moving to UT, Cedar City or Logan? for best climbing opportunities/town scene

Hey Utah climbers,

I'm thinking of taking a job in Utah and was wondering if you could offer me some advice about choosing between Logan or Cedar City.
Which area has more/better outdoor climbing?
I'm interested in both sport and trad, as well as possibly a little bouldering. I really do enjoy multi-pitch much more than cragging though.
Of course distances to Moab and Indian Creek factor in as well, but it's about 4 hours from Cedar City and 5 hours from Logan so that's not too big of a difference, for weekend trips out.
Also I'm not too familiar with climbing in Utah besides Moab and the creek, are there similar areas around the state, with those perfect sandstone splitter cracks?
Which area has more access to indoor gyms nearby?
Is it pretty easy to pick up a climbing partner in both of these places?

Also could anyone tell me a little about those cities? I know both are college towns, but was wondering what the atmosphere is like in each. Hippies? All Mormons and Mennonites? Farmers/ranchers? What is nightlife like, if there is any at all? Are these cities bike friendly?

Thanks,
Monika

Monika, you will not find either location as hip as Helena, MT in my opinion, but Logan would be the closest. Yes, smaller towns in UT have a higher concentration of Mormons than Salt Lake. These are both state schools with mostly Mormons in attendance.

If I were your age and not a Christian, then culturally I would not consider either town. Mormons are great folks, but organized (and Mormons are the most organized and fastest growing of all) religion plays a huge role in their lives, young and old. It permeates many of their state and local laws, employment advancement, tenancy applications, etc.

If you are a religious person, you might find either town refreshing and void of the unwashed like myself.

Wanting to hang out in a climbing gym, etc, I would bet Logan would be the better choice.

However, Cedar City offers world class multi-pitch free and aid climbing in Zion. Sunlight Buttress, IV, 5.11, just minutes away from Cedar was Charlie Fowlers addition to the “Fifty Favorite Climbs in North America” book published in 2001. The Zickle Zicicle (WI 5), Namaste (5.12a) and the Headache (5.10) have all three been featured in multiple climbing magazines along with many other routes in Zion. Red Rock is a 2.5 hr drive. St. George Utah (45 min) is basically a 1000 route outdoor sport climbing gym nine months out of the year. The only folks I know who climb past the 5.13 sport realm all spend time here in the winter months (on limestone).

Cedar City has some weird but cool climbing spots, cobblestones at Parowan Gap and welded tuff at West Cedar Crags...strange stuff all around. Much more rock and ice to be had and even decent backcountry skiing...but Zion is the deal, big wall and/or free climbing.

But Logan has to have a better social scene than Cedar. Its school has three times the enrollment but not even twice the population, thus more impacted as a University town. Logan is 2 hrs to City of Rocks, but little multi pitch to be found there, I have climbed all multi pitch there is at the City and some of that is even off limits today. Cedar City is 2.5hrs to Red Rock, NV which is infamous world wide for multi pitch trad. I have done 20 pitch routes on Mt. Wilson. and have climbed over 300 multi pitch routes at Red Rock . If younger and interested in pushing your climbing limits, Zion and Red Rock are the places to do that. The climbing at Salt Lake (1.5hrs from Logan) is fairly urban in comparison. The Winds in WY is 4hrs from Logan and offers quality alpine rock routes.

I live in St. George, but if I were not a full time climber who spends more time on the road than I do at home, I would rather live in a more culturally diverse place. (I still split time between here and Canmore, Alberta, thus my familiarity with Helena) It obviously is not an issue since I travel so much, thus St. George is perfect for me. If I were young, had to work in town, worried about job opportunities going forward, dating, etc....I would much rather live in CA, CO, AZ or Alberta where there is significant climbing and culture. If I had a family, UT (St. George anyway) has great health care, education (via incredulous magnet schools) and ridiculously low crime per capita in comparison to just about any other state.

Good luck with your decision.

Zion Free Climbs

Zion has a few splitters...Kung Fu Fighter, 5.10+/11-...a classic I have climbed maybe a dozen times....

Don't move to Cedar City if you want a town scene. Move there if you want a lifetime of adventure climbing possibilities and a lifetime of sport climbing within a 1.5 hour drive

I moved to Logan in 1999 precisely for the climbing and to finish my undergrad because there are hundreds of climbing routes within 15 minutes of campus. Sport/Trad, its all there, and I still love the endless limestone lines I learned to climb on. Great canyon, fun little ski hill not too far out.

The town scene is very typical for a northern Utah town: not much of a nightlife. Working in clinics at the time I even came across folks who had just moved in from elsewhere who were not Mormon and they had panic attacks because they felt very isolated...not many folks going for coffee/grabbing a beer after work. Heck, I'm Mormon and I didn't feel like I fit in as I was used to growing up on liberal college campuses like Cornell and UW-Madison.

That said, there has been a lot of change in Cache Valley in the last 16 years and the climbing community has exploded. With the growth of the population there has been huge changes in the community dynamics.

If you move there let me know and I will hook you up with my buddy, Casey from Kayesville, who wrote the current guidebook for Cache Valley climbs and is the most connected guy I know for getting people hooked up with great partners. He is the King of Stoke.

The above posters have provided tons of good info. I have not lived in either town so can't speak to the town scene, but as far as outdoor stuff, it's worth noting the (obvious) fact that Cedar City is in the southern desert and Logan is in a mountain valley up in the Wasatch mountains. Thus, they have very different vibes when you are outside. If you love living in the desert, Cedar City has you covered. I love to visit there but would find living in the desert depressing; I love living in the Wasatch mountains. As far as climbing, Cedar City is next to desert climbing (sandstone especially) like Dow notes, while Logan has tons of limestone practically within city limits and is within pretty close driving times to lots of Rocky Mountain-style climbing destinations in N. Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, with the rock types you expect in the mountains.