If I move to Ann Arbor, where can I climb?

I may be moving from Colorado to Ann Arbor for work. I know that this would mean a lot more driving to climb. I'm trying to get a sense of what the options are. It looks like the closest major rock area is the Red. What's closer? Where do locals go? How badly would my life suck (climbing-wise)?

You'd climb at Planet Rock a lot, which is a really good gym, best in the midwest, probably. Then you'd road trip to the Red (6 hrs) with a lot of regulars. Probably also to the New, which is about the same distance.

You'll spend a lot of time in the car.

Planet Rock also has a gym in Pontiac. Also check out Grand Ledge, in Grand Ledge, MI. It's up near Lansing. Coming from CO to MI def sucks ass as far as climbing goes.

Grand Ledge has a couple of short sand stone routes and I think its only an hour or two away.Its located about 15 minutes west of Lansing Maybe worth a day trip but not enough to occupy a whole weekend. I grew up in Michigan and the idea of rock climbing never crossed my mind, if I had to move back I'd move to the U.P. and start ice climbing. Good luck, b.

"If I move to Ann Arbor, where can I climb?"

Hell. There'll be a door straight there in your basement.

Comes with each house in Ann Arbor.

You'll appreciate it in February. At least it's warm.

Surprised no one's mentioned Rattlesnake Point, Ontario (about an hour before you get to Toronto). The recommended direction of the move for climbing, however, is definitely Ann Arbor to Colorado, not the other way around! Great place for water lovers though.

The amount of climbing in the mitten amounts to nil. Grand Ledge is worth checking out for a day, but is pretty silly.

The gym in Ann Arbor is really nice. Good long routes to get you in shape for the Red. The route setting is good.

The Red will be the principle destination for you I suspect. The drive is doable, and the climbing worth every bit.

Summary, your climbing life will be bruised and covered with bandaids.

Anywhere you want to: The Detroit airport is only 30 minutes away!

Only half a joke unfortunately; with a direct flight I can be back in Colorado in less time than a drive to the Red.

But the Red is fantastic. Many of my old Colorado buds make that trip every fall. Canada is good when the Red is too hot and humid, although some of the places that are closer are very polished (Ratttlesnake). There's a smallish trad cliff near there that's good. Mostly, though, it's 6 hours to good climbing, south or north.

The gym is pretty good, as mentioned. They have two route setters that I think do some good work. The Pontiac gym is an hour away and worth the drive for variety and the height (75 feet?).

Although if you climb as hard as Willem, you might burn through the routes pretty quickly. How's it going man?

Dr. Evil if you make it out here, give me a shout. I moved from Boulder a few years ago. I won't kid you, it was hard. I still struggle with it. But the gym saves what sanity I have left!

The Red: 6.5 hrs
Marquette area in the U.P.: 7.5 hrs
Grand Ledge sucks
Don't do it man. You will eventually implode. I grew up there, and I recently turned down some serious coin to move back to southern Michigan. Tried moving back several years ago for $$ as well, and it was a complete abortion of the mind.
Unless you can find happiness being the 2-3 weekend/ month kind of climber, you will find yourself wondering...'What The Hell Have I Done??"
but yeah, there's always the gym.

If you drive through the night and there is plenty of places to go. SoIll, The Gunks, The Red, Seneca, The New, The UP, etc... all with in 6-8 hrs dive. Think about taking up ice if you don't already. At least that is what I did when going to school there.

SeaJellie huh? You back in AA? Hope you had a good summer season. I got hosed out of my 10sleep trip, but have found some nice rock around this area. Give me a shout if you are ever in the boston/NH area!

Climb back in your car and go to Zingermans's.

It'll be another long drive but if you have a long week-end a trip to Devil's Lake in Wisconsin would be well worth your while.

Ed Wright wrote:It'll be another long drive but if you have a long week-end a trip to Devil's Lake in Wisconsin would be well worth your while.

Might also look into taking the high speed fairie across Lake Michigan to save time.

