Bouldering in Icicle Creek
Rate this Adventure Washington › Icicle Creek
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Activities:
Chillin, Camping, Photography, Hiking, Rock Climbing
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Skill Level:
Beginner
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Season:
Spring, Summer
Central Cascades, Leavenworth area. A great place to camp with friends and boulder all weekend! The town is 5 minutes away so you can always stack up on snacks or grab a real meal, or just check out the cool town of Leavenworth. Be wary of the drive over the pass, only risk it in fall and winter seasons if you have the appropriate car and tire chains. Meadows. Wildflowers. Views.
Icicle Creek in Leavenworth is widely known for it's awesome bouldering and top roping spots. The only difficult thing is finding the boulders you want to climb. Most the time there is a jumble of cars outside the specific trailheads (like I said, it's a popular place), but just in case, don't go there without first researching Icicle Creek. Even though it's popular, there's more than enough boulders to go around and a lot more trailheads the farther down the road you go.
There is a variety of routes available at each section all the way from v1 to v9. Most of the boulders have a little walk to get to, but nothing terrible. Keep in mind that it is an open area. At the beginning there's usually a little trail, but after that it's up to you to find the boulders that you want to climb. This usually entails that you scramble over some logs and rocks, but it's not hard.
A bouldering guidebook is imperative if you actually want to know the routes and find the right boulders, but other than that, half the time we just climbed whatever we found.
Other than the climbing aspects, the place is beautiful. The forrest is wide open, lots of wildflowers and little meadows everywhere. It has great views of foothills and the river runs parallel to Icicle Creek Rd. The town of Leavenworth is only a short car ride if you want to get back to society
The book that we brought in order to find the specific clusters is in the "Pack List" section. There's a newer version out, as well as tons of other Pacific Northwest bouldering books.
Getting There:
Head east on Hwy 2 toward Icicle Road, on the western edge of Leavenworth. Turn right onto Icicle Road and proceed for 1.9 miles, then continue onto Icicle Creek Road for 6.5 miles. Continue straight onto Hwy 76/NF-7600, and proceed on this road for 8.1 miles, then make a slight right onto NF-7609.
Coordinates:47.7462, -121.0859
Pack List
- Hand salve for after climbing. Your hands are bound to get raw, some of the rocks are finely sharp.
- Climbing shoes of course
- Crash pads
- Chalk bag
- Lots and lots of water. On hot days in Leavenworth you'll get dehydrated quick
- Snacks
- Swimsuit if you want to chance the river!
- Flower press if you're into that sort of thing. Lots of wildflowers starting in the late spring-early summer
- Camera!
Book: Central Washington Bouldering book
More Information:Icicle Creek Bouldering
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There's a handful of things that pretty much sum me up: I'm 21, a mother to my crazy little 5-year-old boy, Enzo; and a student at the University of Washington, and I live for the outdoors. I grew up camping and studying botany and ecology (on a lower level of course) and I'm intrigued by everything nature! I may not have loads of cash to travel near and wide with pristine camping/camera equipment, nor do I have the time, but I try my best to get back to my roots and make more memories with my son and the people I meet on the way. Here's to many, many more adventures and cheers to nature and it's bonding magic!
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