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Madrone Wall

Oregon > Portland & The Gorge
Warning Access Issue: Seasonal Peregrine Closure DetailsDrop down

Description

Madrone Wall was officially opened on October 21st, 2017 after a 20 year battle to convince the county to turn the area into a park instead of a quarry. Much thanks to the Madrone Wall Preservation Committee for all their hard work!

Make sure to check out the county park website for the rules on parking fees which are $9 daily. There are annual ($60) and two year ($100) passes available for purchase by calling the park office or visiting reservations.clackamas.us/r…. Also, inform yourself about the daily opening and closing hours (they change seasonally) and the annual peregrine falcon closure.

The climbing here is awesome, and features a wide variety of styles and grades, and most certainly has something you'll enjoy climbing. A lot of the routes here are trad or mixed, so make sure you have a rack with you. A 60m rope will work on all routes here.

Lead bolts have almost all been updated, and all routes now have bolted anchors. Most of these have hardware for lowering off, and this method is recommended, though rappelling is required in a few cases. Historically, many routes required you to top out and/or used trees for anchors, but this has been eliminated in order to reduce rockfall and poison oak exposure.

Poison oak is rampant here, both on the wall in places, and along the trail, so tread carefully and be cautious where your rope and gear are set down. Though a lot of work has been done to clean the area up, garden clippers and a nylon brush are often handy, as the falcon closures mean that some routes remain a little dirty after the park opens each season.

There are two guidebooks that feature Madrone. The most up-to-date one is the Madrone and Carver Cliffs guidebook available via Rakkup. The Portland Rock Climbs guidebook by Tim Olson also contains the area, but it is very out-of-date: trail information, route grades, anchor positions, bolt counts, etc will differ from what is listed in here.

Getting There

Head SE on Hwy 224 towards and then through Carver. Madrone is on the left hand side, just past 197th Ave, right about 2.3 miles past Carver. Road up to the cliff has a yellow gate. If the gate is closed, the park is closed. Do not walk past the closed gate. The only parking is at the top of the drive, and there is about 20 spots to park. Please carpool if possible.

When you get to the parking lot, pay your parking fee, and then head up one of two trails. The trail on the south side of the lot goes up a few rock steps, and then travels through some steep steps to the Hardscrabble Wall.

The main trail is located just off the gravel path by the kiosk on the north side of the lot. This trail will meet the cliff in the middle of the Main Wall. To the left will be the left side of the Main Wall, 4th Class Wall, Orange Wall and Left Corner Wall. To the right will be the right side of the Main Wall, Shining Wall, and then Hardscrabble Wall.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

from the lot
[Hide Photo] from the lot
https://www.clackamas.us/parks/madronewall.html The parking fee is now $9.
[Hide Photo] https://www.clackamas.us/parks/madronewall.html The parking fee is now $9.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Grant Garrett
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] Clackamas County will open the Madrone Wall Park on Saturday, Oct. 21 2017.

The park is open seasonally from July through January, and closed from February through June to protect nesting peregrine falcons that inhabit the rock wall during those months.

Park hours of operation have been set as:
  • July/August: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • September/October: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • November through January: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While there is no fee to enter or use the park, there is a $5 parking fee.

Fires, alcohol, glass beverage containers, weapons, and fireworks are all prohibited inside the park by County Code. There is also no camping allowed, no firewood gathering or cutting, and dogs/pets must be kept on leashes at all times inside the park.

Parking is limited at Madrone Wall Park. Our conditional use permit only allowed for the construction of 20 parking stalls and 2 handicap parking stalls. There is no parking allowed along the park access road and Hwy 224.

Overflow parking is available at Barton Park and Carver Boat Ramp. There is also a TriMet Bus Stop (Bus Route #30) on Hwy 224 near the Madrone Wall Park access road.

The park is located in Boring at 19485 SE Highway 224, Damascus, OR

More info here clackamas.us/parks/madronew… Oct 19, 2017
[Hide Comment] There is a lot of poison oak out here! On the trails, along the walls, on the routes... and absolutely teeming at the top of the cliff. If you've never gotten poison oak rash, don't. Avoid it like the plague. If you think you're immune, like I did, it's possible to be come un-immune. You've been warned.

