Best sport climbing area in July?

Taking some friends who haven't climbed much in the last few years on a climbing trip in July.  Looking for recommendations on sport climbing areas with good 5.10s and some good low 5.11s without crazy heat or bugs.  We're in Minneapolis, MN and would prefer someplace close, but are willing to fly too 

tensleep wyoming is probably the closest world class crag with shit ton of mid 10's . sandstone MN has good moderates for your local option. 

Black Hills, S.D. ---Rushmore Needles; Spearfish Canyon---mostly harder than your grade range but enough within it for a few days; some smaller areas. There are even a handful of short sport routes a bit further west along the base of Devil's Tower. Those locales have been traditional road trips from the upper Midwest for decades.

Adam Bibeau wrote:

tensleep wyoming is probably the closest world class crag with shit ton of mid 10's . sandstone MN has good moderates for your local option. 

I'll also suggest Tensleep. It is a great place to be in the summer. In addition to the climbing (and there's a lot of good climbing) it's also a spectacular landscape - a proper "out west" trip experience.

Ten Sleep is a fairly long drive from MN though (12 hours from Twin Cities). Black Hills (Spearfish Canyon limestone and Rushmore granite) is a reasonably good option that is 3 hours closer (9 hours from Twin Cities).

If you decide to fly instead, some options include:

Canmore - Fly to Calgary, drive 1 hour to Canmore. Great summer temps, great scenery, lots of sport climbing on chossy limestone.

SLC Area - Fly to SLC, drive 1-2 hours to various crag options. Best summer sport crags are Uintas (good quartzite in an alpine setting) and Maple (crazy juggy cobble conglomerate). Both will have lots of good climbing in the desired grade range. These are in opposite (ish) directions from SLC, so you'd probably choose one or the other.

if u dont mind polished limestone rifle yes it costs a day fee to park but with free camping way up the road 

elk creek is nearby with better rock and not polished routes 

wild iris and sinks canyon in the shade too

JCM wrote:

I'll also suggest Tensleep. It is a great place to be in the summer. In addition to the climbing (and there's a lot of good climbing) it's also a spectacular landscape - a proper "out west" trip experience.

Ten Sleep is a fairly long drive from MN though (12 hours from Twin Cities). Black Hills (Spearfish Canyon limestone and Rushmore granite) is a reasonably good option that is 3 hours closer (9 hours from Twin Cities).

If you decide to fly instead, some options include:

Canmore - Fly to Calgary, drive 1 hour to Canmore. Great summer temps, great scenery, lots of sport climbing on chossy limestone.

SLC Area - Fly to SLC, drive 1-2 hours to various crag options. Best summer sport crags are Uintas (good quartzite in an alpine setting) and Maple (crazy juggy cobble conglomerate). Both will have lots of good climbing in the desired grade range. These are in opposite (ish) directions from SLC, so you'd probably choose one or the other.

yeah i would have suggested black hills and spearfish but moderate climbs are kinda hard to come by at spearfish. you almost want to be a solid 11+ climber. tensleep is dense with moderate routes haha. 

I think Rifle would be a very poor fit for your group.

I love the place, but the style is inobvious and initially quite frustrating.

There are some good easier routes, but many of them are extremely polished.

You do have the option of switching canyon sides to avoid the sun, and it is a classic area.

Weekends will be mobbed.

Main Elk is a fine local crag, but I wouldn't travel MN for it.

Most of Sinks is a hellish inferno in the summer. 

The dark side there is good, but limited.

Wild Iris would be a good fit for grades. 

It can be overly hot in the sun, but you could climb at the OK Corral and be ok.

Camping is really lovely.

Rushmore Needles are predominantly steep to vert crystal pinching if IIRC.

Very pleasant environment and possibility of free camping.

If you have any trad skills at all, it's worth also climbing in Custer State Park.

My impression of Spearfish was pockets in blank walls- ok if you can reach between them, but if not, tough luck.

But I didn't spend much time there.

Ten Sleep is a good choice. 

However, many of the walls bake in the sun until 3PM. (Plus part of Valhalla is closed for birds this year)

This is OK if that suits your biorhythms. 

If you are an early bird, Lake Point, lower Old Road and Psychoactive would provide plenty of climbing for a week or more.

Maple would be a good fit, but is probably also pretty crowded on weekends.

At some point in the summer the flies get kind of annoying, I believe.

The Uintas are pretty limited for sport, I believe- although not for trad.

There's the Good Medicine Wall, which is quite nice, but not super extensive, and the wall with Sessions- but the latter is in the sun and gets hot, despite the elevation. 

I though the FS campgrounds were subpar also- sites packed one upon another.

Regardless, just about anywhere beats Devils Lake :-)

Adam Bibeau wrote:

yeah i would have suggested black hills and spearfish but moderate climbs are kinda hard to come by at spearfish. you almost want to be a solid 11+ climber. tensleep is dense with moderate routes haha. 

How's the density/quality of moderates at Rushmore?

(Agree though that Ten Sleep is the best option and they should just accept the 12 hour drive and go there).

Mark E Dixon wrote:

However, many of the walls bake in the sun until 3PM. (Plus part of Valhalla is closed for birds this year)

Do you know which routes are part of the closure this year?  I looked at the Forest Service website but I didn't see a map that they mentioned was part of the post.  Is it the same as last year's or does it include different routes?

skik2000 wrote:

Do you know which routes are part of the closure this year?  I looked at the Forest Service website but I didn't see a map that they mentioned was part of the post.  Is it the same as last year's or does it include different routes?

From the FS-

Please be aware, recent raptor monitoring confirmed nesting activity in Tensleep Canyon prompting a voluntary closure of the Valhalla climbing area off US Highway 16. The closure includes all climbing routes between “Wicked as an M16” of Munitions Wall and “Halfway House” of House Wall and routes between “Caterpillar Exodus” of Caterpillar Wall and “More Brawny than Scrawny” of Firm Wall. The area is closed through August 15. The nest site will continue to be monitored throughout the summer.

Mark E Dixon wrote:

From the FS-

Please be aware, recent raptor monitoring confirmed nesting activity in Tensleep Canyon prompting a voluntary closure of the Valhalla climbing area off US Highway 16. The closure includes all climbing routes between “Wicked as an M16” of Munitions Wall and “Halfway House” of House Wall and routes between “Caterpillar Exodus” of Caterpillar Wall and “More Brawny than Scrawny” of Firm Wall. The area is closed through August 15. The nest site will continue to be monitored throughout the summer.

Thanks.  Looks like the same closure as last year.

JCM wrote:

How's the density/quality of moderates at Rushmore?

(Agree though that Ten Sleep is the best option and they should just accept the 12 hour drive and go there).

theres good moderates at rushmore... you just have to find them... lot of looking around for them if you are not familiar with the area. no guidebooks really. and routes are kinda dispersed 

Regarding Ten Sleep, I talked with someone at the Forest Service and the closure is pretty big this year.  It currently encompasses everything at Valhalla from Vietnam all the way through Drugs and Sex wall. 

Sidebar: dont trust anyone who tells you to road trip from MN to climb at main elk in the summer. 

Fly to Calgary > Bow Valley