{"id":89592,"date":"2019-10-16T15:46:58","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T22:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=89592"},"modified":"2023-09-05T19:42:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T02:42:54","slug":"best-bouldering-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/best-bouldering-south","title":{"rendered":"Why You Need to Go Bouldering in the Southeast This Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fall is prime time for bouldering in the Southeastern United States. Cool weather and retreating poison ivy lure climbers like me back into the woods to our favorite problems. And while the region\u2019s<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tall cliffs and granite domes might be the most obvious targets for climbers, the boulder fields hidden in the forest are rapidly starting to outshine the bigger routes in our region, in part because they\u2019re \u201cnew.\u201d Boulder fields are the most recent rocks to be developed in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.srs.fs.usda.gov\/pubs\/gtr\/gtr_srs018.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the Southern Appalachians<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The cliffs at <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rumbling Bald<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> near Asheville, North Carolina, for instance, have captivated climbers since the \u201970s, but nearby boulder fields didn\u2019t start attracting attention until the mid-\u201990s. As climbers continue to develop these crags, they\u2019re becoming a coveted resource.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chris Dorrity agrees. The author of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rumbling Bald Bouldering Guide<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> says the bouldering in the South is as good as anywhere in the country. \u201cThe rock quality is outstanding and there are a lot of fields with concentrated boulders that are pretty close to each other, so it\u2019s easy to link a few different places together in a weekend,\u201d he says.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s a quick guide to the best bouldering in the Southern Appalachians, from West Virginia to Alabama.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcr.virginia.gov\/state-parks\/grayson-highlands?rewrite_uri=state-parks\/grayson-highlands\"><b>Grayson Highlands State Park<\/b><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcr.virginia.gov\/state-parks\/grayson-highlands\"><b>, Virginia<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Location<\/strong>: Approximately 2 hours southwest of Roanoke, Virginia<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Rating<\/strong>: V0\u2013V13<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Best for<\/strong>: Bouldering with a view<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An extensive trail network meanders through high-elevation meadows in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcr.virginia.gov\/state-parks\/grayson-highlands?rewrite_uri=state-parks\/grayson-highlands\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grayson Highlands<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, providing access to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/detail\/gwj\/specialplaces\/?cid=stelprdb5302337\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mount Rogers National Recreation Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and giving lucky visitors a glimpse of the small feral pony population that calls the region home. But the real treasure lies in the park\u2019s boulder fields\u2014some of the highest in the South\u2014which offer climbers a rare summer destination below the Mason Dixon Line. Climbing continues through the fall, and thanks to the park\u2019s remote location and numerous rock fields, crowds are essentially non-existent. And with more than 1,000 developed routes, you\u2019ll find everything from V0 to V13. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Listening Rock Trail Boulders<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boneyard Boulders<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offer the highest concentration of problems and easy access, but the most scenic pebbles are in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/graysonhighlandsbouldering.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Highlands Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which sits above tree line at 5,000 feet and has long views to spare. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highland Highball<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a 20-foot tall V2 with an early crux, massive jugs and top-out with a 360-degree view of neighboring Mount Rogers, is the classic here.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/wvstateparks.com\/park\/coopers-rock-state-forest\/\"><b>Coopers Rock State Forest, West Virginia<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Location<\/strong>: 20 minutes northeast of Morgantown, West Virginia<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Rating<\/strong>: V0\u2013V7<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Best for<\/strong>: Multisport weekends<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This 120,000-acre state park in northwest West Virginia tends to be overshadowed by the thousands of climbing routes in nearby <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New River Gorge<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but if bouldering with a side of mountain biking or hiking is your thing, Coopers Rock State Forest needs to be on your list. You won\u2019t be climbing alone, as the forest hovers over the Cheat River, making it popular with students at West Virginia University who come for the rocks and the view. Still, with several hundred established routes, there\u2019s ample room to spread out. Gritstone boulders\u2014known for their coarse texture and huge features, like jugs and slopers\u2014form mazes between the hardwoods. Friction is your friend with these oversized holds. The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roadside<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> area offers an array of problems with an easy approach (there\u2019s some rope climbing here, too), but there are half a dozen fields to explore.