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West
Virginia
Rock
Climbing Areas
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| The primary rock climbing areas
in West Virginia are located
on state and national lands off U.S. 19 near Fayetteville,
I-68 near Morgantown, WV and W.Va. 33 near Elkins,
WV.
However, new climbing areas are being established
every year. Bookmark this page and return often
for expanding information. |
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| Cooper's
Rock |
Hundreds
of scenic and challenging routes follow
this stretch of wooded cliffline
overlooking the Cheat River Gorge near
Morgantown, WV. The cliffs are of hard
sandstone known as "griststone,"
more common to New England, and range from
10- to 30-feet high. The rock is very
featured, with an abundance of crack and
face routes. Boulder problems of every
type and level of difficulty are found
throughout the region. Thousands of
unexplored climbs may be found away from
the main climbing areas.
The massive sandstone layer that forms
Cooper's Rock -- the Upper Connoquenessing
Sandstone -- is exposed where Cheat River
cuts through the lofty Chestnut Ridge
anticline: the westernmost ridge of the
Allegheny Range, the Chestnut provides
spectacular, unbroken views of the
Allegheny Plateau region to the west.
Rising to 3,500 feet above tide here,
the anticline is one of the longest
structural folds in the Alleghenies and
reaches from central Pennsylvania
southwest into central West Virginia.
Other climbing areas are being opened
further south where streams carve
picturesque gorges through the ridge. The
Connoquenessing also forms the falls on
Tygart River at Valley Falls State Park
near Fairmont.
The primary climbing areas at Cooper's
Rock overlook the mile-wide Cheat River
Gorge and the raging Cheat River, some
1,200 feet below. In spring you'll here
the shouts and laughter of thousands of
whitewater rafters who challenge the river
after snowmelt bolsters the flow. Nearby
Morgantown is home of West Virginia
University, so expect the main climbing
areas to be crowded on weekends. Climbing
classes usually arrive early to set
up ropes. If you want some of these lines,
arrive when Cooper's Rocks State
Forest opens. Apart from its stunning
views and varied climbs, the area is also
known for its proliferation of hemlock,
which forms shady groves for a cool break
after climbing. Primary climbing areas at
Cooper's Rock include "Sunset
Wall," "Big Blocks,"
"Greenback Wall," and
"Haystack Block." Climbing is
prohibited at the Cooper's Rock overlook
area.
The Cooper's Rock climbing area is located
in Cooper's Rock State Forest off
Interstate 68 west of Morgantown. The
rocks are three-hours west of Washington,
D.C. For more information on climbing,
visit outfiitters and guides listing
in WVExplorer's Climbing
Outfitters and Climbing
Guides in this section. For
detailed maps of the Cooper's Rock
climbing area, visit Climbing
Areas Maps.
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| New
River Gorge |
 One
of the best-known climbing areas in the
U.S., the New River Gorge National River
features more than 1,500 routes on 10
miles of cliffline that overlook a
panorama of national parkland.
The forested canyon was popularly
discovered as a climbing area in the late
1970s when the National Park Service
assumed protection of the region. The
cliffs that line the rim of the gorge are
of hard sandstone and range from 30- to
120-feet high. The rock is very featured,
with an abundance of crack and face
routes. Most favor advanced climbers: the
majority are 5.9 and harder, and most
sport routes are 5.10-to-5.12.
Though now a scenic wilderness, the gorge
was a thriving valley of mines
and bustling towns linked by the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Ruins and a
handful of ghost towns are all that
remain; however, the National Park Service
has stabilized several old sites for
public exploration. Far below the
climbing areas at Kaymoor and Beauty
Mountain, you'll observe the ruins of two
of the most historic mines. The National
Park Service's Canyon Rim Visitor Center
on U.S. 19 at the New River
Gorge Bridge provides a museum and
hourly film series illustrating the
gorge's history. Interpretive rangers will
be happy to provide detailed information.
Ironically, the "New" may
be the world's second-oldest river system,
predating the Allegheny Mountains, which
have risen alongside it over billions of
years.
Visit NewRiverWV.com for comprehensive
information on the New River Gorge region,
including a section devoted to Rock
Climbing in the New River Gorge region of
West Virginia.
In addition to rock climbing, the New
River Gorge is also a meca for hikers,
bikers, rafters, and kayakers. More than
20,000 whitewater rafters visit the region
annually. You're sure to hear their
catcalls and laughter rise up from the
river as you climb more than 1,000 feet
above. Climbing guides and outfitters
shops are found throughout the region,
particularly in the nearby Fayetteville
National Historic District. Primary
climbing areas in the New River Gorge
include "Bridge Buttress,"
"Fern Creek," "Endless
Wall," and "Beauty
Mountain." All may be reach by park
service roads off U.S. 19. For detailed
maps of New River Gorge climbing areas,
visit Climbing
Areas Maps. For a list of guides
and outfitters near the gorge, visit Climbing
Guides and Climbing
Outfitters in this section. Other
climbing areas at Summersville Lake are
covered elsewhere on this page.
