Rock climbing in the midwest is sparse, but a regional mecca of the vertical adventure is found at Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin. The park is really popular for its picturesque shear cliffs that surrounds the pristine lake. The rock climbing scene is well established as a beacon of midwest rock climbing. Avid climbers can find guidebooks and intuitive routes, but another huge benefit to the rock climbing at Devil's Lake is a local guiding company that can be helpful to learn the craft, learn the zone's routes, or simply be your guide to a rock climbing adventure in general. Heartland Outdoor Adventure's favorite rock climbing guiding company is, Devil's Lake Climbing Guides.
There are rock climbing routes throughout the park. Scenery abounds just around each turn. The hiking trail system marks the approach to most of the climbing routes, and a local guide from Devil's Lake Climbing Guides is going to have the inside scoop on the appropriate climbs for the day for adventurer's skill level as well the traffic of the day. Since this is indeed a regional mecca for rock climbing the routes can be very popular, especially on weekends. However, a good guide knows the traffic patterns and timing to handle the traffic best for an enjoyable day rock climbing.
The climbing at Devil's Lake has something for everyone. There are small bouldering routes, which is an aspect of climbing where climbers ascend and traverse small routes close to the ground without ropes and have boulder pads softening any falls as well as a spotter. There are classic top rope routes, as well as plenty of trad(traditional) routes where climbers place their own anchors as they ascend.
Another benefit of hiring a local climbing guide is they will handle all of the technical aspects of that for adventurers in setting anchors for top roping, bringing boulder pads and spotting climbers, or leading the trad routes to set the anchors for the ascent.
^Getting the anchor just right for a top rope climb.
^Preparing the rappel.
^Ready to descend.
^Rappelling to the base of the climb.
^Climb on.
^Climber descending back to the bottom after a successful climb. A guide is an expert belayer to be the safety measure while climbing. They have the other end of the rope through the anchor into a belay device on their harness that enables the guide to keep the climber secure on the wall if the climber were to fall, or simply to lower the climber back down to the ground after the climber reaches the top.
^The beach at the State Park is a great way to cool off after a day rock climbing or simply have a down day relaxing, swimming, kayaking, or catching some sunshine rays. The beach is really popular most days, but there is plenty of beachfront and some really great lodge amenities as well.
^Local bar and grill vibes are pretty good too at the Tumbled Rock Brewery & Kitchen. Catch some live music, local craft beer, and delicious grub while settling down to recharge after a big day rock climbing.
