Directions To Nearby Climbing Areas
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There are quite a few climbing areas within a couple hours drive of Blacksburg. There are even more close enough for weekend trips. Directions to and descriptions of some of the areas are listed here. As I get better information I'll try to post details for more areas. For now here's a list of some areas if you're looking for other places to climb: Iron Gate, Fool's Face/White Face, Moore's Wall, Sauratown, Looking Glass, Linville Gorge, Red River Gorge, Boone |
McAfee's Knob
| Approximate Distance from Blacksburg: 22 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 35 minutes |
| Weather Forecast: Catawba, VA |
| Types of Climbing: bouldering |
| Guides: Jay Shultis, a former president of the Virginia Tech climbing club, made a guide for McAfee's Knob. The guide can be downloaded for free from Dr. Topo. |
| Directions: From Main Street turn onto East Roanoke Street. When the road bends to go around the cemetery stay on it and it will turn into Harding Ave. Stay on this and it will turn into Catawba Rd. After about twenty miles the road will end at a T intersection. Turn right onto 311S. In about 1.5 miles you'll see a gravel parking lot on the right with signs for Appalachian Trail parking. You're there. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: From the parking lot you can take the fire road up towards the Knob. There are several boulders within easy hiking distance along this road with plenty of problems to do. Unfortunately most of the climbing is located off of the AT near the knob itself. This is about a 3.5 mile hike that gets fairly steep for a while. If you have the time to go up there though it's worth the hike. Not only is the view spectacular but there's probably a hundred boulders in the area with a huge number of problems to work on. You might want to bring a brush with you because some of the problems don't get climbed too often and may be dirty |
Bozoo
| Bozoo is open to climbing. Be very respectful of the privilege we have to climb here. There are no trespassing signs up, but the landowner has given us permission to climb and is leaving the signs up. Please be incredibly respectful of the land and the landowner, access here is a privilege that we cherish. |
| Approximate Distance From Blacksburg: 40 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 1 hour |
| Weather Forecast: Peterstown, WV |
| Types of Climbing: trad, top-rope, some sport and bouldering |
Guides: Rock Climbing in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland by Eric Horst. Click here to download several pages of an old guide that have been photocopied and passed around numerous times. |
| Directions: From Blacksburg take 460 West. After about 40-45 minutes you'll reach Rich Creek. Turn right at the Burger Boy restaurant. The road will bend to the left. Just before the bridge turn right onto 219. After about 5-10 minutes you'll cross the border into WV and go over a small bridge. A few blocks past the bridge you'll turn left onto 12. After about a mile you'll see a Southern States on the left. Take the first left turn past this (it's not a full turn, you'll veer left about 45 degrees). This is Bozoo Rd but be careful because the street sign gets stolen frequently. After about 5 miles you'll pass a large church and the road will spilt . Veer onto the far left road. This is Shanklin Ferry Rd. At this point the road turns into one paved lane with a half lane of gravel on either side. If you see a car coming the other way make sure you get onto the gravel and spilt the road with them. This road will take you into the woods. Be sure to go straight through the first intersection. The road bends a bit. Eventually this road will turn to gravel. When it does take the far right road. This will lead you to a big field. Take the first right and drive to the far end of the field. Park near the Visitor Parking sign. You may get a ticket if you park in a camping area without paying. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: This is pretty much the closest thing to a local crag for Blacksburg. It doesn't have anywhere near as many problems as the New River Gorge but it's quite a bit closer and does have a lot of stuff to work on. The guides don't list all of the problems, or even all of the areas you can climb at. You may need to get someone familiar with the area to show you around. Most of the climbing is trad and top-roping. There are a few sport routes (check the bolts carefully, there are some sketchy anchors there) and some bouldering. |
New River Gorge
| Approximate Distance From Blacksburg: 100 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 2 hours |
| Weather Forecast: Fayetteville, WV |
| Types of Climbing: bouldering, top-roping, sport, and trad |
Guides: There are numerous guides for the New River Gorge. New River Gorge by Steve Cater has routes at the Gorge and nearby Summersville Lake. The newest edition also has routes at the Meadow. Sketches by Chris Anthony is THE guide for bouldering at the New. Dr. Topo also has a guide for bouldering at Hawk's Nest. Several other guide books are also available for the area. |
