Smith Rock State Park
Smith Rock State Park is a state park located in central Oregon's High Desert near the communities of Redmond and Terrebonne. The day-use area of the park is open daily from dawn to dusk. The park also has a camping area as well that accommodates tent camping only. Its sheer cliffs of tuff and basalt are ideal for rock climbing of all difficulty levels. Smith Rock is generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing, and is host to cutting-edge climbing routes. It is popular for sport climbing, traditional climbing, multi-pitch climbing, and bouldering.
History
The origin of the Smith Rock name is uncertain. One story, published the Albany States Rights Democrat in 1867 A.D., states that Smith Rock was named after John Smith, who was Linn County Sheriff and an Oregon state legislator in the 1850s and 1860s. The newspaper article credits Smith with "discovering" the rock. Another story claims the rock was named after a soldier named Smith who fell to his death from the rock in 1863 while his unit was camped nearby.The State of Oregon obtained the park property between 1960 and 1975 from the City of Redmond and Harry and Diane Kem.
Geology
The geology of Smith Rocks is volcanic. It is made up of layers of recent basalt flows overlaying older Clarno ash and tuff formations. Approximately 30 million years ago, a large caldera was formed when overlying rock collapsed into an underground magma chamber. This created a huge amount of rock and ash debris that filled the caldera. That material solidified into rock, becoming the rhyolite tuff of Smith Rock. Rhyolite dikes intruded along faults in the tuff. A half million years ago, basalt lava flows from nearby volcanoes covered the older tuff.More recently, the Crooked River cut its way through the layers of rock to create today's geographic features. Smith Rock itself is a -high ridge with a sheer cliff-face overlooking a bend in the Crooked River, making the cliffs about 600 feet high.
Wildlife
There is abundant wildlife in and around the park. Mule deer and many small mammals are common in the park. River otter and beaver are found along the park's Crooked River frontage. The Smith Rock area hosts many types of songbirds, like the canyon wren and the white-throated swift. Visitors can also expect to see birds of prey, such as prairie falcons and golden eagles. Geese and ducks nest along the river in the springtime. There are rattlesnakes in some areas of the park.Recreation
Hiking
The park has many miles of developed trails for hiking. The trails have viewpoints along the routes that overlook the Crooked River and nearby rock formations. The two main trails are the Summit Trail and Misery Ridge. The park's trail network links to neighboring Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management trails on adjacent public lands. The soil and native vegetation on the steep hillsides in the park are very sensitive to damage, so visitors are required to stay on established trails.Climbing
The park contains the first U.S. climb rated. The area is well known for its challenging climbing routes and attracts high level climbers. In 1983, Alan Watts began to use sport climbing ethics which pushed American climbing to new levels. Shortly after, between 1992 and 2009, about 500 new climbing routes were added. This brought climbers from all over the world as Smith Rock became the world capital for sport climbing. To this day, the park still attracts climbers from around the globe. The winter weather is typically cold, but climbers still make the journey due to the reduced traffic on routes. Summer months regularly reach the 100s °F. Some climbing routes are closed periodically for the protection of nesting birds of prey.Smith Rock State Park has more than 1,800 rock climbing routes as of 2010. The park is broken up into walls and have names commonly used by the climbing community.
Christian Brothers
The Christian Brothers area is a large group of rock spires in between Asterisk Pass and The Dihedrals. The walls that make up the Christian Brothers area are the Prophet Wall, The Beard, Testament Slab and the Combination Blocks. There are several routes in this area that are noteworthy such as Wartley's Revenge, Revelations with its high first bolt off the ground, Double Trouble, BBQ the Pope, Heresy, Rude Boys, and Scarface and Chemical Ali.The Dihedrals
The Dihedrals are located between the Four Horseman and Asterisk Pass just past the Morning Glory Wall. It is one of the more popular areas to climb in the park with easy classics like Cinnamon Slab, Bunny Face. It has some more moderate climbs of high quality such as Moonshine Dihedral and Karate Crack as well some of the more difficult and famous climbs such as Heinous Cling, Chain Reaction and To Bolt or Not to Be.The Upper and Lower Gorge
The Gorge contains more climbs that are Traditional Routes rather than Sport Routes. Climbers also need to be fairly stout climbers as most routes start in the low 5.12's.The rock is mainly basalt, fairly different from the welded tuff you find in most of the other climbing areas in Smith Rock State Park. The lower gorge is a location to get away from the heat of the late spring, summer and early fall.
The Marsupials
The Marsupials are the farthest climbing area from the main entrance of the park. To get there, go across the bridge and turn right on Wolf Tree Trail. Follow this around the canyon following the Crooked River and turn up Burma Road. The beginning of the Marsupials starts just off Burma Road. The three main areas in the Marsupials are Koala Rock, The Wombat and Brogan Spire.Famed climber Beth Rodden made the first ascent of The Optimist located on the "Koala Rock" side of the Marsupials.
Monkey Face Area
The Monkey Face area has many routes, but is known for the iconic rock spire known as "Monkey Face", a distinctly primate looking face when viewed from a certain angle. This iconic tower is 350 feet tall and boasts many routes. One of the more famous routes, Just Do It, is still a testpiece for climbers to prove their prowess.Directly across from the "mouth" of Monkey Face is a prominent rock outcropping that comes fairly close to the tower. There is tyrolean traverse gear nailed down on the outcropping and within the "mouth" of Monkey Face. Adventurous climbers can connect these with 1" nylon webbing and create a "slackline" between the two locations, which can be traversed via a tethered safety line.