Arkansas climbing - How bad is it? Spray me down!

OK, first off, please take my title as a tongue in cheek statement (that hopefully got your attention). Being that I'm posting on the midwest forum, I'm sure there are a ton of people who love Arkansas climbing.

My girlfriend has an upcoming interview for a job at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and there's a chance we'd be moving there in the fall. What's the climbing scene like out there? I know Horseshoe canyon is about an hour and a half away. Seems like there's quite a few routes there - is that the kind of place that people describe as a "lifetime of climbing"?

Any other crags that are reasonably close and would be worth visiting more than once? What's the weather like? Lots of climbable days? How about mountain biking, trail running, general backcountry exploring? Any good opportunities for those? Any info on the town of Fayetteville? Really any and all info that folks would like to share would be appreciated.

My background: I climb 5.11ish (sport or trad), although working on improving. I don't boulder much, but I could probably learn to love it. I work from home and have a flexible schedule, so I can climb at off times at crowded cliffs, etc. I learned to climb in Yosemite and I currently live in South Lake Tahoe, so I can be a bit snobby when it comes to easy access to high quality stone. :)

Thanks a bunch,
Sean

Great rock, great climbing community (from what I have heard) and lots more potential. i remember driving near HCR and having my mind blown by the amount of rock I could see.

HCR is huge with cheap camping in a well maintained ranch, Sam's Throne is another well known and challenging area, and the smaller, dirtier, Lake Lincoln is just under an hour away from Fayettenam. On the other side of the state, the Jamestown Crag near Batesville is great and has potential to keep growing for years to come.

High quality, steep sandstone, but the routes are short. Generally under 60 feet. Is there a life time of climbing? Depends on how long you live.

HCR is okay, but crowded with gym rats and college kids. (That might seem totally normal coming from CA. I'm not sure.) Sam's Throne and the surrounding area is much better, in my opinion. It'll be about two hours from Fayetteville.

Fall and spring are prime climbing, though we usually get plenty of warm days in the winter too. Vacate the state in the summer. The humidity is unbearable.

There are trails for mountain biking and running. The Buffalo River Trail is amazingly gorgeous. Just know that you can't wander and explore the same way you can out West. There isn't that much public land. You'll wander onto someone's meth lab and find yourself in a "Deliverance" situation.

I guess here's my bottom line:

You can make it work for a few years and have a great time. I wouldn't plan on AR as a permanent climbing destination unless you are satisfied by short single pitch sport climbs.

HCR has over 400 routes, so its great for quantity, but the smaller crags can have higher quality and a better, non crowded atmosphere. Jamestown, Rock Creek, Sams Throne, Lake Lincoln, and quite a few other crags have great quality, but are probably less accessible than you are accustomed to. Give me a shout if you need a partner in Jamestown if you check it out.
Fayetteville has the majority of Arkansas outdoor retail store, such as Pack Rat and Lewis and Clark. The Buffalo River is a good canoe/kayaking river, and we have many other rivers to float as well. The Ozark highland trail is worth looking into if you enjoy hiking. And the White and Little Red rivers are world famous for fly fishing for big brown and rainbow trout.

If your girlfriend gets the job take her to Bordinos in Fayetteville to celebrate.

I mean this in the best possible way: Arkansas is like Colorado for rednecks. They don't call it The Natural State for nothing. I grew up in northern Louisiana and spent many weekends camping, hiking, kayaking and fishing in Arkansas. It'll be an adjustment for you, especially for the humidity, but I don't think you should have trouble occupying yourself.

Just keep in mind the prevailing local politics/religion and try not to attract too much attention to yourself if yours don't align.

Nobody mentioned Mt. Magazine, which has some of the best crack cragging around. I have actually traveled to Arkansas just to climb cracks at Magazine. Dardanelle has some really good hardish sport routes, and kind of reminded me of a little Rifle.

I'm not a local. But for what it's worth, Arkansas is rad.

The climbing is fantastic but for me, the memories are what makes it.

HCR in late spring/early summer is a magical place. Climbing loads of moderates before noon then drinking bagged margaritas while basking in the Buffalo River before going back to "crush" your "project" in the evening?

Those are the things artsy teenage indie movies about "never growing up" are made of, right?

I'm headed to Sam's for some unseasonably warm winter trad climbing. Christmas in the Ozarks. Can't wait!

Hey, thanks for all the responses. I'm definitely hoping she scores a job closer to home, but for the most part you guys make it sound pretty decent out there!

Cheers,
Sean

Hmm,

HCR worth visiting for sure, go during the week to avoid crowds. The bouldering is top notch. Best areas there IMHO are Prophecy Wall, Roman Wall, and Crackhouse Alley.

If you want real sporty taller routes, there are plenty of crags that don't get hardly any traffic but should...just hard to convince the gumby parade at the ranch to go elsewhere and climb something new.

Big Piney-Rock Creek area, lots of steep new line, like 90% are amazing.
Hudson Mountain-worth a few visits, the lines are tall and phenomenal but only about 15 lines there.
Sam's Throne-trad for dayz, lots of classic lines, averages about 55 feet tall, Heromaker wall has sweet sport lines.
Cave Creek-very similar to sam's, about a mile away.
Invasion--idk, always been wet when I've been there.

Valley of the Blind, Arkansas's longest traverse route (at 400 feet), lots of potential for new lines, lots of tall lines that I need to get on!

Candy Mountain-awesome, awesome stuff.

Loads of bouldering, etc.

Right now my friends are touring cracks of the state and having an awesome time. Plenty of backwoods climbing too if you know the right people.

Fall/winter is your climbing season, summer is the time to punish yourself in the humidity. The mtn biking scene near Fayetteville is supposed to be really good plus lots of trails near the Buffalo River. It's been unseasonably warm here.

The lifetime of climbing has yet to be developed.....but it's here.

For reference, I'm from Missouri but didn't start climbing till I moved to CA 8 years ago. I've visited AR twice on extended trips back in MO to check out HCR and Sam's. Great sandstone, fun routes, and met some friendly local climbers. So for the Midwest/South, AR had great rock and plenty of other activities and wouldn't be a bad place to be for a couple years. There's a group called the Arkansas Climbers Coalition that would be good to get involved with if you are there.

Culturally, most people are definitely conservative which you'll pick up on in a heartbeat. I remember hearing a commercial on the radio in Jasper saying you get half off your meal on Sunday's if you bring the program card they give you at church to the restaurant. But that being said, Fayetteville is a college town so I'm sure it will be a little more open minded than other places in AR. Oh, and southern hospitality is a thing so in all people are cordial and friendly as long as you don't have dreadlocks or look like a deadhead.

Uh. Bad?

youtube.com/watch?v=_PP1AK1…

I was just out at Mt. Magazine this week. You have to sign in at the visitor center before you go out and it looks like they only get about 1-2 climbers per week...
Rock looked fun. We were there with beginners and didn't have much time, so didn't get to climb much. There's only one route below 5.10 that is bolted up.

HCR has a lot of climbing, but feels more like a gym with all the traffic and high density of routes. I prefer other areas.