Mill Creek canyon is a very dispersed climbing area with dozens of small sectors along Mill Creek south of Moab at an altitude of about 2300m offering climbs on rock solid quartzite.
Mill Creek is located in the La Sals south of Moab. This narrow creek offers climbing on both sides of the river. Due to its high altitude (2300m / 7500ft) it is best visited in late spring and until mid fall. In spring the river can make some of the sectors - mostly on the right side - hard or impossible to access. Mill Creek offers mostly single pitch sport climbing but also some multi-pitch and trad routes on outstanding quartzite. As the climbing is dispersed on many small sectors or even individual routes on the cliffs right and left of the river you can easily switch between sun and shade. As there is currently no official topo, climbing in Mill Creek is a bit of an adventure - be prepared to search for sectors and climbs and get information from local climbers.
Mill Creek is on public land but under strong watch by the Forest Service as the creek provides drinking water for Moab. Please behave accordingly, use the restrooms near the parking and pack-in what you pack-out. There seems to be a policy of "not sharing" information about the climbing at Mill Creek, you might think of it what you want but it is the main reason why the information here and elsewhere is incomplete. There is hope for change!
Drive south of Moab on highway 191 and take a left on the La Sal Loop Road. It will lead you up in the La Sal mountains and eventually into the National Forrest. Continue up until the road starts to decend for a bit, you will see a toilet on the left and some parking. There is also a sign indiacting the access path to the climbing. If you cross the bridge over Mill Creek you went to far! From there hike down the obvious, steep but well maintained trail into the creek. There are some paths leading left and right, go down until you have the choice to either go right (towards Sunny Side and Wicked Crag) or left to the sectors further down the valley.
You can camp in Manti-La Sal National Forrest.
As mentioned above, locals seem to try to keep the climbing area "secret", claiming potential access issues as main reason.
Did you know that you can create an account to record, track and share your climbing ascents? Thousands of climbers are already doing this.
Author(s): Karl Kelley
Date: 2022
ISBN: 978-1-954040-14-4
Author(s): Stewart Green
Date: 2020
ISBN: 9781493039357
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