Smith Rock, wild, busy, crazy, cramped Memorial Day Weekend

I am posting this not as a complaint, but as a Public Service Announcement of actual conditions in Smith Rock State Park on Memorial Day Weekend 2015. Hopefully with enough information folks visiting in 2016 we plan ahead.

Our third year here as volunteers in the Visitor Center Yurt. We had record numbers visiting. The bivouac was crammed. Skull Hollow was sold out. Dispersed camping behind Skull Hallow was "very busy". We were suggesting Steelhead Falls as a "possible" campground, we had no way of knowing if it was full also.

Today the ranger counted 128 cars parked on Wilcox outside of the State Park. That did not include the ones parked outside the park on Crooked River Drive. Locals complained to the rangers that they couldn't get out of their driveways. Kind of forced the rangers to right parking tickets. Had a young mother in the visitor practically in tears because she got a parking ticket. On the east side of Crooked River Drive. "No Parking" signs were not visible. Lots of other cars there(they got tickets also). Citation = $110 fine. I felt really bad for her.

Bivouac hosts were letting people park in their space just so a few more people could camp.

Gross but true, main restroom next to the visitor center has a septic system with different levels. Whenever the primary system gets full an alarm goes off until the system can pump down to clear it. The alarm was almost non-stop the entire weekend. Fortunately, no over overflow. The bivouac system has a similar situation but it did not back up either.

When climbers new to Smith Rock stopped by the visitor center for advice on where to go we encouraged them to make the trek out to the Marsupials, Adit and/or Staender. These areas are outside of the Eagle Closure Zones. Had a couple of climbers come in the visitor describing their climbs inside the Falcon Closure Zones, ooops. From the picnic tables behind the visitor center looking out over Morning Glory, Cinnamon, and the Dihedral it looked like a seating at a concert people waiting to get on routes. Ok that's an exaggeration, but there were lots of people there. Had a couple of girls visit that said they got "pushed out" of Cinnamon by a larger group that was partying more than climbing.

Got to talk with one of the leading guides in the area, he said it was insane. He started out early near Morning Glory but soon had to take his group over Asterisk to some "hidden pockets" that don't usually see much traffic.

Parking was insane. Worse than at the malls on Christmas Eve or Black Friday combined. We started loaning our bicycle out so people could make to 1-2 mile trip back to the car to put their parking passes in the window. We got our bike back every time.

So in spite of all the negativity that we heard we also got lots of reports of "awesome", "inspiring", "I will be back". If you were patient and social enough to put up with the crowd there was lots of good climbing had. We had several climbers new to Smith Rock stop in and say what a great time they had. They loved the rock, they loved the diversity of the routes. Most didn't mind a little walk to get away from the main climbing crush or waiting for a route to clear. Some said they gave up trying to get on routes and just hiked around because it was such an awesome place.

I am really juiced up tonight because I got to be part of an Epic Weekend at Smith Rock State Park.

Anyone want to ropegun some 5.7-5.9 for us Tuesday and Wednesday after the crowd leaves? I'll fix breakfast....

Hey dallas. I would be happy to set some sweet lines up for you guys. Thanks so much for the hard work and patience at smith this weekend. Ranger matt has told me how awesome you guys are. I work for smith rock climbing guides and live locally the whole summer. Feel free to send me a text or call anytime.

Cheers,

Derrick Peppers
971-276-2405

Thanks for posting, always good to hear the back story.

Although it was super busy, I had a pleasant experience climbing at Smith this weekend. Had a parking spot Fri-Mon no problem, and got on all the routes I wanted except 1 with minimal waiting. You just have to show up a little early, hit the main area before the hoards get out of bed, then move on to the outlying areas.

Even though the OP ends on a positive tone, probably by necessity, I am horrified.

Jplotz wrote: I am horrified.

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be horrifying.

I just wanted folks to know that Smith Rock State Park is no longer the sleepy hidden gym of climbing, that it is growing into a major destination and is going through some growing pains, including being crowded on holiday weekends.

As Quillaja says, come early, (before 9am)

The park staff is trying really hard to get more parking and improve the restroom facilities. Unfortunately the Oregon State Park organization is a tad bit slow to make changes, part of the problem is the budget they don't get every year.

Another silly reminder: Do not park on the East Side of Crooked River Drive. I still feel badly for the young mother who got the ticket. I didn't get to meet the other nine ticket recipients.

Dallas, I appreciate your optimism, but, despite the exceptionally busy weekend, I don't think Smith has been a sleepy gem for a long time.

I think the staff and volunteers at Smith are doing an amazing job of everything, especially given how many people use the park across all activities.

If I had only one improvement to make, it might be another composting toilet on the west side of the Smith group, perhaps somewhere on the trail between asterix pass and spiderman buttress. Even a single unit might be enough, though perhaps more cost effective to just build a double unit.

mediocre wrote:sleepy gem

Thanks for correcting my Freudian slip and spelling error. I so didn't mean to compare SRSP with a gym, I am putting hydrogen peroxide and denatured alcohol on my typing tongue now.

quillaja wrote:I think the staff and volunteers at Smith are doing an amazing job of everything, especially given how many people use the park across all activities. If I had only one improvement to make, it might be another composting toilet on the west side of the Smith group, perhaps somewhere on the trail between asterix pass and spiderman buttress. Even a single unit might be enough, though perhaps more cost effective to just build a double unit.

I will forward your idea to the Park Manager. Or maybe at a minimum they could adopt the blue bag thing like at Red Rock. Ok, that sucks, more toilets is better.

There are like 1700 routes at Smith, 700 in this database, not all are 4 stars but if you are waiting in line for a climb, spend more time looking at the Watt's guide. Overall it's really good for the park, Oregon State Parks are not tax payer funded, they are largely funded by user fees, so huge weekends really benefit the park as well as the Terrebonne economy. Most people who can climb on the weekdays are avoiding the weekends right now.

Jon Rhoderick wrote:Oregon State Parks are not tax payer funded, they are largely funded by user fees

One of the State Park staff mentioned to me that SRSP is one of the few parks that generate more income than it receives. I wish the money went straight to the park, but it goes to "Oregon State Parks" who in turn allocate funds. SRSP does not get to keep its income. Sigh!

But progress is being made. Anyone notice the new sidewalk between the yurt and the bathroom, or how spiffy the picnic ground bathrooms look. This week there will be construction around the visitor center.

Moving from Asterisk over to Llama today I noticed some nice new erosion control. Thank you Spring Thing.