McLellan is a relatively newly developed area approximately 30 miles west of Spokane. It is located on undeveloped State Parks land on the south bank of the Spokane River. The climbing is on a series of small (50-foot) granite domes and corridors scattered about in a pleasant, open forest of ponderosa pine.
Climbing at McLellan began in earnest in the early 2000s. There are now more than 50 routes from 5.7 to 5.12 (nearly all of them sport routes), plus some bouldering.
Ownership/Management:
McLellan lies on land managed by Washington State Parks (Riverside State Park) as the Fisk Day Use Area.
Current status:
All crags are open.
Access considerations:
No known access or enviornmental concerns. There is parking at the Fisk Day Use Area lot (on South Banks Road, 13.5 miles from Riverside State Park headquarters), or in pull-offs a little farther up the road (don’t park too far off the road). Car break-ins have been a problem, particularly at the designated lot.
State Parks Discover Pass needed for parking.
Rat Run, an improbably steep 5.10b at the Pack Rat Cave, McLellan.
Photo by Dave Stephens.