Moving to Lawrence, KS. Anywhere to climb?

My name is Becca. I am from MA, recently lived in CA for 4 years, and moving to Lawrence KS. Is there a community of climbers here? How far away are there good places for top rope 5.7?

Thanks!

As a former MA resident, i suggest driving west several hours on I-70

KS, as in Kansas? OMG, you poor thing. You might have to take up slingshot shooting.

There is lots of single pitch sandstone in NW Arkansas, about 4-5 hours from you.

Welcome to the life of the Midwestern road warrior.

KU has a climbing wall and I think there is a bouldering gym, Strength Lab? Kansas City has a larger community of climbers, and IBEX is a huge climbing gym. Also check out this facebook group:

facebook.com/groups/kcclimb…

Around Kansas City there are a few dumpy places to climb. Archibald has is correct though - your going to be making a ton of trips to NW Arkansas or drive out to CO. Arkansas is still growing in terms of route development, and a long weekend can net you plenty of quality time on good stone.

Second what Andy said. Warsaw in MO has some stuff worth checking out for a day or weekend. There is also a new guidebook for Missouri climbing coming out sometime this year. People on that FB group will have more info for sure.

Climbing around Lawrence? No. Bring your mountain bike though. There are some really great river trails and the old river road towards Topeka has some scenic views and cuts through a nice wooded area above the river basin (or in it). Southern Missouri has some limestone areas and would be worth looking into further.

If you don't mind the gyms- Strength Lab in Lawrence and if you are a student KU has a nice wall. Monster Mountain (MM)in Overland park (Mondays 1/2 off Thursday ladies night 1/2)(TR) and Ibex in Blue springs (TR,S,B) and the Bouldering cave.
I like MM because it is close. There is also Cliff Drive in KCMO. not great rock but close drive. Not recommended you stay past dark. I personally never had any problems there. Eric is right they do have great trails around there for Mtn Bikes.

I got offered a job in Kansas City in 2009. I did a ton of research on climbing opportunities in the area, and based on my findings I declined the job offer. I am not saying you cannot live in KC and still be a climber, but for me the lack of climbing and travel requirements for climbing made KC a very unattractive place to live. YMMV, and I wish you the best of luck with your move.

There's some sport climbing along river banks a few hours in MO--look up Warsaw and Trappers Camp in the Missouri section here on MP (3 or so hours from Lawrence) Also, there is great climbing 5-6 hours away in Arkansas.

I'm relocating to Leavenworth, KS soon. I have some climbing friends in KS/MO, am familiar with the climbing there and will be happy to rope up with you. Feel free to contact me.
Dave

Thank you so much for all the input! I am a new climber so I am ok with putting off consistent climbing for one year of job experience with the company I am going to be working for. I know ya'll will curse me for not taking the offer with the same company in Denver, but Lawrence, KS is half the living cost! I wanna save some money and then maybe transfer to CO. Is gym rock climbing worth it? Seems so sac religious! :-P

IMO gym climbing is worth it both because you have no other option to climb outdoors nearby and it's usually a pretty good way to meet local climbers. Can't comment on the gyms closest to you but I've found partners both at Ibex and the Cave pretty easily when visiting family.

BeccaWants2Climb wrote:Thank you so much for all the input! I am a new climber so I am ok with putting off consistent climbing for one year of job experience with the company I am going to be working for. I know ya'll will curse me for not taking the offer with the same company in Denver, but Lawrence, KS is half the living cost! I wanna save some money and then maybe transfer to CO. Is gym rock climbing worth it? Seems so sac religious! :-P