The ground rules for climbing location "yeahs" and "neahs"
Summary
Ferguson Canyon is located south of Salt Lake City, UT, adjacent to Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons. With so much climbing in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons, one might wonder why come here? Well, for one, it is dog friendly (you can’t bring dogs into either of the Cottonwood Canyons). You can also top rope quite a few climbs.
Ferguson is a small local crag with a couple hundred single pitch trad and sport routes. A large number of the routes are trad, but there are enough sport and top-rope accessible climbs that there is something for everyone. The vast majority of routes end in bolted anchors.
The rock is a high quality, solid quartz monzonite (similar to granite) that provides interesting and varied climbing. The rock can get slick on frequented climbs, but other than that has descent friction.
The climbing areas are spread out across a single trail that enters into the canyon. Some areas only have a few climbs on smaller sections of rock. There are two areas with the most concentrated number of climbs (around 45 climbs each): Watchtower and Cathedral.
The approach is an easy 10 to 15-minute walk on a well-trodden, shaded trail.
Directions
From the North: From I-15, take I-80 east (exit 304) to I-215 S (exit 128), follow the from I-215 directions below.
From the South: From I-15, take I-215 towards the mountains.
From I-215: Exit onto E 6200 S (exit 6) and head south-southeast on Wasatch Blvd (towards the mountains) for about 2 miles then turn left onto a small road that brings you to Prospector Drive. Head south on Prospector Drive (Prospector drive is also accessible from Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd) then turn north onto Timberline Drive. There is public parking here. There is also overflow parking along the road Prospector Dr.
Grading, Boltings, and Guidebook Tips
Many of the routes were established in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Watch out for the routes established in the early 1980s, they use the old school gradings and some could be considered heavily sandbagged when compared to today's grading.
The area offers a diversity of moderate and modernly-rated climbs from 5.4 to 5.12, with a good distribution in the 5.8-5.10 range.
The local guidebooks are:
Camping
There is no camping at Ferguson Canyon, as it is located adjacent to a neighborhood and is day use only. There is camping in nearby Big Cottonwood Canyon, approximately 10-13 miles into the canyon (Canyon Spruces campground and Redman Campground, see below). There is also camping in Little Cottonwood Canyon about 5 miles in (Tanners Flat Campground, see below)
Rock Type, Climbing, and Style
Ferguson Canyon is comprised of quartz monzonite, somewhat similar to granite, but different enough to be its own unique experience. The rock tends to be blocky and featured with horizontal cracks (keep that in mind when climbing trad). Many of the climbs are trad, but there is a mix of sport and and top rope here. The style of climbing is featured face.
Yeahs
Neahs
Opinion Rating
Worth It!
This is a fun, clean neighborhood crag. It’s hard to compete with the neighboring world-class climbing in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons, but that’s not what this place is about.
Photos and beta for Ferguson Canyon
- Each location will receive an opinion rating - "It Rocks!", "Worth It," "Meh," or "Trash."
- Each crag has its own personality with unique advantages and challenges, which are highlighted.
- It is tempting to list “beautiful” as a “yeah,” but that is true for a lot of crags. I allude to beauty and scenery in the summary. You can also (sometimes) tell by the photo. If the place is a dump, then that will be listed in the “neahs” and rated as "Meh" or "Trash.
Summary
Ferguson Canyon is located south of Salt Lake City, UT, adjacent to Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons. With so much climbing in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons, one might wonder why come here? Well, for one, it is dog friendly (you can’t bring dogs into either of the Cottonwood Canyons). You can also top rope quite a few climbs.
Ferguson is a small local crag with a couple hundred single pitch trad and sport routes. A large number of the routes are trad, but there are enough sport and top-rope accessible climbs that there is something for everyone. The vast majority of routes end in bolted anchors.
The rock is a high quality, solid quartz monzonite (similar to granite) that provides interesting and varied climbing. The rock can get slick on frequented climbs, but other than that has descent friction.
