Spokane climbing... Hardly world class- but hard to beat. What other metro area has nine climbing areas within a twenty minute drive? Here is a list of the crags with distance from town and whatever else I think is pertinent.
Minnehaha: Decent trad and poorly protected sport climbs, on granite, right in town / 70+ routes, 100+ boulder / most are within 50 yards of parking lot / kid friendly / Popular toprope area.If you climb here long enough you may see someone LEAD A ROUTE!!. Props to the hardmen that lead them back in the day.
Dishman: Mostly 5.11 and 5.12 sport climbing on slightly overhanging granite right in town / 24 routes / 2 minute approach/ The terrain is kid friendly, but watch out for bums and mosquitos. / Enjoy the tonal quality of Dishman Dodge's PA system!!
Mirabeau: Small sport area with some excellent 5.7 to 5.11 climbing right next to the Valley YMCA (join the Y, put the crumb-snatchers in free daycare and go climbing, you're pretty much close enough to get away with it for years- or so I heard). The crag is really kid-friendly too. Well bolted for safe leads, most are also top-ropeable.
Cliff Drive : Very short but pumpy, well-bolted routes, on basalt, right in the heart of town. / 18 routes / 1 minute approach. It's like a free climbing gym- only with bums!!
Liberty Park: 4 or 5 steep boulder problems in a basalt cave in the 'hood / 1 minute approach / Great for kids, especially if your kids want to check out the benefits of gang membership! -(actually it's a nice park, just not the best part of town.)
Rocks of Sharon: 60 + routes and some pretty good scenery on Tower Mountain./ 5 miles from the south end of town / 15 or 20 minute approach (may be steep for kids).
Deep Creek: 60+ great sport routes on steep basalt 4 miles from the Nortwest edge of town/ 5-15 minute approach / kid friendly / You can climb main wall on a rainy day. No toprope routes, but safely bolted for leading. Thanks past quide-book authors- for saving us from certain death or dismemberment from climbing at this dangerous area! Thanks local shops- for still trying to sell these outdated guidebooks! ....yes, there is a reason they are always on sale for two bucks.
McLellan: 80+ trad, sport, and boulder problems on granite with lots of new route development / 16 mi. from the Northwest edge of town. Safer parking now that meth isn't as cool as it used to be!
Tumtum: 23 mi. Northwest / 25+ routes- / 5-20 min. approach/ mostly trad and some bouldering and runout sport, 5.0 to 5.12. Hard to find your way around and some scrambly approaches; fun with rattlesnakes for the young-uns, though!
Post Falls (Q'Emiln Park): 80+ sport routes and a few trad climbs on granite /17 miles from the East end of town / Very kid-friendly/ best 5.10 and below sport climbing. Death Fall Wall has rainy day climbs. Beware the Pernicious Grade Creep! With grades as soft as a baby's bum, you're sure to climb harder in no time!
Buy Inland Northwest Rock Climbs by Marty Bland at Mountain Gear or Mountain Goat to check out good hard sport climbing just a little further north in Marcus, Metaline Falls, and China Bend. The climbing at Lake Koocanusa (Stone Hill) is also worth checking out. Vantage (Frenchman Coulee) is only a couple hour drive on I-90 and offers something like seven hundred routes.
Getting There
Go to individual pages for directions to the crags
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Spokane Area:
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