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Pine Valley

Utah > Southwest Utah > Saint George

Description

There are little plaques or small rocks with route names/grades written at the base of each route for easy navigation of routes. You can download this viewable Google Sheet with the updated route list and with those two things you can easily navigate the wall. A visual topo is hard to use since you tend to be right next to the cliff and cannot see a route very easy from the base. This list can be updated by the developers as things change. Some of the harder routes has only seen a couple ascents, so grades are subjective. 

Route Google Sheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheet…

Season:

In general if the highs in Pine Valley are above 50, you’ll want to climb in the shade. Below 50 and I’ve never been too cold as long as it is sunny.

Summer: Routes start going in the shade around 3pm and the shade starts on the Unemployment Wall and then moves along the wall as the day goes. Can be climbed for about 6hrs in later part of the day in the summer. Can cool off in the river down below. You can follow a trail to the river at the base of the Red Queen. 

Winter: Dead of winter is the ideal season, though it feels counter-intuitive. The wall goes into the sun at 9:30am and starts going into the shade around 3pm. The further right down the wall the longer you stay in the sun. You can climb here all winter as the wall becomes a solar oven. High's in Pine Valley even at or below freezing can be t-shirt weather at the wall as long as it is sunny. If it has snowed, give the wall one day of sun to melt snow off any ledges before going. You often wear the most layers walking from the car to the wall due to not having the wall to warm you up. Don't bail when you get out of the car, you'll be warm at the wall. 

History:

Pine Valley has seen little attention in the past. Several climbers have rapped in, climbed a few routes, and determined that it's not worth it. Many years ago, some local climbers got exited about it and put in a handful of sport, trad, and mixed gear routes. As the the vegetation below is thick, requiring lots of bushwacking, their approach to route development was to spot a line from the river, rap in and stomp down the area, set the route and then climb out. In the spring of 2011, armed with clippers, a hand saw, and a lot of time, a trail was built which follows the cliff line. A walk down descent was found and a rope assist put in. After that route development began and there are close to 100 routes established. 

About:

Pine Valley is basalt climbing near a river with ponderosa pine. Mostly sport climbing with a decent amount of trad lines. A double rack to 3-4" should be fine for most trad lines. This area has a lot more friction than the basalt at Black Rocks and is mostly technical face climbing with routes up to 100 ft long. Cliff starts going into the shade around 2 pm and is fully shaded by around 4 pm. Temperatures are typically 15 degrees cooler than St George. There is also a good amount of potential for bouldering if one were to do some exploring. 

Warning:

There is a hand line system to get down to the crag. With some spotting/guiding, people have been able to get some dogs in and out with a bit of effort in a few spots, though I would not consider the approach dog friendly. As with all basalt cliffs, please watch out for rattlesnakes getting a tan in the sun. Great Basin rattlesnakes tend to be non-aggressive. We try to keep the trail cut in to help you watch your step. Basalt climbing can have ledges at times, so a helmet can be a good idea. All established routes have chain anchors for threading and lowering the last person. Basalt can be hard to read when a route doesn't have chalk on it. Give yourself grace, it is a hard style to onsight! 

Getting There

From St. George head north on SR 18 till you hit the Pine Valley turnoff a few miles outside of Veyo. Head east towards pine valley. Park 5.8 miles up the road at an unmarked pull off on the right hand side of the road about 100 yards before the guardrails begin. There is a small dirt 2-track “road” that was cut in recently for fire crews that dead ends 1/4 mile off pavement that you walk until the trail continues from there. Do not drive the dirt road as it does not have a turnaround. Park just off pavement, leaving room for others. Follow the trail south to the cliff line and the walk down using the hand lines initially. The handline approach in general would not be considered dog friendly, though some determined people have done it with some spotting/carrying efforts. Approach time from here is approx.10 minutes.

For out-of-towners: The turn off of Hwy 18 on Pine Valley highway is past Veyo. After turning off of Hwy 18 I went 5.6 miles (on my odometer) to the post and trail that begins with a faint 2-track - if you go to far you pass a white railing on the right side of the road and you can see the rocks down below. There is a turn around point 6.0 miles with a large Pine Valley sign.

There are also a few routes with anchors that can be accessed from the top of the cliff line, as well as a dedicated rap anchor. There isn't a defined trail to the rap station yet but the gps coordinates are 37 24.494 N 113 32.187 W.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

rachael and bear made it down the approach just fine. our mountain dogs made it, but your Pomeranian probably won't.
[Hide Photo] rachael and bear made it down the approach just fine. our mountain dogs made it, but your Pomeranian probably won't.
View to the north. Very peaceful.
[Hide Photo] View to the north. Very peaceful.
satellite photo showing the path of the trail from the road to the cliff line.  The largest shaded area on the bottom on the right side of the trail is the unemployment wall.
[Hide Photo] satellite photo showing the path of the trail from the road to the cliff line. The largest shaded area on the bottom on the right side of the trail is the unemployment wall.
First part of hand line system on approach
[Hide Photo] First part of hand line system on approach
Second part of hand line system on the approach
[Hide Photo] Second part of hand line system on the approach
A look at some of the features on the wall
[Hide Photo] A look at some of the features on the wall
A look at one of the harder projects
[Hide Photo] A look at one of the harder projects
Looking back from the far right side of the crag
[Hide Photo] Looking back from the far right side of the crag
Cassie waiting to climb a new route.
[Hide Photo] Cassie waiting to climb a new route.
Picture from showing the pullout and start of the trail.  Park next to the road post and follow cairns to the right.
[Hide Photo] Picture from showing the pullout and start of the trail. Park next to the road post and follow cairns to the right.
Overview of the whole area taken from across the river. The walk down is few hundred feet to the left and then follows the cliff line.
[Hide Photo] Overview of the whole area taken from across the river. The walk down is few hundred feet to the left and then follows the cliff line.
view of the area from the unemployment wall looking east
[Hide Photo] view of the area from the unemployment wall looking east