Otherwise, I do know that a new guidebook for the Marquette area has came out and there is alot of rock (whether climbable or not) in the keweenaw penninsula.

Also some nice spots up on the Bruce Penninsula in Ontario, somebody above mentioned Lionshead. Its too bad there is not more rock in MI, as it actually is a beautiful state for about 6 months of the year with all the water. (aka get a sea kayak, or start wakeboarding)

With regard to Grandledge, its not much, but you could get outside for a day when the weather is nice and there is a free guidebook online from fixed pin publishing.

There is also some small sea cliffs on the very tip of thumb area near Port Austin, like 25 feet accessible by boat. Doubt any of it is climbable, but maybe a VERY short solo is possible out of a kayak....about 2 hours north of Ann Arbor.

As you can tell, I have left the state but still miss the water sometimes in the summer

+1 for the Great lakes its the only thing (besides family)that I miss in America's High Five. Quit climbing and be a beach bum!

Well, bwillem, you know once you join AA, it's failure to ever think that you can leave.....

And Dr. Evil, that brings me to a pertinent point for you: Maybe you think this is a short term move, but don't discount the possibility that you could get stuck in A2 far longer than you expected. Which is what has happened to me.

If you can manage three-day or longer weekends on a regular basis, or long summer vacations, you can keep the love alive. Without such flexibility, ooofda. I'd never make it.

On the positive side, you might get stronger than ever before - because there is so little to do other than go to the gym and climb. Plus it's really hard to not gain excess weight during the winter here, so it's like carrying an extra perfectly-balanced ten pound training weight, which you are free to lose in spring. Have we convinced you yet?

Yes, the water is nice during the dog days.

Willem - bummer on the 10sleep falling asleep... we displaced individuals need our recreation. Last summer was OK for me, not great. Would be cool to hit NE this summer - will keep it in mind!

Edit: Great point below about other activities, like mtn biking. Good system of trails around lakes about 20 min west of A2.

I lived in Ann Arbor for 18 years, before going to school in Kalamazoo and trying to make enough money to move to CO.

My honest opinion: Learn to mountain bike, canoe, or disc golf if you don't already. You'll save lots of gas and still get your outdoor fix. Michigan has world-class outdoor recreation, just not climbing.

My useful opinion: Planet rock has good routes but IMO is a little stuck up and unfriendly for my taste. Never done Grand Ledge. Someone mentioned Rattlesnake Point near Milton, ON. the routes are short compared to the New or the Red (both about 6-7 hours away depending on if it's a quota weekend for the Ohio State Police or not) but the rock and the variety is really good. Seneca is also within "weekend" distance if you're into trad.

Also, there is an infinite amount of abandoned structures in Detroit you can probably climb or builder on without anybody caring.

Thanks everyone - this is so helpful. It's great to know the good and the bad before committing to a move. I love the honesty.

Hi, I am in somewhat of a similar situation except that I am trying to figure out where to go for grad school (Fort Collins vs. Ann Arbor). Anyway, I realize this thread is nearly 4 years old, but have to wonder why no one has mentioned Devil's Lake State Park Wisconsin? It is slightly more than a 6 hour drive and it has 1000s of established routes.

Hey Adrian,

I was in a really similar situation a year ago, deciding between Salt Lake City and Ann Arbor. The building that houses the campus climbing gym is being renovated, but it will be open again next January. It's good for bouldering and fun if you want to get into route setting.

Planet Rock is great. It feels like a small step down from Earth Treks (I'm from Maryland), but it's much less expensive (membership sale on black friday for 520$ annual membership).

I'm planning on checking out Devil's Lake over the summer, but I haven't met many other people here who climb trad. I think a lot of people avoid Devil's Lake because they don't like top-rope culture and would rather do sport lines at the Red.

Feel free to PM me if you decide on Ann Arbor! I'm always looking for more climbing partners and it'd be cool to check out Devil's Lake with other trad climbers.