Inns, hotels, motels, restaurants, and
campgrounds are plentiful in the New River
Gorge area. For a list of area
attractions and lodging and dinining
facilities, explorer WVExplorer's Whitewater
Country. Visit the New River Gorge
National River website here: NPS
New River Gorge.
URL: Visit
NPS's Web Site
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| Seneca
Rocks |
 Towering
more than 1,000 feet above the North Fork
of the South Branch of the Potomac River,
the sheer face of Seneca Rocks has
attracted climbers for more than 100
years. Thanks to improved highways and a
thriving tourism industry, the rocks are
highly accessible, though cradled in the
remote back valleys of the Monongahela
National Forest. An average of 50
to 75 climbers ascend the
more-than-100 established routes each
weekend. Many other climbs are to be found
in the region -- at nearby Champe Rocks
and in "The Smoke Hole" region,
where the Tuscarora Sandstone is warped
into unearthly formations.
Seneca Rock is divided into two parts. The
highest point, on the left, is The North
Peak, which is accessible by trail. It
sees little climbing and lots of tourist
traffic.To the right and separated by a
deep notch is The South Peak -- the
"climber's summit." Though not
difficult, the easiest routes are
exposed 5.1s and warrant a rope. On
the opposite side of a water gap that
leads into the breaktaking Germany Valley,
the sandstone soars upwards again as
The Southern Pillar, which is only now
being explored. The rock at Seneca -- the
Tuscarora Sandstone -- is an
extremely dense conglomerate known as
quartzite. Unlike ordinary sandstones,
fractiures orient themselves along three
perpendicular planes, creating defined,
angular faces. The Tuscarora was
deposited as sand under a shallow sea some
350 million years ago. Vast earth
movements that later uplifted
the present Appalachian Mountains
buckled the layer into huge folds, here
pitching the sandstone vertically. The
erosion of weaker surrounding
rock has since uncovered the jagged
spine. Smaller outcroppings of Tuscarora
Sandstone overlooking the North Fork
include Champe, Church, Baker, and Nelson
rocks.
It has been argued that Indians may have
climbed the South Peak prior to European
settlement, but evidence suggests ancient
peoples were not interested in climbing
difficult summits. The first
documented ascent was discovered in 1939
when climbers found an inscription carved
on the summit rock -- "D.B. Sept. 16,
1908."
Several climbing guides and outfitters
shops are located at Seneca Rocks and
elsewhere nearby. For a list of guides and
outfitters, visit Climbing
Guides and Climbing
Outfitters in this section. For
detailed maps of Seneca area, visit Climbing
Area Maps. The Seneca Rocks area
may best be reach by U.S. 33 west of
Interstate 81 at Harrisonburg, Va., or
east from Interstate 79 at Weston.
Inns, hotels, motels, restaurants, and
campgrounds are plentiful in the
Monongahela National Forest. For a
list of area attractions and lodging and
dinining facilities, explorer WVExplorer's
Allegheny
Highlands.
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| Summersville
Lake |
 Only
15-minutes north of the cliffs
along the New River Gorge National
River, the rock faces that
encircle Summersville Lake are rapidly
gaining in popularity. Like their
counterparts at the gorge, these hard
sandstones attain heights of 60 to 100
feet. Rather than overlooking a canyon,
they gaze out across West Virginia's
second-largest lake. The base of the
cliffs at climbing areas generally
sit back from the lake's edge. However,
those at "The Rat's Hole"
drop vertically into the waters, providing
an exhilerating opportunity to
combine climbing, swimming, and diving.
In addition to rock climbing, the lake
is a centerpiece for camping, fishing,
boating, scuba diving, and other outdoor
sports. In fall, the level of the lake
drops when the Army Corps of
Engineers empties its waters into
the Gauley River. More than
20,000 whitewater rafters challenge
then challenge the Gauley. Climbing
guides and outfitters shops are found
throughout the region, particularly in the
nearby Fayetteville National Historic
District. Primary climbing areas iat
Summersville include "The Rat's
Hole," "The Amphitheater,"
" Long Wall," "Orange
Ozwald," and
"Whippoorwill." All may be reach
by U.S. 19, though some hiking is
involved.
For detailed maps of Summersville climbing
areas, visit Climbing
Areas Maps. For a list of guides
and outfitters near the gorge, visit Climbing
Guides and Climbing
Outfitters in this section.
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