Angle Rock

NOTE: the Taylor's Falls river boat goes right past Angle rock so be ready for tourists gawking and taking pics about 30 feet away. And in general be nice and don't litter since the boat passing by makes this a very public location.

Angle rock doesn't have the highest climbs (climbs are about 30 ft.) at Taylor's, but it is still a great spot to climb and has some real advantages. It is in the shade in the morning and is always cooler because it is right next to the river making it a great spot when the Minnesota and Wisconsin strips are baking in direct sun. Top rope setup is very easy and the climbs are good so the only thing you are compromising is height. Angle rock is not as popular as other areas so it is usually open when other routes are full and last the climbs range from 5.6 to 5.11 so there's variety enough to keep a group of mixed abilities happy.

PRACTICAL INFO

There is a large boulder on the top of angle rock that is great for making a anchor (wrap it with 40+ feet of webbing). Using long runners and directionals it is easy to hang the anchor carabiners directly above almost all of the routes without have to set a new anchor for every climb and is something I feel saves time.

Angle rock has 2 'faces' for lack of a better word. The upriver face, looks towards the bridge and the town. The down river face looks towards...well it just looks across the river at some rocks and trees in Wisconsin.

For the upriver face it is best to belay from above since some of the climbs have no base area and if you belay from above you do not have to worry about your rope slack getting wet. There is a rock in the river that you can belay from if yo umust belay from below, but beware of passing boats creating wake.

The down river side features a nice large, shaded ledge to belay from and sit on while watching friends climb; the ledge is easily visible when you look over the edge of the face. The most direct way to access the ledge is to rappel off the top; but there is also an easy scramble/walk route up/down from the ledge; I cannot explain it but it is easy to figure out if you just head up the ledge and you will find your way. For some of the climbs you will have to lower yourself off the ledge and down 10 ft to the water line to do the full route but this is not difficult or scary and beginning climbers can just start from the ledge if they want to.