Tacoma2012: Smith Rock State Park

On the way to Smith Rock State Park

Smith Rock State Park is an American state park located in central Oregon's High Desert near the communities of Redmond and Terrebonne. Its sheer cliffs of tuff and basalt are ideal for rock climbing of all difficulty levels. Smith Rock is generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing, and is host to cutting-edge climbing routes. It is popular for sport climbing, traditional climbing, multi-pitch climbing, and bouldering.

It is nice to see the sun shine on the other side of the mountains

Detroit Lake - the water is emerald green

Smith Rock itself is a 3,200-foot high ridge (above sea level) with a sheer cliff-face overlooking a bend in the Crooked River (elev. 2600 ft), making the cliffs about 600 feet high.

While only 500 feet, the steep scree slope of the Chute Trail can be a "challenge" for the uninitiated entering into the canyon of Smith Rock State Park. Of course, we forgot that we'd have to come back up that steep hill once we were done with the hike.

The River Trail is 2.5 miles of mostly flat terrain

Huh, a backboard and crutches....just in case........

It didn't dawn on us yet that we'd be climbing over this

Just a little jog around the water to get back onto the trail

Monkey Face rock

Hike up to the famous "Monkey Face" rock.

Monkey Face is a 350 foot spire that is the centerpiece of Smith Rock State Park. When viewed from the south, the top of the pillar resembles the face of a Monkey complete with a mouth, nose, and eyes.