Jurassic Park - Lily Lake

I know there are a lot of routes in this area that I have named 'Unknown' but this is because nothing is known about the area from my standpoint and I thought it was a nice little area and felt the need to add it to the site and get more people to this area for it's sheer scenic location if nothing else, this is a great spot for sunny winter afternoons as the gully will gather heat, quite enjoyable. Please feel free to add proper names to any of the routes I have marked as Unknown. Cheers !

Jeff - Thanks for taking to time to post info about this beautiful and overlooked area. I'll post some additional information that will hopefully fill in most the blanks (unknown route names & related details, etc.) in hopes of sorting out any confusion. Regarding the routes you list as Unknown I through IV, these are located on a formation called the Big Ass Slab. cheers, - rico

Make sure you take the obvious trail, heading up from the lake trail, right out of the parking lot. Follow this trail until you can see the rocks to the north. Follow a well worn trail up the hill. The approach trail that has been documented in the latest guide book has been closed.

This place has a good mix of sport, trad and mix climbing. Many of the routes have not made the guidebooks, so it can be hard to identify specifics. Many of the routes also leave a great view of Long's Peak from the top.

Between the steep approach and the poor quality rock (for moderate routes anyway), I don't think I'll be returning anytime soon. Seems to have gotten worse over the couple of times I went. Had my first lead here on some sketchy 5.6.

I spent yesterday checking out the new development in this area. There are quite a few moderate routes that have been put in that are not covered on this site or the most recent guidebook.

I noticed that "The Edge of Time" has seen the addition of one new bolt.

Slow down there...before everyone starts slagging away let me add this; recently I was talking with the man most commonly credited with the first ascent of this classic and he mentioned that he wanted to retro-bolt this line. He had intended to for years but had never gotten around to it. Looks as if the deed is done!

Feel free to slag!

Does anyone have the Beta on the new route at Jurassic Park? It is on the big face downhill from Big Ass Slab, starts around the right side of a big roof, and has nine bolts to rap anchors (about 80 feet total length). I did it with my wife Sunday and found it to be very enjoyable moderate face climbing. Stout gear and Fixe anchors.

Who put it up and how is it rated? It must have been put up pretty recently.

Anyone know if this area within the nat'l park boundary?

From memory, I recall passing National Park Boundary signs in the vicinity. If unsure, you can check over at the Lily Lake Visitor Center.

I called the Backcountry office (970-586-1206) to inquire if this area is within RMNP or National Forest (I have dogs I often bring climbing so I've been wondering about these boundaries). The woman I spoke to said all trails heading out from the Lily Lake Visitor Center are on RMNP land. This would include Lily Lake Trail. (Apparently there are a couple of "Lily" trails - Lily Mtn Trail is on National Forest land, departing from a small parking lot off Hwy 7 a short distance north of the Visitor Center). If anyone else has more information regarding the boundaries I'd appreciate your post.

I'm pretty certain that all of the climbs in Jurassic Park reside in the Natl Forest. As mentioned above, the standard access trail (around Lily Lake, and then up to the rocks) begins in RMNP.

Bernard, thanks for the info regarding the crags being located on National Forest land. A question for you or anyone else familiar with the area: is there an alternate way to access Jurassic Park without passing through RMNP? (Lily Mtn trail?) Thanks.

Kateri: The Lily Mtn trail lies entirely within the Natl Forest boundaries (pretty sure that's correct), but it goes in the wrong direction if your goal is Jurassic park. A simple way to describe the trail: it's a big switchback that travels away from Lily Lake (north-ish) for the first 3/4 mile, and then cuts back toward the summit of Lily Mtn (about 2 miles to there). I've hiked to the summit, and then followed the ridge back through Jurassic Park to the Lily Lake parking area. The summit-to-climbing-area ridge has no trail, and it's about 3 miles just to get to Jurassic Park this way. I suppose you could start at the Lily Mtn trailhead and try to find a more direct route to Jurassic Park, but it would be entirely off-trail. Bottom line: there is no easy way into Jurassic Park of which I am aware that doesn't go through RMNP.

Kateri you could probably bushwack straight to Jurassic from the Lily Mtn trail but that would be pretty steep. I'm at Jurassic a lot and have never seen any dogs. For all of the use that it receives, it's pretty free of trash. If you do bring dogs, make sure to pick up after them.

Great area! On 11/2, Bruno (5.4- Great Dane) and I (5.8+ Human) went on a scouting mission not knowing that the Crags and Jurassic Park are now fronted by National Park Land (no dogs, even on leash). The crags and Jurassic Park themselves are in the Forest Land, so we looked for a loophole. We started out on the Lily Mtn Trail (which has a NPS post on the left of the start of the trail) and hiked the trail for a few minutes. We took the first deer trail to the left that led up to a possible bouldering area and then charged straight up the hillside to a summit. It was over a mile. It also put us well north of Jurassic Park. We then had to hike south through a talus field and for about 1/2 mile before hitting the routes (the north end is open and flat). It took a lot out of the dog and my calves, and we had to take a break. We hiked out by going towards the lake and hung a left before the NPS sign (it's about 150yds below the rocks). When we popped out of the woods and onto the highway (1/2 mile north of the Lily Lake parking), there was another NPS sign, so we were in the wrong. It can be done but will take a few hours out of your day and maybe put you an Park land. GPS. When I return to climb, I will be sans Bruno. We didn't have time to check the crags, but I believe the south route is out of the park.

There's another bolted route on a rock not listed here. I don't know the name of the route or the name of the rock, but its about 100 feet downhill from the walk off to the fin, on a gnarled, west-facing rock. There are two sets of anchors on the top, both of which are have easy walk offs and I believe neither of which have rap rings. The left (downhill) of the two anchors has a sport line underneath it that goes up through some big wild pockets. It's maybe 40ft and has three or four bolts. The difficulty is around 5.6.

It seems to me that may be new sport routes on Dinosaur’s Foot that are not documented on MP, that do not appear on the Beta ‘Bird’s Eye View’ diagram that shows the major formations, and that do not appear in guidebooks. I spoke with a few other climbing parties and got conflicting information. I did not have presence of mind to take good photos and try to sort it out, maybe next time. It sure would be nice to know what was what.

The rock at Jurassic Park is a relatively lightweight, sometimes flaky, sometimes weak granite that is generally quite rough to the touch (and therefore hard on the fingertips). On many climbs some holds (especially flaky holds) will sound hollow when tested by hand. Exercise considerable caution at Jurassic Park, as holds and nubbins can and do pull off from time to time.