Taylors Falls Rock Climbs

The Minnesota Strip - CLOSED TILL FURTHER NOTICE

The North Pillar and South Pillar are two close formations that make up the strip. A loose gully divides the two. A high concentration of good climbs with easy access causes this place to fill up quickly on the weekends. Piece of Cake and The Bulge tend to be the first to go, so plan accordingly.

Access from the bottom: From the parking lot, walk down to the boat launch from the parking lot. Find the path downstream a few yards and the rock will soon become visible.

Access from the top: From the parking lot, go towards the river and take the River trail to U.S 8. Walk along the road until you get to an old paved roadside pullout. From there, walk south towards the river and over some boulders. Here you will find yourself on the northern pillar of the strip.

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South Pillar

	The Original Bulge	5.7
Start atop the boulder to the left of the Bulge and take the left crack system.
1	The Bulge +++	5.10
The definitive 5.10 trad lead. A tight finger crack will lead you crimping in the intersections of horizontal and vertical seams. After the bulge, good balance can provide a no hands rest. A very popular climb, with easy gear. Also known as "Number Six." Makes for a great clean aid climb.
2	Fancy Dancer +	5.11
Technical face moves are the highlight of Minnesota’s most popular 5.11. The first 15 feet carry the crux and lousy gear, making this a dicey lead.
3	Blue Moon	5.4
Just to the right of Fancy Dancer climb up to a roof and skirt left to a low angle exit.
4	Full Moon	5.9
Start on Blue moon and go over the roof.
	The Column	5.6
Take the left side dihedral of the 20ft column leaning against the south pillar of the strip.
5	The Column Direct +	5.9
Climb the front slab of the column. Mantel the ledge and make a direct line to the top. A bit run out on the column with gear at the top followed by a second crux and thin spicy gear on the wall above.
6	Columnmiester ++	5.6
Climb the north facing corner of the south pillar in-between Jammermiester and The Column Direct.
7	Jammermiester +	5.6
The rightmost climb on the left pillar of the strip. Easy mantels and balance friction moves lead to a bomber hand crack at the top.

North Pillar

8	Birdland *(Knights Corner)*	5.8
A fresh yellow face in the midst of old gray classics. Created after the rock fall of 1995. Climb up heavily featured rock to an open book corner dihedral. Pull the 5.8 move to the ledge and scramble up a chimney to finish the route. Rumor is that in 1998 a #0 TCU went into the thin crack of the dihedral, now a #1 fits nice.
9	Piece of Cake +++	5.7
One of the vertical highways of the interstate parks. The glare off the buffed basalt can blind you on a sunny day. Sustained climbing through a mixture of vertical cracks and horizontal ledges. The face holds may be greasy but the cracks still hold some abrasion.
10	Piece of Pie	5.8
A small roof above a shallow arete holds the crux move. Continue with the arete to the top. Gear placements appear less often on this route, making it a shade harder on lead.
11	Rosebush ++	5.5
This route features face, crack, chimney, and overhang climbing. Thanks to big holds and obvious gear it is a great moderate lead.

Other Routes

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1	Devil's Chair closed ++	5.9
From the base of The Bulge walk directly down stream 20 yards and you will find a small pinnacle open to the river. Climb the east face wide crack to the top and delicately down climb (5.0) the saddle on the other side. If the offwidth doesn't scare you off then the wigley 35 ton rock on the top should. If that still doesn't keep you off, the park service has decided that the route is closed.
2	Station 62 ++	5.10+
A varied crack system leads to an intriguing roof with a finger crack cutting it in half. Good protection makes this an excellent lead.
3	The Great Crack +	5.9+
To the north of station 62 by a couple yards lies a spliter finger crack about 20 feet in length. Here you can get in more finger locks than any other climb on the MN side. On a top rope you can do the crack as well as the excellent slab face (5.11?) to the right.