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Climbs 52
Rocktype Limestone
Altitude 188m a.s.l
Faces all

Crag features

Many would think that this area would be a miserable place for climbing in summer. Auburn has hot, dry summers. Most walls are definitely too hot for portions of the day, but the cool and sheltered Horseshoe Canyon is nearly always shaded and a great place to keep relatively cool. In the summer the Twin Towers and Wreckage Wall areas are best in the early morning shaded hours.

Winter climbing can be lovely here on a warm sunny day, but as mentioned above, Horseshoe Canyon remains shaded all day and never gets warm. Scale Wall stays sunny but is not protected from winds and Memorial Wall gets partial sun during short days. The big Gray Slab also is unprotected from wind but can soak up the sun a few hours a day.

Please consider donating to CRAGS in Sacramento if you are frequenting the area as the group pays the insurance necessary to allow rock climbing in the state park. CRAGS also has volunteer opportunities.

Approach notes

There are no fees to climb but there is a fee for parking in the Auburn State Recreational Area lot. There is free parking on the west edge of Highway 49 between the lot where the trail head begins and where it crosses the river, if you get there early enough. 

From the parking lot, hike just over a mile. The trail splits here and you will need to follow the section that goes up and to the right. There is a sign here pointing the way to the quarry. On your left will be remnants of an old loading platform that was used for transport of limestone via rail car. follow this trail up a couple of switchbacks for 0.3 miles and you will turn a corner with an eye popping view of the Auburn Quarry. Memorial Wall will be on your right and Scale Wall will be on your left. Don't be a "lazy climber" and cut the trail!

No Access Issues

An unfortunate accident occured in the 1990s when a climber/daredevil made a poor decision to jump off a cliff with his dynamic rope for fun. The rope either stretched too much for the man's weight of was too long or both. The young man struck the ground and died. The response by the landowner was to keep the climbers out. Sneaky climbers often found their way to the quarry but if caught they faced a stiff fine. By 1999 other climbers found the quarry and more development occured.

In 2001 a gravel producer, Teichert Materials, bought the quarry from Spreckels, and the quarry remained off limits for many years. Since mining of the quarry was (and still is) only taking place in a relatively small portion of the upper quarry area, climbers joined forces in homes of securing rights to climb here. In 2013 the hard work of CRAGS (Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento), as well as the Access Fund paid off. Landowners sold the land to the Auburn State Recreation Area and an agreement was made to allow limited rock climbing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The relationship between CRAGS and the Auburn State Recreation Area solidificed and as of April 2014 the quarry is now open for climbing seven days a week to the public! There are fines for taking dogs to the crag unleashed, or being at the crag before sunrise or after sunset. CRAGS has paid for the blanketed insurance needed to allow rock climbing at the state park.

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