North Forty Climbing

This digital North Forty climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your North Forty days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

The rock lining the northern edge of Horseshoe Canyon is home to the largest and most popular cliff in the canyon. This 163-route mega crag, comprised of exceptional rock and routes ranging from 5.4 to 5.13a, is bar none America’s best moderate sport-climbing area. The bread and butter of The Forty resides in the moderate realm; however, there is a good selection of classics in the 5.11 and low-end-5.12 range as well. Most of these easy clip-ups follow incredible lines of chickenheads and perfectly rounded jugs on gorgeous stone. Climbers of all abilities should check out ... Show more

This digital North Forty climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your North Forty days smoother, safer, and more dialed. The rock lining the northern edge of Horseshoe Canyon is home to the largest and most popular cliff in the canyon. This 163-route mega crag, comprised of exceptional rock and routes ranging from 5.4 to 5.13a, is bar none America’s best moderate sport-climbing area. The bread and butter of The Forty resides in the moderate realm; however, there is a good selection of classics in the 5.11 and low-end-5.12 range as well. Most of these easy clip-ups follow incredible lines of chickenheads and perfectly rounded jugs on gorgeous stone. Climbers of all abilities should check out the Circus Wall. Not only does it feature the densest concentration of classics at the ranch, but it may also take the cake for the area’s prettiest rock. With one exception, Tattooed Lady Direct (5.11a), HCR’s flagship crag does lack great trad climbing. It is, however, a decent area for learning how to trad climb, as a number of mediocre moderate cracks are scattered throughout—virtually all of which now boast bolt anchors. The one downside that accompanies this “must-see” area is the crowds. In fact, more commonly than not, The North Forty is busier than all the other cliffs in Arkansas…combined. It’s not uncommon to see groups of climbers who road-trip to the ranch and never leave The Forty. Antisocial types looking to escape the chaos should migrate to The Land Beyond (the eastern end of The North Forty). The climbing is much shorter and the rock is not as quality, but it’s a quick place to escape the crowds and knock out a bunch of pitches. Conditions: Generally speaking, The North Forty faces due south and gets excellent all-day sun. A number of sectors face slightly southwest and southeast and therefore provide a few sun/shade options throughout the day. Also, many of the areas that make up the eastern end of The Forty—The Wall of Early Morning Light, The Land Beyond, and parts of the Groovy Area—face due east and are a great place to catch first light or escape the afternoon sun. The other place to find shade is the Corridor Area. Many of the routes stay shaded throughout the day. It’s very common in the summer for climbers to start early at any number of areas and then retreat to the North Forty Corridor as the day heats up. This is also the only sector at The Forty that provides some rain protection, though it’s best to avoid rainy days at The Forty altogether, as even the Corridor routes will get soaked in anything more than a light rain. Nevertheless, don’t be afraid to hit up The Forty immediately after a storm—the south-facing hard-sandstone walls dry quite quickly. Both the North Forty and The Land Beyond are approached from the campground. Drive: Park at the campground. Hike: Standard North Forty Approach (5 min): Use this approach to access all of the routes left (west) of the Scampi Wall. From the shower house, hike north on the dirt road that leads uphill and go right at the intersection at the top of hill. You’ll see a large freestanding boulder on the left side of the road shortly after the junction; the north side of this boulder features the first route in this chapter, Sour Girl (5.10c). For the rest of The Forty, continue just past Sour Girl and take a right on the obvious trail, which immediately crosses a small creekbed. Follow this trail to a split. The left fork leads to the cliffline at the Circus Wall, while the right fork (Honey Badger Trail) leads deeper into The North Forty Boulders. Bridge Trail (5 min): This approach is the best option for the routes on the Scampi Wall and everything to climber’s right of it. From the shower house, hike to the northernmost part of the campground and pick up the Johnson Family Express (JFE) trail just before it crosses the wooden bridge. Use the bridge and stay on the JFE through its intersection with the HB Connector trail. Not long after this junction the trail enters the edge of field. Take the next left on a well-worn climber’s trail that heads uphill into the trees, where it starts to steepen and weave in and out of boulders. (A number of different spur trails break off toward boulders in this section; just stay on the most obvious path.) Just after the steepest section, the trail heads up to the Kindergarten Boulder.