The Midwest Climbing festival
The Quartzite Classic is a grassroots climbing festival dedicated to celebrating the past, present, and future of climbing at Devil’s Lake. Our homegrown event will bring climbers together for education, connection, community, and stewardship.
Hosted by the Wisconsin Climbers Association, in partnership with local organizations and businesses, the festival features educational clinics, community gatherings, and stewardship projects to support the sustainability of climbing at Devil’s Lake and across the midwest. Our vision is to honor the past, strengthen our community, and give back to the land that has given us so much.
Registration opens in July!
Festival Details
When & Where
October 9 - 11, 2026
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
Devil’s Lake State Park
Skillet Creek Campground
Registration
The Quartzite Classic offers three options for registration on a sliding scale.
Standard registration is $75, which includes on-site parking, access to tent site camping, admission to the festival, and a wristband for complimentary beer courtesy of Tumbled Rocks Brewery (21+). This rate represents the "true cost" at which we would break even after paying our expenses.
Participants who are able to afford an additional $25 are encouraged to upgrade to a Sustaining registration for $100, which will support the WCA in our mission to make the festival accessible to the community. This rate helps offset for individuals who pay the Supported rate.
We offer Supported registration at a cost of $50 for participants facing financial challenges. We recognize that the Supported rate may also be inaccessible to some; please get in touch for a "pay what you can" option. If you would like to volunteer during the festival in exchange for a free registration, please email us.
Please note that this event is not organized for profit: any revenue above our expenses will be reinvested to support the climbing community in Wisconsin.
Camping & Festival Grounds
All camping and festival events will be held at Skillet Creek Campground, just a stone’s throw from Devil’s Lake State Park.
Tent camping is available at Skillet Creek Campground plus a limited number of cabins. Please email us to reserve an accessible cabin at info@wiclimbers.com.
Cabins
A limited number of waterfront cabins are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each cabin sleeps 6-8 people and includes air conditioning/heating, a private bathroom with shower, fridge, microwave, stovetop and oven. Booking a cabin for $600 includes festival registration for one participant who is welcome to share the cabin with up to 7 other festival participants (all of whom must register separately using one of the above registration rates).
Please note that the cabins will be next to the festival and vendor tents, with potentially some tent campers in the grass around the cabins. Important: if you are a wheelchair user, or have other mobility/accessibility needs - especially if tent camping will not work for you - please email so we can work to accommodate you.
Climbing Clinics
Info coming soon!
Vendors & Sponsors
If you or your business would like to join the festival as a vendor, please email info@wiclimbers.com.
Community Gatherings
This is what climbing festivals are all about! The Quartzite Classic will include:
Vendor exhibitions
Social events
Climbing games
Gear & prizes raffle
Local Legend Award
& various other festival shenanigans!
Meetups
More information coming soon! If you represent an affinity group that would like to host a meetup, please email info@wiclimbers.com
Stewardship
The WCA is hosting a Devil’s Lake stewardship event on Sunday from approx. 9am to 1pm for volunteers who want to help improve climbing access and give back to the climbing community. More info coming soon!