Western U.S. Road trip ideas

Hey so I am planning a road trip with some buddies this summer. We would be going from mid to late June, for a little over 2 weeks. Im looking for good sport climbing and bouldering areas in the Western half of the U.S. (we live in Wisconsin and are heading West). Since there are so many possibilities and not so much time, I was hoping you guys could suggest some areas that we should definitely check out.
Thanks
Luke

Hey I might put in a word for heading to Wyoming. For sport climbing, you could stop by Ten Sleep, which I have heard is vastly different than any other sport crag, then continue west to Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris. They are both near Lander, WY which is a great town for climbers. Great routes, lots of variety, and a great setting. There is also a great climber's festival in July if you feel like sticking around.

For sport climbing I wouldn't miss Rifle, in Colorado. Hard steep routes, for a projecting mindset.
In Wyoming, I only know the Lander area (Wild Iris/Sinks). I went there last summer and had a great time. Great climbing, great scenery and Lander is an awesome town. Plus free camping.
And there are a couple of very popular places where I haven't been to yet: Maple Canyon in Utah and Ten Sleep in Wyoming.

I think that would cover your 2 week trip. Have fun!

you could easy spend 2 weeks in any state. Assuming you'll drive I-80/I-90, you may as well go to Wyoming first then maybe city of Rocks and finally uintas ?? Then hit Rifle and some Co high stuff on the way back.

john strand wrote:you could easy spend 2 weeks in any state. Assuming you'll drive I-80/I-90, you may as well go to Wyoming first then maybe city of Rocks and finally uintas ?? Then hit Rifle and some Co high stuff on the way back.

IMO, this is way too much to try to do in 2 weeks. With an itinerary like that, you would spend more than half of the trip in the car or sorting out camping, etc. You'll have a much better trip and do a lot more climbing if you choose one or two good destinations and stick to them. You could easily spend two weeks in one place (especially major areas like Tensleep, Rifle, Maple), or choose 2 areas and spend a week at each.

The "big 3" for summer sport climbing, as mentioned above, are Tensleep, Rifle, and Maple. All are superb, and you could spend many seasons at each. Also quite worthy as destination sport crags are Lander, City of Rocks, and the Black Hills (Spearfish, Rushmore, etc). Lots of other worthwhile summer crags exist too (Unitas, Devil's Head, Independence Pass, American Fork, and so on), but perhaps should not be at the top of your list with a short trip.

Now which one to choose? It really depends what you are looking for. What styles of climbing do you like, and at what grades? Rifle would be a very, very good choice for June, but only if you climb in the mid 5.12 to 5.14 range. It really isn't worth a trip if you are looking for 5.10-5.11 routes. Maple is an amazing steep crag with good June weather and a nice grade distribution, but it is a lot more driving from WI. The Wyoming areas are probably the best choice: closer to WI, lots of climbing, wide grade range, good variety, good June weather. If you choose one area, go to Tensleep. If you choose two areas, go to Lander and Tensleep (in this case, go to Lander first and then finish with TS, since the weather is a touch warmer at the Lander crags). You could also combine a week in TS quite easily with a week in the Black Hills (Spearfish, Rushmore, etc), since they are quite close together.

Maybe..depends on the weather..in a short trip I tend to bail and go to the next place. IMO Black Hill can get pretty hot by the end of June, and Sinks too,of course anyplace could. Coming from Wisconsin though humidity won't have any affect !!

Wi to Wy is only a day drive

Thanks for all the responses, this helps out a lot. I totally forgot to mention that we're looking for climbs in the 5.8-5.11 range, and V2-V5 (we're not exactly what you'd call pros). So I'm guessing Rifle is out of the picture then, but I was wondering about RMNP as a bouldering destination? I have heard mixed reviews about it. I'm thinking we will probably spend a good chunk of time in Ten Sleep, it sounds sweet. Also, any 14ers or 13ers that anyone would recommend in the Southern Wyoming/ Northwestern Colorado region? I'm thinking that might be a cool break day from climbing.

While the high-altitude CO areas (RMNP and Mt Evans) have problems at all grades, they are definitely better for boulderers operating further up the grade scale. RMNP would still worth a visit, of course, if you wanted to go there, since you'd still find problems to try, the hiking and scenery are astounding, and there is a ton of other climbing around that area too. You could make a pretty good trip out of spending a week sport climbing in TS, then cruising down to Estes Park / RMNP for a week of bouldering, sport climbing, and hiking some peaks. There are various worthwhile sport crags in Estes, nothing quite like Tensleep, but worth a day or two mixed in with the other options around RMNP.

Another option, if you wish to incorporate a mix of bouldering and sport climbing into your trip, the bouldering options around Lander have really been blowing up recently. The bouldering there isn't yet a "major destination", but when mixed in with sport climbing at Wild Iris, it might make for a good option. There is a new guidebook, out last year, that would provide the neccesary info fixedpin.com/Bouldering_in_…

If you are in Tensleep and want to climb a big peak, check out Cloud Peak ( summitpost.org/cloud-peak/1…). Super awesome 2-3 day excusrion. Be aware, though, that it is definitely not a day trip (except for the ultra-fit, perhaps), and you'll probably still be dealing with a fair bit of snow up there in June...might be a bit too early in the year.