The climbing areas are spread out across a single trail that enters into the canyon. Some areas only have a few climbs on smaller sections of rock. There are two areas with the most concentrated number of climbs (around 45 climbs each): Watchtower and Cathedral.
The approach is an easy 10 to 15-minute walk on a well-trodden, shaded trail.
Directions
From the North: From I-15, take I-80 east (exit 304) to I-215 S (exit 128), follow the from I-215 directions below.
From the South: From I-15, take I-215 towards the mountains.
From I-215: Exit onto E 6200 S (exit 6) and head south-southeast on Wasatch Blvd (towards the mountains) for about 2 miles then turn left onto a small road that brings you to Prospector Drive. Head south on Prospector Drive (Prospector drive is also accessible from Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd) then turn north onto Timberline Drive. There is public parking here. There is also overflow parking along the road Prospector Dr.
Grading, Boltings, and Guidebook Tips
Many of the routes were established in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Watch out for the routes established in the early 1980s, they use the old school gradings and some could be considered heavily sandbagged when compared to today's grading.
The area offers a diversity of moderate and modernly-rated climbs from 5.4 to 5.12, with a good distribution in the 5.8-5.10 range.
The local guidebooks are:
- Ferguson Canyon Rock Climbing by Tony Calderone (2016)
- Print Guide: Carried by local REIs (there is one not far from the canyon) or purchased online at (~$10): http://www.mountaindreamer.net/store/p2/FergusonCanyonRockClimbingPrintGuide
- Rakkup digital guide for your phone (~$3 to rent and $6 to buy): https://rakkup.com/guidebooks/ferguson-canyon-rock-climbing/
- Ferguson to Lone Peak: A Granite Guide by Nathan Smith, Andrew Burr, Tyler Phillips
(2016) (~$45): http://www.pullpublishing.com/books-1/a-granite-guide- Also available at local outdoor stores and The Front climbing gym.
- Rock Climbing the Wasatch Range by Stuart Ruckman and Bret Ruckman (~1998) (~$35): https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Wasatch-Range-Regional/dp/0762727306
- Mountain Project: https://www.mountainproject.com/v/ferguson-canyon/105739289
Camping
There is no camping at Ferguson Canyon, as it is located adjacent to a neighborhood and is day use only. There is camping in nearby Big Cottonwood Canyon, approximately 10-13 miles into the canyon (Canyon Spruces campground and Redman Campground, see below). There is also camping in Little Cottonwood Canyon about 5 miles in (Tanners Flat Campground, see below)
- Canyon Spruces Campground: http://www.recreation.gov/camping/spruces/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70331
- Redman Campground: http://www.recreation.gov/camping/redman-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70316
- Tanners Flat Campground: http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/tanners-flat/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70341
Rock Type, Climbing, and Style
Ferguson Canyon is comprised of quartz monzonite, somewhat similar to granite, but different enough to be its own unique experience. The rock tends to be blocky and featured with horizontal cracks (keep that in mind when climbing trad). Many of the climbs are trad, but there is a mix of sport and and top rope here. The style of climbing is featured face.
Yeahs
- You can find shaded climbing in the summer.
- Dogs are allowed.
- Rock quality is good.
- Top rope set-up access is good.
- Nice variety of climbs and ratings.
- People seem to take good care of it and clean up after themselves.
- It’s a local and social type of crag.
- The approach is reasonable and straight forward.
- There is designated parking (although it can get full when busy).
- There is a nice variety of trad and sport.
Neahs
- Routes tend to be on the shorter side – 30-40 feet, but there are a few 100 - 160 foot routes (which can be done as single or multi-pitch routes).
- Watch out for routes established in the early 1980s, as they use the old school grading system. Some of the routes could be considered heavily sandbagged.
- Honestly, I can’t really think of any significant neahs. It’s not “world class” but that’s not really worthy of a neah.
Opinion Rating
Worth It!
This is a fun, clean neighborhood crag. It’s hard to compete with the neighboring world-class climbing in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons, but that’s not what this place is about.
Photos and beta for Ferguson Canyon
