[2][3] The State of Oregon obtained the park property between 1960 and 1975 from the City of Redmond and Harry and Diane Kem.

It is made up of layers of recent basalt flows overlaying older Clarno ash and tuff formations.

[5] A half million years ago, basalt lava flows from nearby volcanoes covered the older tuff.

[2][4][6] More recently, the Crooked River cut its way through the layers of rock to create today's geographic features.

Smith Rock itself is a 3,200-foot (980 m)-high ridge (above sea level) with a sheer cliff-face overlooking a bend in the Crooked River (elev.

The Smith Rock area hosts many types of songbirds, like the canyon wren and the white-throated swift.

The soil and native vegetation on the steep hillsides in the park are very sensitive to damage, so visitors are required to stay on established trails.

[10] The winter weather is typically cold (below freezing), but climbers still make the journey due to the reduced traffic on routes.

[12] The Christian Brothers area is a large group of rock spires in between Asterisk Pass and The Dihedrals.

[19] It is one of the more popular areas to climb in the park with easy classics like Cinnamon Slab (5.6 Trad, 2 Pitch),[20] Bunny Face (5.7 Sport).

[29] Famed climber Beth Rodden made the first ascent of The Optimist (5.14b Sport) located on the "Koala Rock" side of the Marsupials.

[32] Directly across from the "mouth" of Monkey Face is a prominent rock outcropping (The Diving Board)[33] that comes fairly close to the tower.

[34] Adventurous climbers can connect these with 1" nylon webbing and create a "slackline" between the two locations, which can be traversed via a tethered safety line.

The Morning Glory Wall has a wide range of climbs but some of the more notable routes are 5 Gallon Buckets (5.8), Light on the Path (5.10a), Cool Ranch Flavor (5.11b), Magic Light (5.11b), Zebra Seam (5.11d), Churning in the Wake (5.13a) and Vicious Fish (5.13c).

[37] The Picnic Lunch Wall is generally the first image of Smith Rock State Park that most visitors get.

[38] It is also the beginning of the Misery Ridge, Wolf Tree, and River Trails and generally gets heavy hiking traffic.

[43] The Rope-De-Dope block sits across the Crooked River across from the main climbing areas such as The Morning Glory Wall.

The Rope-De-Dope Block is a common place for beginners to be able to top-rope or learn how to lead climb on easier routes.

[49] The Smith Rock Group has a lot of varied climbing but mostly sport with a couple of options for multi-pitch.

The most direct route is to hike to Asterisk Pass from the main trail into the park just west of The Christian Brothers area.

[4][8] Many of the state park campers will stay at Skull Hollow,[55] a nearby BLM camp ground.