Rock Climbing Devil's Lake State Park

Mornin' to everyone visiting the giant muskie in Hayward, WI. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

This week's gripping email:

• Rock climbing Devil's Lake 🧗‍♂️

• EV Lake Michigan road trip ⚡️

• Wisconsin's last "wild lakes" 🌊 

• A special surprise from Wiscampsin ☕️

Devil's Lake Rock Climbing

Another outdoor hobby? Isn't the fishing, kayaking, hiking, skiing, camping, snowshoeing, hunting, biking *commercial break* canoeing, trail running, sailing, heck shoveling the driveway, enough?

True. We've got tons of stuff to do outdoors. But no outdoor pursuit tests the limits of the mind and body quite like dangling a hundred feet off the ground from a cliff.

And Wisconsin is no stranger to such an activity. In fact, we have one of the most famous climbing areas in the midwest, and continue to captivate climbers from all over the nation.

If you've never found yourself scrabbling over a rocky cliff face for that next handhold, we laid out the beginner's guide to Devil's Lake rock climbing so you too can get out 'der.

Rock Climbing Devil's Lake

• Offers 1,000+ classic trad and bouldering routes

• Home to some of the best mid-grade (difficulty) climbing in the nation

• Guide services a'plenty to put you on the rock safely

A brief history

We know what you're thinking - but Wisconsin doesn't haven't any real mountains!

If you're not counting the tower of beer cans in your shed, then that is true; Wisconsin has no real mountains to climb.

But unlike mountaineering, where a climber's goal is to summit the highest point of land on a mountain peak, rock climbing is more about the physicality of scaling specific rock faces called "pitches."

And in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, Devil's Lake State Park is the crowned jewel of Midwest rock climbing due to its towering bluffs, purple quartzite rock, and epic scenery of the lake, left by a glacier 15,000 years ago.

It's this featured landscape that first lured famous climbers such as Pete Cleveland in the 1960s, when he established what may have been one of the hardest routes in the country at the time (Son of Great Chimney, 5.12).

And at just an hour's drive from Madison, trying your hand at rock climbing Devil's Lake is well within 'reach.' Ha! Got 'em.

Devil's Lake climbing

What makes Devil's Lake so unique is that there is no sport climbing in the park, only trad, bouldering, and top roping.

This is due to the climbing community coming together and deciding that they would preserve the picturesque purple quartzite, rather than drill bolts into the rock as is done in sport climbing.

Trad climbing is the true "leave no trace" style of climbing, where a climber places his or her own gear (protection) in the form of cams and nuts. Like the DIY, 'duct tape and WD-40' version of climbing.

Bouldering, meanwhile, requires no ropes or gear placements. Focusing on short routes up and along boulders, these routes are highly-physical and can be protected with a crash pad in the event of a fall. This definitely started as a "hold my beer and watch this" moment.

Bouldering has had something of a re-awakening at Devil's Lake, depicted in a have-to-watch film by Organic Climbing.

If that prior section got you a little puckered, don't worry - a large majority of the trad routes in Devil's Lake State Park can be climbed via top-roping.

Perhaps the safest form of climbing, top-roping allows a climber to hike around the cliff to the top, set an anchor from above, then return to the bottom to climb the established rope.

And raved about in the online forums is Devil's Lake ample beginner-friendly routes in the 5.7 to 5.8 difficulty range (ratings typically range from 5.6 to as high as 5.15).

Gear and guides

As it is with most outdoor hobbies, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the essential gear (ropes, belay devices, cams, nuts, quickdraws, harnesses, helmets, etc) before heading out to the crag.

You'll also need to bring an experienced belay partner that you'd trust with your life, literally, as this person manages your rope that would catch you in the event of a fall. So maybe don't bring the guy you just met at the tailgate.

In reality, unless you read this entire email and thought yep, already knew all this annnnnd I'm a fricken beast, then you'll probably want to hire a climbing guide to 'teach you the ropes.'

Like Culver's exits along I-41, climbing guides are plentiful and can get you on the wall in a safe, enjoyable manner. The good folks at Apex Adventure Alliance offer outings of every kind, from anchor building courses and rescues to trad and private group climbs.

A 'gripping' tradition

With just a little bit of time, gear, and instruction, you too can experience the lore around Devil's Lake rock climbing.

Need to give your fingers a break? There's plenty of hiking, camping, and paddling to enjoy in this historic state park.

And if you can't make it, there's still plenty of climbing in Wisconsin that's sure to elevate the senses. Just check a map and read up on your objective with great apps like Mountain Project.

Just as long as you get out 'der!

This Week's Wiscampsin Weekly is brought to you by the best d*mn coffee cup money can buy.

When Wiscampsin founder Kevin pitched the idea of investing in a recycled-coffee bean coffee mug, I immediately trashed my "cheese curds, but made from the milk of squirrels" idea and jumped aboard.

Cripes, just look at how handsome these mugs are! But what makes them so special?

They're composed of 60% recycled coffee beans - a material that's biodegradable and non-toxic BPA free. Which helps reduce our reliance on plastic, and keeps coffee grounds from releasing methane in our landfills.*

Shucks, these mugs are just perfect for your morning cup of joe (or morning cup of Beer if you're my Uncle Joe), and are sturdy enough to take a beating on your next adventure.

So do your lips (and our wild places) a favor and click here! ☕️

Thanks for the support!

*As always, 1% of profits will go to the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks.

The "Holy Cripes" Moment of the Week❗️

Meeeeow. This beaut' of a Bobcat just happened to stroll in front of a trail cam in Tomahawk, and a porcupine decided to come by as well and scratch his armpit. Which we can only imagine how bad THAT would smell...

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

⚡️ On the road again: Wisconsin is teaming up with other midwest states to create the first-ever electric vehicle road trip route around Lake Michigan. The Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour will link chargers over 1,100 miles of drivable shore around our "third coast." With gas prices like this...

🥇 Spot the Bobcat: Remember this Facebook post that had you analyzing your screen to spot two bobcats? Well, the DNR just took home second place in the Conservation Post of the Year category. It also scored third in the Podcast category for its "Logging Off - Outdoors and Your Mental Health" episode. Kevin is still looking for the bobcats...

💦 Wisconsin's last wild lakes: Here in Wisco, we love boating, fishing, and paddling around our lakes. But how many of them are still considered "pristine?" According to state naturalist John Bates, no more than 136 - just one percent - remain wild. Save the leeches!

A review from the Trail... ("Why'd you have to go to the University of Minnesota, Keith!")

Well, how'd we do this week?

• 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀 Epic views. A great climb!

• 🧀🧀🧀 Struggled with the crux, but pretty good

• 🧀 Aw criminy. My belayer lowered me into poison ivy