Rock Climbing at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch | Day 1

Photography

May 26

Ryan Wittich on Crimp Scampi 5.10d | Horseshoe Canyon Ranch - North Forty Routes

This past weekend my climbing friends Ryan Wittich, Meg Velius, and myself decided to make a last minute trip to go rock climbing at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Jasper, Arkansas. It almost didn’t happen because we were concerned about the conditions of the rock after a rain on Friday, but we took the chance and made the 5 hour drive from St. Louis Saturday morning. Our gamble paid off as we were blessed with perfect climbing conditions! My first rocking climbing trip to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch was one for the books!

Ace in the Hole 5.9+

Ryan Wittich on Ace in the Hole 5.9+

Meg Velius

We arrived at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch around 2pm on Saturday. Picked out a camping spot, loosely set up camp, and then headed straight to the North Forty Routes. We spent the day in the North Forty climbing (links to the routes on Mountain Project):

Connect with me on Mountain Project.

With the longer summer days we were able to climb until dusk around 7ish before heading back to camp, making some well earned dinner, and relaxing by the campfire.

Molt 5.8+ and Sons of the Soil 5.10a

Me on Molt 5.8+ - Captured by Ryan Wittich

Camping at Horseshoe Ranch costs $10/night. Climbing is $5/day. There are a good amount of campsites in the designated camping area with each spot having a fire pit. There are also bathrooms and showers available in the camping area.

The only issue is that the camping area is on a hill so a truly level spot is hard to come by but if you arrive early, or look around, you’ll find there are many good spots. We found a spot surrounded by 3 boulders with a wood platform big enough for a 4 person tent which was perfect.