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] Just a note about the approach to save yourself possible problems. Once you descend down the hand ropes stay to your left along the band of rocks after the Tree. Do not continue descending on the trail that goes to the river, unless you're fishing... May 20, 2012
javi Lujan
saint george area
[Hide Comment] This area is amazing. The climbs are generally full value compared to many other crags near st george Jun 12, 2012
Tim Wolfe
Salt Lake City, UT
[Hide Comment] A comment to assist with locating this area for those from out of town: The turn off of Hwy 18 on Pine Valley highway is past Veyo. After turning off of Hwy 18 I went 5.6 miles (on my odometer) to the post and cairned trail - if you go to far you pass a white railing on the right side of the road and you can see the rocks down below. There is a turn around point 6.0 miles with a large Pine Valley sign.

This area is higher altitude - snow on the ground up top and can feel bitter, but much of the rock is in the sun and very pleasant below - sun all day on some of the crags in the winter.

We found the "easier routes" a bit broken up and of variable quality with some potential to injure your ankles so be careful on these lower angle routes. The steeper routes without ledges (i.e no ankle breakers) were great. Feb 18, 2013
EMBrooks
Wasougal
[Hide Comment] Picked up some old weathered draws off of a route here a week back. If they are yours- shoot me a message to describe and I can get them back to you. Sep 8, 2013
Shawn Heath
Forchheim, DE
[Hide Comment] There's a conflict I noticed in the description since I'm looking at this area for a potential winter visit. It says that this place offers comfortable winter climbing, but that the temperature is 15-20 colder than in St. George. According to Wikipedia, the average high in February (when I would be there) is 58.8 in St. George, meaning it could be potentially 39° in Pine Valley, which I don't consider comfortable. So which is it? Good winter destination or not? Oct 14, 2013
Marius vanderMerwe
Saint George, UT
[Hide Comment] The crag gets plenty of morning sun baking on the rocks and is relatively sheltered from wind resulting in a microclimate that can be quite a bit warmer from that of Pine Valley as a whole. However, good winter climbing conditions are far from guaranteed given the high likelihood of winter snow for the area. Luckily, if that happens, it is a short 30-40 minute drive to several low and relatively warm desert climbing areas below. Oct 14, 2013
Gordon Larsen
St. George, UT
[Hide Comment] I find the best climbing conditions are sometimes in the winter. A sunny day combined with the south facing black basalt rock makes it surprisingly comfortable even with snow on the ground at the rim and across the canyon in the shade. Even now I rarely encounter other climbers when I spend the day climbing here. With large ponderosa pines and the sound of the trout stream bubbling below it is a great escape for a day of climbing. Oct 31, 2014
Logan Bradford
Lindon, UT
[Hide Comment] Great winter climbing destination. That dark rock absorbs the sun and heats the entire place up. I'll bet you could climb here on a 30° degree day, as long as it's sunny.

This area has a unique style of climbing: even the sport routes have a lot of aspects of trad climbing to them - lots of jams and off-widths, etc.

There are some great campsites down by the river. You could easily spend an entire weekend exploring the routes in this canyon - and stay entertained the entire time too. There are really some great routes here with lots of variety. Nov 26, 2017
Stan Pitcher
SLC, UT
[Hide Comment] Order of walls from West: Unemployment, Playpen, Lewis, Tetas, Hero. Dec 7, 2020
Ben Eder
Salt Lake City, UT
[Hide Comment] A really under rated crag. Not sure why this doesn't get more traffic! We spent a late November Saturday in Pine Valley and had the crag to ourselves. The mediocre bolting methodology and rock quality is greatly made up by the routes, scenery, and weather. On a sunny day, this is a perfect winter crag. You can find a route in the sun from AM-PM. Also, the approach beats the Underworld approach, but feels very similar in climbing style, rock, and weather. Nov 21, 2021
Ben Eder
Salt Lake City, UT
[Hide Comment] Last note on orienting yourself to find climbs here: use the lichen on the rocks (and in the photos of the guidebook "Rock Climbs Of Southwest Utah") to orient yourself/find climbs. The lichen is like a natural landmarker. Nov 21, 2021
[Hide Comment] Considering checking out this crag in the next week or so. Curious about approach beta when it comes to dogs-our are for sure "mountain goats" but our friend has a pup that is less adventurous. Is this a no go? We travel full time in our rigs and the dogs pretty much go everywhere with us :) appreciate any tips or beta, thanks! Dec 7, 2023
[Hide Comment] The trail has been recut down the entire wall and the routes that lost their tags (or never had them) from the original development now have small rocks at the base of the route with the name and grade (please leave them there for the next party). Don't just stop at the Unemployment Wall. This crag gets really good further down the right side with great 10s, 11s, and 12s. Dec 13, 2025