, and other devices for supporting one’s body weight. Free climbing, on the other hand, emphasizes using only naturally occurring handholds and footholds; free climbers avoid using climbing hardware for progress.

With a big variety of climbs, Lover’s Leap is a world-class area located near the historic Strawberry Lodge, a Pony Express stop in the 1800s, overlooking the American River.