Here are two pics for your reference.
cdn1.medicalnewstoday.com/c…
baynature.org/wp-content/up… Oct 31, 2017
[Hide Comment] After Nov. 1st, the closing time changes from 6pm to 4pm. They have been strict about enforcing this, though they said they allow a 10-minute grace period and will honk before closing the gate. Otherwise it's a $55 ticket and your car is stuck in the lot until 7am the next morning. Nov 7, 2017
Paul L
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] Consider doing some community service, bring gloves and a little hand rake. There is poison oak growing out of both approach trails all over the place. It's only going to get worse, and once the leaves drop off of the plants you can't tell the poison oak from any other dead stick, until you've already got it all over yourself.
First time out there this year and it is way, way worse than I saw it last year. Will do some clean-up next time I'm out there. Jul 20, 2018
T Banch
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] Hey all, just wanted to reiterate what Nate said about the 4 pm closing. The ranger was there right at 4 today, and while he did yell up and didn't ticket me after I ran down, two other cars weren't so lucky. Seems like there's not much of a grace period anymore since apparently it happens every day. Keep an eye on the time. Nov 19, 2018
[Hide Comment] A stick clip is quite handy here. Many of the sport routes have high first bolts. Some of the trad lines do too. Jan 31, 2019
Patrick Beeson
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] Hi! I'm interested in contributing some steel lowering carabiners or mussy hooks to some routes I climb often at Madrone. Are there rules around this practice? Any funding to help (happy to contribute out of pocket)?

Thanks! Jul 15, 2021
[Hide Comment] Certainly no official rules. Generally, people will place that kind of hardware on more popular routes. I might suggest not replacing newly replaced hardware, such as the ASCA donated stuff (of which Madrone has quite a bit). The other thing, and this is just a suggestion, is to keep tabs on the hardware that you instal at a crag. I feel like the onus is on the person who placed the hardware to keep an eye on it and maintain it. Some people will have a different take on this, but that’s mine. Oh last thing, use good hardware or don’t bother.

Thanks Patrick.

Chad Jul 15, 2021
[Hide Comment] I've been spending significant time at the beginning of each season ripping out poison oak. It's kinda like ivy though: it grows back quickly, spreads, and needs to be constantly and thoroughly removed. This is especially difficult with the seasonal closure - all the more reason to be extra tenacious about it when it's open.

My point is, I can't do it all. Just as with spinning bolts, worn hardware, or loose rock, don't be that "someone oughtta..." person. If you see poison oak encroaching on a route, belay, or trail, come prepared to take care of it yourself.

Here's my strategy: thick gloves, long sleeve shirt, dishwashing soap (or tecnu), an abrasive cloth, a plastic bag to put it all in at the end. Rip it out, roots and all if you can, and toss it off the trail. Be careful not to let it touch any exposed skin, like your face or neck or ankles. When you're finished, bag the gloves and shirt, trying not to touch any part of them that may have urushiol (oil/residue) on it. Squirt soap onto your hands and arms, including between your fingers and around your wrist, and rub it in. Let it sit for a minute or so, then rub it off with the abrasive cloth. Put the cloth in the bag too. Wash your hands and arms, and you should be fine. Dump the dirty clothes in the washing machine and run 'em. Take a cool shower within a few hours just to be sure. Aug 3, 2021
Cody Bliss
Brightwood, OR
[Hide Comment] I believe this is written elsewhere but just to reiterate, this is not dog friendly terrain for most pups. The trails up are short but have steep, rocky steps and the base of many climbs are on a narrow trail above a significant slope. Ranger was sitting in their truck at 7:45pm ready to close the gates at 8pm even on a slow Tuesday night, so be mindful of strict closing times. Otherwise, have fun at this great crag! Sep 1, 2021
Paul L
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] Checked out the new trail to the top just before the park closed for the season, and there are some fairly sizable boulders and short ends of the cliff band over past the end of the Hardscrabble Wall. What's the county's policy on those being developed? I'm no pebble wrestler, but I could see some of the Carver crowd unearthing some fun problems if they were so inclined and it was OK in the park. Feb 6, 2025
Patrick Beeson
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] Per mountainproject.com/area/10…, there are no restrictions to what rock can be developed within the park. If you'd like to clean and equip a new route, go for it! May 6, 2025
Clinton Hoffar
Salt Lake City
[Hide Comment] Was wondering how accessible any of these routes were to top rope? I will be new to the area( Moving from SLC) and love getting out with new people; however until I find some groups was planning on top rope soloing a bunch.

Also any groups to join on facebook or other places would be a huge help. Jun 4, 2025
Patrick Geoghegan
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] @Paul L
I haven't put my hands on them yet, but here are two videos of another climber on some of those boulder problems:
V5: youtube.com/watch?v=moOgwXM…
V4: youtube.com/watch?v=6NtCE7i…

Looks pretty rad Aug 11, 2025
Patrick Beeson
Portland, OR
[Hide Comment] @clinton no routes at Madrone are accessible from the top of the cliff. Doing so would be dangerous to climbers below. There's also a lot of poison oak present.

I would recommend finding a partner or learning how to lead solo. Oct 22, 2025