The beautiful and intimidating rock faces of Wyoming are tourism magnets, and by adding the words “rock climbing” to the state’s Recreation Safety Act, advocates hope to unleash the economic potential of rock climbing on private land.
Testimony before the Wyoming House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources Committee on Thursday reflected on the state’s changing recreational landscape and how specific language is needed to keep up with the growing popularity of rock climbing.
“Saturday mornings, I used to grab my bag, my basketball shoes and head down and play ball,” said Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander.
Lander has world-class rock climbing in its backyard and is sought out as a bucket-list item for many serious climbers.
Nowadays, Larsen said he sees his neighbors heading off to rock climb in places like Wind River Canyon. A former constituent of Larsen’s approached him with concerns about property owners’ liability if they grant permission for someone to rock climb on their private land.
This landowner wanted, “To make sure that as a landowner, he's not putting himself in a delicate situation by allowing access,” Larsen said.
The Recreation Safety Act protects private property owners who allow non-commercial “mountain climbing,” along with a lengthy list of other covered activities like “dude ranching” and “soccer.” But the law does not specifically mention “rock climbing.”
That’s why Larsen said he’s sponsoring House Bill 73, which adds the words “rock climbing” to the activities covered under the Recreation Safety Act.
“Mountain climbing and rock climbing is kind of bifurcated and so to consider rock climbing as mountain mountain climbing, that is no longer applicable,” said Larsen.
The bill passed unanimously out of committee.
‘Kind Of A Bummer’
Climbing advocacy groups like the Central Wyoming Climbers' Alliance (CWCA) see climbing areas on private land as an underutilized resource.
Chelsea Rude, the event and marketing director for CWCA, told the committee Thursday via Zoom that to many, “Climbing might seem like a very dangerous sport, and so I have seen a lot of climbing areas on private land not have access to the community. And I think that's really kind of a bummer.”
Rude cited tourism research showing that, “In Lander alone, we brought in $4.5 million annually just from visiting climbers. It would be really awesome if we had more accessibility to some of these climbing areas such as in Wind River Canyon to help bring in money to this state.”
A 2024 report from the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education and Leadership found that nearly 37,000 people visit Wyoming each year to climb, with 78% coming from outside those areas.
The report also says climbers usually stay nearly a week and supports $1.7 million in wages for area workers.
Good For The Soul
Testimony Thursday made the case that not only is rock climbing an economic catalyst, it’s also spiritually beneficial for all involved.
That’s what Charlie Thomas, board member of the Teton Climbers Coalition, told the committee.
“We feel that allowing someone to recreate on private land is an act of generosity and it's a great benefit for the people who get to go hiking or climbing or fishing,” he said. “But we also feel that it also benefits the landowner. I think that giving, sharing their land with others makes them happier. It’s good for their soul.”
Thomas offered more details about the need for specifically naming “rock climbing” in state law because it will provide clarity when climbers approach landowners and ask for access.
“Many landowners, when it comes to climbing, are hesitant,” said Thomas. “In this bill, pointing out climbing specifically as a case where they would not incur any liability would really help landowners to feel free to share their land.”
That point was echoed by Chris Floyd, deputy director of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources.
“A lot of times, if it doesn't have their specific activity that they're interested in on there you know it can be a little concerning,” said Floyd. “In Wyoming, there is increased pressure on our public lands for outdoor recreation and one strategy we have is to educate folks to disperse them.
“I think as we start to see more pressure on our public lands to see if there are opportunities on private lands. And we've seen that in some cases with recreational activities. So this seems like a good way to help make that happen.”
Adding specific language to access and liability laws is increasingly common, said Katie Goodwin, Western Regional Director at the Access Fund, a national organization she said is “dedicated to protecting and conserving climbing areas.”
“We have supported the inclusion of rock climbing specifically to 10 other recreational use statutes across other states,” Goodwin told the committee. “So this would not be the first of its kind. Similar to hunting, the ability to have access to private property to recreate, but also providing a clear liability protective layer for the landowner is very valuable in providing uninhibited access.”
Too Many To Name?
Mark Aronowitz, executive director of Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming, told the committee that no matter the activity, if it’s free and it takes place on public land, then it’s already covered by existing language in the Recreation Safety Act.
“You've got a pretty long laundry list going of activities here. You don't need to keep adding to it,” said Aronowitz. “It can go on and on. Pickleball, dodgeball, kickball. Sports that aren't in there, those things are already covered because they're all already sports or recreational opportunities.
“If you let people onto your land to recreate for free no matter what they're doing — hiking, biking, mountain biking, rock climbing, bouldering — if they don't charge, they have no liability.”
Committee Member Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, said it doesn’t hurt to put it in there.
“It sounds like maybe we should look at this at some other point, but I support moving the bill forward the way it is for now until we can have kind of an overarching fix for landowners,” she said.
Rep. Marilyn Connolly, R-Buffalo, asked for confirmation that this does not require a private landowner to provide access for rock climbing or any other activity.
Committee Chair Rep. Andrew Byron, R-Jackson, reassured Connolly that, “I will clear that up. This does not open up any private land. It does not in any way shape or form require or otherwise to open up land. This is a very important part of our recreational attitude in Wyoming.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
