Most of the good bouldering in Minnesota is located here at the base of Sawmill Creek Dome. A very beautiful and secluded area, this is the go to place if your looking for some V7's. The season here is very short, usually spring is good, and the fall is even better. You can plan on good conditions most of the time in Sept and Oct, and if your lucky, Nov. A full day spent here will leave your finger pads extremely red and sore. The rock here looks and feels like granite, I have even heard of Sawmill being really similar to Squamish, but this rock is called Anthrosite which has many small sharp crystals that'll cut ya. Although I just made that sound really painful and not fun, its really not that bad at all.
Getting There
Coming from the Superior Hiking Trail parking lot: Hike west on County rd 6 til you get to the Superior Hiking Trail entrance on the left. Then you'll be hiking on this trail for about 2 miles until you reach the Picnic Rock fork, also called the Spur Trail. Follow this trail near the base of the dome for a few minutes, and it'll bring you to the main cluster of boulders.
The crux is getting your ass off the ground and then making a right handed lunge to a good hold, all while your on terrible feet. Campus the next move and continue to follow the sharp crack until you top out at the peak of the boulder. ...[more]
Picnic Rock
Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!
RSS Feed
