All Locations > Illinois > Z.2 Closed Areas

Winston Tunnel Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Winston Tunnel

Tiny Tim 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Veteran's Boulder 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Winston's Boulder 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

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Elevation:	936 ft	285 m
GPS:	42.35599, -90.29411 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	4,443 total · 41/month
Shared By:	Dave Hug on Dec 5, 2017
Admins:	Dave Hug, Kevin Sierzega, Aaron Mc Page Updates (admin only)

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Access Issue: No Legal Access Details

Climbing at Winston Tunnel jeopardizes climbing access in Illinois. Please do not climb here.

Description

Everything inside the quotations has been taken from rockcliming.com. THERE IS NO LEGAL ACCESS HERE. I have merely chosen to include this on MP to let others know that this area has already been discovered and is off limits.

"This is a new Bouldering area South of Galena. Short Cliffs South of the Abandon Winston Tunnel's West Portal. Multiple Bouldering routes around 20ft tall. The most interesting is a 150ft traverse route @ 10-20ft off the ground over the undercut. Hang 3 webs from the trees above and rope up for safety. I Traversed from East to West, Cleaning Moss as I went. This Area is new and most rocks are covered with moss and spider webs.

There are several short (20-25ft) high rocks to top rope or boulder in the area. I would like identify and name three main rocks. First, a large wide rock first approached from the south of the tunnel, call it Winston’s Boulder. Off to the right or east is another rock with several top rope routes, call it Veterans Boulder. Finally another smaller bouldering only rock off to the east of Veterans Boulder is a bouldering only small rock call it Tiny Tim."

Getting There

Jo Daviess County, 9 miles (14 km) west of Elizabeth, IL

Follow the Winston Tunnel Trail to arrive at the abandoned rail tunnel. The trail head is located at 2641 W Blackjack Rd Galena Illinois. After walking about 1.5 miles, you will arrive at the old grass-covered rail path perpendicular to the trail you were just walking. Take a left to head westbound towards the tunnel. The path is mowed grass, and slightly hilly, about 2 miles.

Once you find the tunnel, head south (or right if you are facing the tunnel). Keep walking straight about 1/4 mile to run into the boulder formations. You can use the trees at the top of the boulders for top-rope anchors. There are no cracks: trad-climbing is not recommended. Rock is a sandy, dolomite type.