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Jackson Falls Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Jackson Falls

A. North Canyon 21 / 94 / 6 / 13 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 129

B. West Falls 10 / 73 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 79

C. North Falls 20 / 81 / 9 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 108

D. East Falls 2 / 22 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 24

E. South Canyon 12 / 110 / 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 122

F. The Promised Land 1 / 51 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 52

Z. Bouldering in the Canyon Proper 0 / 0 / 0 / 27 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 27

Elevation:	673 ft
GPS:	37.5066, -88.6816 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	992,076 total · 5,066/month
Shared By:	Ethan on Aug 30, 2007 · Updates
Admins:	Aaron Mc, Dave Hug, Kevin Sierzega Page Updates (admin only)

Description

Jackson falls has the largest number of climbing routes in Illinois. Located in a forest canyon the 30-70 foot walls offer slopers, various sized pockets, roofs, and slabs. Jackson Falls Recreation Area is in the Shawnee National Forest on USFS land in southern Illinois. It can get hot and humid in the summer but there's plenty of shade.

In 2016, the Illinois Climbers Association partnered with the USFS Shawnee National Forest to manage the climbing resources on site. The ICA tackles hardware replacement, re bolting of existing routes to stainless steel using the highest standards available, and trail work. As of 2023, the ICA re bolted over 70 climbs at Jackson Falls.

Here's a map based loosely off the map in the Ulner guide, but done from memory. Red ATCs represent accessible anchors for rap points, brown paths over the cliff represent places I know are safe to scramble in. Blue is the creek bed, and brown are the cut across paths. The paths2013-09-289508.53.34.jpg2013-09-289508.53.34.jpg on the bottom and top of the cliff are not marked

Breakdown of all the roped climbing areas for reference.

Resources

[[Illinois Climbers Association]] ilclimbers.org
Founded in 2002. The Illinois Climbers Association is a charitable organization representing the climbers of Illinois. We are dedicated to preserving climbing and bouldering access in Illinois through education, conservation, and cooperation.

Mission

The Illinois Climbers Association is a 501(c)3 charitable organization created to:

Promote and support conservation and preservation of both rock climbing and bouldering areas, and their respective natural resources in Illinois
Encourage optimal recreational use of Illinois outdoor climbing resources through land stewardship education and by facilitating cooperation between climbers, private land owners, and public land managers
Encourage and promote the development of policies and practices that will preserve climbing and bouldering areas in Illinois

HELP THE ICA REBOLT JACKSON FALLS! PLEASE DONATE
Click HERE to donate towards the Illinois Climber Association's re-bolting cause.

Getting There

From I24 turn North on highway 45 turn right (East) on Ozark road for about 4.5 miles. Turn left on Trigg Tower Road to the first farmhouse and turn right. The parking is about 2 miles down the dirt road just before crossing the creek.

Coming from the south, you can access Glen St Falls Road from Pope Co Road 2260. However, it will require an off-road vehicle.

Guidebooks

In Illinois there are 3 guide books for the southern portion of the state. The first is Eric Ulner's book Vertical Heartland.

Vertical Heartland 3rd Edition

His guide is a good representation of the legal climbing destinations in the state and primarily focus on sport and traditional climbing.

The second is Matt Bliss's book Sandstone Warrior.

Sandstone Warrior

His guide beautifully lays out the majority of the bouldering found in S.I. and includes quality color photos to aid in your boulder problem deciphering. These two guides provide you with all the necessary tools to navigate our local crags. Pick them up and go enjoy the climbing that Illinois has to offer.

The newest guidebook (2015, by Brayackmedia Publishing):

https://www.wolverinepublishing.com/store/jackson-falls/

541 Total Climbs

Route Finder - Best Climbs for YOU!

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Classic Climbing Routes at Jackson Falls

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b 211 ● Big Wall Greg's Chicken Shack Sport, TR A. N Canyon > A. Mr. Jimmy
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 190 ● Blue Spark Sport C. N Falls > E Spleef Peak
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 217 ● Stubborn Swede Sport E S Canyon > C. Hidden Peaks > E The Monument
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 194 ● Fine Nine Sport C. N Falls > D. Lovely Tower
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 165 ● Through the Smoke Sport C. N Falls > E Spleef Peak
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 218 ● Cheerio Bowl Sport E S Canyon > C. Hidden Peaks > D. Pricker Peak
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 170 ● Venom Sport A. N Canyon > A. Mr. Jimmy
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 143 ● Master Marley Sport C. N Falls > E Spleef Peak
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b 132 ● Spiders From Mars Sport A. N Canyon > A. Mr. Jimmy
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 206 ● Group Therapy Sport B. W Falls > A. The Gallery
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 147 ● Lovely Arete Sport C. N Falls > D. Lovely Tower
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 139 ● Wild at Heart Sport A. N Canyon > I. Railroad Rock
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 113 ● Detox Mountain Sport E S Canyon > C. Hidden Peaks > C. Cranial/Detox Wall
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 114 ● Hidden Treasures Sport C. N Falls > D. Lovely Tower
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 82 ● Everybody Needs Friends Sport A. N Canyon > D. Beaver Wall