| Directions: From Blacksburg take 460 West. After about 35 miles you cross into WV. After another ten miles you come to the first traffic light in WV. Turn right at the second light to get onto 77N. You'll be on this for about 40 miles. You'll have to pay one toll ($1.25). From 77N take 19N. There's another toll of 25 cents right when you get onto 19. From there it's about 15 miles to Fayetteville. From here there are far too many different climbing areas to list directions to all of them. If you turn right onto 16 and then turn left at the first traffic light the brick building on the left is Waterstone Outdoors. They sell guide books there and the staff can probably help with directions to any specific climbing area. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: Hundreds of routes and boulder problems. Top-roping, sport, trad, and some multi-pitch stuff. The New River Gorge is one of the best climbing areas around. |
Summersville Lake
| Approximate Distance From Blacksburg: 120 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Weather Forecast: Summersville, WV |
| Types of Climbing: sport and some bouldering |
Guides: There are a few guides for Summersville Lake. Some of the guide books for the New River Gorge also cover Summersville Lake, including New River Gorge by Steve Cater. |
| Directions: Follow the same directions listed for the New River Gorge. When you reach the intersection of 19 and 16 in Fayetteville continue straight on 19N for about 20 more miles. When you near Summersville you'll cross a bridge over Summersville Lake. Once you cross the bridge take the first right and park in the gravel lot. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: Summersville Lake is primarily a sport climbing area with a large number of routes covering a wide range of grades. When the lake is down the area also has some good bouldering. |
Pilot Mountain
| Approximate Distance From Blacksburg: 105 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Weather Forecast: Pilot Mtn, NC |
| Types of Climbing: Mostly top-roping. You can do a little bit of sport, trad, and bouldering, but I wouldn't consider it a real destination for it. |
Guides: The Climber's Guide to North Carolina by Thomas Kelley |
| Directions: Take 81S to 77S (exit 81). After about 40 miles you will take 74E at exit 101. When 74 splits stay on 52S. You'll start to see exits for Pilot Mountain after a few miles. You'll see a left exit for Pilot Mountain. Do NOT take it. Then you'll see a right exit for Pilot Mountain. Do NOT take this exit either. The next exit will have a brown sign for Pilot Mountain State Park. This is the exit you want. As soon as you exit 52 you'll come to a stop sign. Turn left at the stop sign and then take the first right into the park. Stay on the main road going up the mountain for about two miles to the parking lot at the top. At the back of the lot there's a board for climbers to register and a gravel trail leading down to the climbing area. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: A great place to go for beginners and it does have some routes that more experienced climbers will enjoy too. It has about the same number of routes as Bozoo, maybe a few less, but is not as spread out so the hike in is pretty easy. The best thing about Pilot Mtn is probably the weather. It's all south facing rock with good exposure so the sun keeps the rock nice and warm. It's a great place to climb when the weather gets cold. |
Stone Mountain
| Approximate Distance From Blacksburg: 115 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 2 hours 10 minutes |
| Weather Forecast: Stone Mountain State Park, NC |
| Types of Climbing: Trad |
Guides: The Climber's Guide to North Carolina by Thomas Kelley |
| Directions: Take 81S to 77S (exit 81). After about 40 miles there is a split for 74E or 77S (exit 101). Stay on 77S. From 77S take exit 85 and turn right off of the ramp (the sign will say to 21N). After about one mile turn right onto 21N. After about ten miles turn left onto Traphill Road. You should see a brown sign on the right that says Stone Mountain State Park at the turn. After another 5 miles turn right onto John P. Frank Parkway. The park entrance is a couple miles down this road (the road goes straight into it). You'll pass the visitor center and the turnoff for the campground. About 5 miles inside the lot you'll see a sign for a hiking trail by a parking lot on the left. This is the lot to park in to walk to the south face. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: Lots of easy slab climbing with some scary run outs (30'-40' runouts are not uncommon). Also the birthplace of the running belay. The south face gets a lot of exposure and tends to stay fairly warm. Most people climb here. The Great Arch is a fun, easy, 3 pitch trad lead that's considered one of the classic climbs of the southeast. Most of the routes can be done in 3 or 4 pitches. It does make things a lot easier if you have two 60m ropes to rappel down with. There's also climbing on the north face which tends to be harder and even more runout. |
Seneca Rocks
| Approximate Distance From Blacksburg: 205 miles |
