OTR 2026 Announcement
As you plan for the year ahead, we want to share an update about On This Rock. The event has been moved from Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 for two reasons:
Supporting the local climbing community: The first weekend of October this year is going to be the inaugural Smith Rock Climbing Festival, a grassroots event led by our local climb shop, RedPoint (check them out!) Common Ground is excited to support this festival in several ways, and moving OTR allows both events to thrive without overlap. If you love climbing and the PNW climbing community, mark your calendars on October 2-4, 2026 for this first-ever festival!
Fine-tuning On This Rock: Our planning team is using this extra time to assess OTR and dial it in even more toward it’s mission—improving accessibility, experiencing belonging, and considering Jesus in the climbing space. Please keep our team in prayer, reach out to us with any ideas you have for OTR’s future, and block out May 21–23, 2027 for the next OTR!
Check out thIs video to catch a glimpse of what occurred at past On This Rock festivals.
MISSION, FAQS + CONTACTS
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On This Rock is a free climbing festival that Common Ground hosts next to Smith Rock State Park in Terrebonne, Oregon. The event is multifaceted, with attendees engaging in various components of the event’s focus on improving accessibility, experiencing belonging, and considering Jesus’ approach to spirituality in the climbing space.
Each year we’ve totaled about 300 people interacting with On This Rock.
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On This Rock Climbing Festival has been moved to the spring of 2027. Mark your calendars for May 21-23!
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On This Rock is a totally free event. We’re blessed to have many donors and partners from year to year to help pay for the price of putting on the event.
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You sure can! Our On This Rock events cost around $20,000 to put on and our first event impacted over 300 people throughout the weekend. From our location, tent, many meals, water, professional-guides, and Reel Rock—everything has a dollar sign and those are just some of the many event details that we budget for. Want to be a donor? Head HERE to join us in our OTR events! We’re blessed to have donors like you be a part of this incredible journey.
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Yes, you sure can! Many of our Central Oregon locals came to last years showing of climbing films and didn’t stay for the whole On This Rock weekend. If you’d like to only join us for the climbing films, you’re more than welcome to—you’re missing out though!
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We have a large location for OTR because we want to give you the opportunity to camp on-site! There’s nothing like waking up in the morning to Smith Rock’s majestic nature. You’re also welcome to stay off-site. We’re more than happy to give some suggestions for places to stay!
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Many of the meals during the weekend are provided thanks to donors and partnering organizations. Meals include Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast & dinner, and Sunday breakfast. You’ll have to provide your own food for lunch. There are some grocery stores and yummy restaurants nearby. You can also leave comments when you register about food allergens. We’ll do our best to be accommodating!
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Definitely not! You’re welcome to come hang for some good times. If you’re new to climbing and want to be professionally-guided, there a few different groups going out on both Saturday and Sunday. You’ll be able to select one of those groups if you’d like. It’s totally free, but spots are extremely limited.
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We are stoked to invite vendors to apply for participation at OTR. Simply send us a message and we'll get back to you!
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We’re stoked to have Kevin Wilson, author of “The Way of Chai” be our presenter for On This Rock 2025. Dubbed as the “CEO of Chai” by Bon Appétit magazine, Bon Appétit magazine, Wilson shares his popular chai recipes and introduces readers to the art of making chai as a spiritual practice. His meditations on the brewing process illuminate valuable life lessons on attunement, gratitude, and serving others. While a steaming cup of chai can’t solve everything, it can help us tap into the power of patience, clarity, and intention. Learn more about Kevin on his website, HERE.
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Great! We have multiple professionally guided climbing groups heading to Smith Rock from the festival. Whether you’re a beginner or wanting to learn TRAD, you’ll have to act quickly as these groups are extremely limited and fill up fast.
