These are directions to the Hurd Creek rock climbing area and to a tiny roadside crag along the way. This area is in the Grand Valley on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park between Granby and Winter Park.
WARNING: The descriptions and instructions on this page are not guaranteed in any way. Use them at your own risk.
My main motivation for creating these directions was for my own use. My family often stays at Snow Mountain Ranch (YMCA of the Rockies) and I have looked around for climbing. There is surprisingly little climbable rock in the Grand Valley; Winter Park may be fun for skiing, but Winter Park climbing leaves something to be desired. Snow Mountain Ranch has a bouldering cave and an indoor climbing wall (not designed by rocket scientists: in a two-story space it starts on the second floor). I had heard that there was some rock climbing nearby but always had difficulty finding it. The kind folks at Ice Box Mountain Sports (at the north end of Fraser, near the Ace Hardware, 970-722-7780) gave me directions which enabled me to find it. I've put my own directions on this page, so don't blame them. Note these are directions to the crag, not to the routes. I have not climbed at this area, yet. The folks at Ice Box say that somebody has stated an intention to write a guide to this small crag, but to my knowledge this hasn't been done. Check with Ice Box for more info about whether a guide exists, yet. Ice Box is also the nearest climbing shop.
The directions are given in mileage from the turnoff between Tabernash and Fraser. This turnoff is about 0.3 miles south of Tabernash and 3.7 miles north of Fraser. Your mileage may vary. This was written in August 2004 and reflect conditions as I found them then.
Mile 0.0 The turnoff is marked by a "Devil's Thumb" sign and an old red wagon on the east side of U.S. 40, just south of the over-pass south of Tabernash. Follow the road past a pond to a fork.
Mile 0.4 Go left in the direction of Meadow Creek Reservoir. You are on Grand County Road 84 at this point.
Mile 1.2 After crossing a stream the pavement ends and a road forks to the left. This left fork is not the way to the Hurd Creek Crag, but after about 0.1 mi it does a hairpin around a small outcrop. There are actually bolts on this rock for top-roping. It makes a suitable family and beginner's crag, but the routes are only 20-30 feet long. You can park at the hairpin.
Mile 1.3 Go right on 841, do not follow the Meadow Creek Reservoir road.
Mile 2.5 Stay to the left, do not follow 843.
Mile 2.9 Stay to the left, do not follow 848.
Mile 3.6 Go to the right on 8482, do not go straight on 8483. The road climbs up near a string of cabins. This part of the road had the worst driving conditions when I visited, but was carefully navigable in a passenger car.
Mile 4.7 Go right, not left on 128. The road improved here.
Mile 4.9 Go straight, not right on 128. The crag is visible across the valley to the north from this spot.
Mile 5.3 Along this steep straight section look for a cairn above a foot-bridge on the left or north side of the road. This marks the trailhead to the crag; parking is along the road.
From the cairn, hike across the bridge. After three or four minutes of winding north the trail heads west and northwest around the mountain and in three of four more minutes comes to a fork marked by a rusting automobile axle. The right, or upper fork goes to the upper area and the left or lower fork goes to the lower area, either one can be reached in a couple of minutes. It's possible to climb or hike from the lower area directly to the upper area. The crag faces south. Both areas are bolted.
As mentioned above, I have not climbed here and will not attempt to describe any routes, other to say that there are probably several dozen, mostly (if not all) single-pitch. The upper area in particular is festooned with bolts and has a lovely view down to the Grand Valley.
A separate link to this map is here.