Horseshoe Canyon Ranch 

Sign Posted: Dogs no longer allowed as of Jan 1 2010

This is one of the best places I have ever been to, to bring new climbers. TONS of easy and moderate climbs with forgiving rests and holds. Not too tall either. In addition there are classic 5.8's next to classic 5.12's so the experienced climber can belay the newbie, take a few steps and work a project.

Tip: Bring you own TP for the pit toilets and DON'T PET THE BIG DOGS! They have a job to do.

Could someone tell me where the 'cracks that will test even the saltiest' are? Just Starboard List? Are there any (other) cracks here that are really good, above 5.10?

ferrells, Horseshoe doesn't really have any hard cracks. Classique and I Fought Piranhas are probably two of the hardest i can think of. If you want harder crack you will have to check out some other crags.

What is the climbing like in February? Temps?

Peter,

February Temps can be decent depending on how things shake out and how late in February you go. It'll probably be getting up to the mid to upper 40's maybe almost the 50's in the day and at night it'll drop down to below freezing. Again, this really depends on the year though, I think the ice storm that ripped through there a few years ago was in late January early February, so it really just depends.

Generally speaking though HCR is a great winter destination as you can just chase the sun around the canyon for the best temps.

Does anyone know if you can climb for free in this area or do you always have to pay?

You always have to pay, assuming you want the Ranch to stay open to climbing. It's $5 a day for the best sport climbing within a ten hour drive. You can afford it.

This area is well worth the $5 fee. There are hundreds of routes on superb stone. The bolt jobs are excellent with bomber hardware. It looks like glue-ins might be the new standard for the area. The bouldering looks amazing, and there's tons of it too. The setting is pretty amazing too. It is a true ranch with horses, cattle, goats, pigs, dogs, and cowboys.

I was just there last week. The weather was unseasonably warm, but quite nice. We did see about a dozen ticks during the two days we climbed there though.

P.S. Chili is a sweet dog, and the people who run the place were very friendly!

Don't forget to check out the Buffalo River while your there. The cliffs we saw on the stretch between Steel Creek and Kyle's Landing were AMAZING (they looked like a mini Verdon). The fishing was good too. There are some lunker bass in there as well as some trout and a ton of crappie. Oh yeah, I saw a couple of good spots for some DWS also (the water was quite warm for a river)!

Hey anyone want to climbing at Horsehoe this sunday?

looking for a bouldering partner for this coming weekend for a little horseshoe action (June 9-10) and maybe Monday as well. Any takers? email me at david@beckersite.com

Does anyone know what the status of camping at the Ranch and/or close by is? Any inoformation you have regarding fees would be very helpful.

Lee,

We were there a few weeks ago. You can camp at HCR for $5 a night (I think) and I believe they now have showers/toilets.

We stayed at Dogwood Springs a few times while climbing at HCR, its in Jasper. I like it because they have electricity at the campsites and a pool, which is great if you want to climb in the summer. Pretty sure its more like $20 a night.

Is it good enough climbing weather in march april to justify driving out from Wyoming??

If weather is sunny here, would it be climbable next week? and if its off season, is there still a price? also is it $5 dollars to climb and camp or just climb?

Hey SteveBSU,

It is $5 to climb and $5 to camp. So, $10 a day to climb and camp. Not sure about the weather.