| Approximate Driving Time: 3 hours 45 minutes |
| Weather Forecast: Seneca Rocks, WV |
| Types of Climbing: multi-pitch Trad |
Guides: Seneca: The Climber's Guide by Tony Barnes. Rock Climbing in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland by Eric Horst also has a section on it. |
| Directions: Take 81 North to exit 247B in Harrisonburg. This exit puts you on 33 West. After a few miles you'll come to a t-intersection and have to turn right and then left again to stay on 33W. The road will also make turns at a couple other places. Just make sure to keep following the signs to stay on 33W. From 81 you'll be on 33W for about 65 miles to reach Seneca. After about 55 miles you'll see signs that you're on 28 and 33. Ten miles later 28 will continue straight and a left turn will stay on 33W. This is Seneca. You'll be able to see the rock on your right. If you take the left the Gendarme Climbing Shop will be on your immediate left. Just before the split for 28 and 33 is a brown park sign for visitor information. This turn is a good place to park for the climbing. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Description: Lots of multi-pitch trad climbing. There are a handful of bolted routes but they're pretty rare (don't go there for sport climbing). The climbing is much more vertical and will give you much more exposure than Stone Mountain. The summit is almost 900' above the valley floor so the view from the top is spectacular. Just watch out for sandbag grading and loose rock. Helmets are a must and most people consider the routes to be 1 or 2 grades harder than what the guidebooks say. |
Indoor Climbing Walls
Rise Up Climbing Gym
| Rise Up Climbing is located in downtown
Lynchburg, a little over a 1.5 hour drive. Rise Up is the closest
commercial gym to Blacksburg and contains 50+ routes on 40' walls with
top ropes and lead available. The climbing wall features widely varying
terrain from vertical to steeply overhung. The bouldering is extensive
with over 60 problems spread over a top out boulder and a very steep 14'
wall. Over 7,000 square feet of climbing wall is available. A belay
competency test is required for using the roped walls. An extensive
instructional program is available as well.
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| Directions: Take 460 to I-81 north. After passing the Roanoke exits take Route 220A south for five mile or so until in dead ends into Route 460. Take 460 east to Lynchburg and then follow Route 29 to downtown. A convenient mapping feature is available HERE |
| Hours: M,W,F 1-10 pm, Tu,Th 3-10 pm, Sa, Su 1-6 pm. |
| Cost: Day passes, memberships, and rentals are available. See the web site for a full price list. |
The Rock
| The Rock is located inside The Dwelling Place in Christiansburg. It is the closest and most convenient place for indoor climbing from Blacksburg. The Rock is a large bouldering wall with a cave and several walls of varying angles. They have numerous marked problems covering a fairly wide range of difficulty, but no experience is needed to climb there. Since it is bouldering you don't need to know how to tie-in, belay or anything else to climb here. If you've never climbed before feel free to show up, rent some shoes and get started. |
| Directions: Take 460 Business into Christiansburg. Shortly after you pass the Montgomery County Hospital you'll see a Citgo gas station on the left. The building next to this is the Dwelling Place. You won't be able to make a u-turn at the first intersection past it. Go to the next intersection (right in front of the Corning plant) and turn around. Park along the side of the building and enter through the door furthest back along the side. Go straight through the first room and take the stairs. The Rock is at the top of the stairs on the left. |
| Hours: 4-10 pm daily |
| Cost: Day passes, memberships, and rentals are available. See the web site for a full price list. |
Radford University
| Radford University has a climbing wall inside Peters Hall. The wall is about 25' to 30' tall and has several top-rope anchors on it. You can also boulder on the lower portion of the wall. They can supply harnesses and shoes if you need them and even have staff that will belay you so you don't need any experience to climb there. |
| Directions: Take Price's Fork out of town. Stay on Price's Fork until you pass the water treatment plant and come to a light at Pepper's Ferry Road. Turn right onto Pepper's Ferry. Stay on it until it ends at a T-intersection and then turn left onto Fairlawn. After a short ways you'll cross a large bridge into Radford. Turn left onto Main Street at the end of the bridge. Drive through the down town area and turn right at a light onto Jefferson St. Turn right again at the first stop sign onto Fairfax Street. Drive down Fairfax to the end of the street and Peters Hall is on the left. When you go in the main doors you'll be able to see the top part of the climbing wall. The drive takes about 30 minutes. Click here for easy to print directions. |
| Hours: 6:30 to 9:30pm Monday through Thursday |
| Cost: Day and semester passes are available. Check their website for a price list. |