Sun Drop II Tower
- 7 routes
- 5.5 – 5.11+
- Top Rope · Trad
- Apr–Oct
- best months
Sun Drop II Tower is a climbing area in Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota, managed by State Park and Recreation. It sits among a cluster of other climbing spots, with Red Rock Buttress, Quarry Corner Buttress and Lover's Fortress all about 0.1 mile away. The area has seven routes, with top rope the most common style. Trad routes make up two of them. Grades run from 5.5 to 5.11+, with the median around 5.10a. Sun Drop is a top rope at 5.9-, and Into The Sun is a top rope at 5.11+. For timing, late spring and early fall are the most comfortable. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Rock Rapids, Iowa, show May highs around 70°F and September highs around 75°F, with July the warmest month at about 85°F.
- Red Rock ButtressRock climbing0.1 mi
- Quarry Corner ButtressRock climbing0.1 mi
- Hidden ButtressRock climbing0.1 mi
- Trump BouldersRock climbing0.1 mi
- Lover's FortressRock climbing0.1 mi
- Mini FortressRock climbing0.1 mi
- L-ButtressRock climbing0.1 mi
- First FortressRock climbing0.2 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- Trump BouldersRock climbing · Next door
- Lover's FortressRock climbing · Next door
- Mini FortressRock climbing · Next door
- L-ButtressRock climbing · Next door
- First FortressRock climbing · Next door
- Receding Ramparts AreaRock climbing · Next door
- South Quarry AreaRock climbing · Next door
- Prairie Walls AreaRock climbing · Next door
- Bottom Boulders ButtressRock climbing · Next door
- Midnight ButtressRock climbing · Next door
Also worth it near here
- Blue Mound State Park Tipi and Cart-In CampgroundCamping · ~2 min drive
Rock RiverCanoeing · ~33 min drivePhoto: Don Graham from Redlands, CA, USA - God bless it!, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Great Bear Recreation ParkDownhill skiing · ~44 min drivePhoto: Jake DeGroot, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Hawkeye PointSummit · ~50 min drivePhoto: Brian M. Powell (user Bitmapped on en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Best time to visit Sun Drop II Tower
Best months: April–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
25° / 6°
5 wet
Feb
30° / 10°
5 wet
Mar
43° / 22°
6 wet
Apr
58° / 34°
9 wet
May
70° / 47°
12 wet
Jun
81° / 58°
10 wet
Jul
85° / 62°
8 wet
Aug
82° / 59°
8 wet
Sep
75° / 50°
7 wet
Oct
61° / 36°
6 wet
Nov
44° / 23°
5 wet
Dec
30° / 12°
5 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Rock Rapids, IA, 18.8 mi away at 1,350 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