\u00a0Tilted Tree has the most concentrated problems of all the areas. There,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Scar<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (V1) is easy on beginners with multiple hold options as it works its way up a 15-foot tall vertical hunk of stone. Bring spotters for the top out, as it\u2019s a long fall to your crash pad. The Cave Route (V3) has you work your way up the interior wall of a cave. And <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tomb Raider<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (V3) is a moderate option that begins with a sit start, showing off the area\u2019s signature slopers. When you\u2019re done climbing for the day, explore the forest\u2019s 50 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. A note for winter enthusiasts: The front gate closes for the season from Dec. 31 to March 31, but you can still access the park to climb and hike. It even becomes a hot spot for cross-country skiing during rare powder dumps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/walkercountyga.gov\/discover\/recreation\/crockford-pigeon-mountain-wildlife-management-area\/rocktown\/\"><b>Rocktown, Georgia<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Location<\/strong>: 1 hour, 45 minutes north of Atlanta, Georgia\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Rating<\/strong>: V0\u2013V9<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Best for<\/strong>: A remote weekend in the woods<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The long, bumpy dirt road to Rocktown\u2019s parking lot helps keep the crowds down despite the national recognition this destination has received in the last decade. The sandstone bouldering field sits atop Pinnacle Mountain in the no-frills, 20,000-acre <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/georgiawildlife.com\/crockford-pigeon-mountain-wma\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. There are more than 500 established routes, with locals and visitors putting up new problems all the time. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Orb<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (V8) sits just a few minutes from the parking lot. It\u2019s named after an odd-shaped boulder with a difficult roof reserved for only the best climbers. But there are plenty of other routes, too. Move deeper into the forest, and you\u2019ll find signature routes, like El Classico, a V0 slab with a tall, but easy top out, and Golden Shower, a V5 full of large slopers that become stickier in colder months. You\u2019ll need <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gooutdoorsgeorgia.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a hunting or fishing license<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to visit the area, and you should keep an eye out for hunting closures in the fall and early winter. But <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/georgiawildlife.com\/crockford-pigeon-mountain-wma\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">camping is free<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which makes this an easy and inexpensive weekend adventure.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Horse Pens 40, Alabama<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Location<\/strong>: 1 hour northeast of Birmingham, Alabama<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Rating<\/strong>: V0\u2013V12<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Best for<\/strong>: Climbing with amenities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Southern boulderers had an amusement park, it\u2019d be <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/hp40.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Horse Pens 40<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And for\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$10 a day<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this privately owned nature park on top of Chandler Mountain, northeast of Birmingham, is yours to explore. Walk HP40\u2019s main 2-mile loop trail that meanders through a boulder field with more than 300 established routes. Known for their unique shape and bulbous nature, the sandstone boulders often resemble giant mushrooms or even turtles, meanings the bouldering here<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is all about the slopers. The quantity and quality of smooth sandstone has made it not only one of the best bouldering fields in the country, climbers sometimes compare it to the world-famous rack in Fontainebleau, France. Plus, there\u2019s on-site camping with restrooms, showers and even a general store that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, so all you have to worry about is ticking off your bucket list. Bumboy is a good place to start. The V3 might be the best example of what to expect from Horse Pens. It\u2019s a broad, water-grooved boulder with rows and rows of massive slopers. Imagine a giant brain made of gray rock.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/carolinaclimbers.org\/climbing-areas\/rumbling-bald.html\"><b>Rumbling Bald, North Carolina<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Location: 45 minutes southeast of Asheville, North Carolina\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rating: V0\u2013V12<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best For: Winter climbing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This 3,020-foot mountain might be better known for its traditional routes on steep cliffs, but bouldering at the base of those cliffs began taking off in the \u201990s. Today, the pebble wrestling at Rumbling Bald is becoming more popular than the trad climbing. The mountain, which sits inside <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncparks.gov\/chimney-rock-state-park\/feesfaqsrules\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chimney Rock State Park<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, has one of the largest boulder fields in the south, with at least 1,000 documented problems and a lifetime\u2019s worth of development still lingering in boulders hidden throughout the forest. The problems are divided into three main boulder fields: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">East Side<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Central<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Check out <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Silver Platter<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (V2), an overhanging crack in the East Side area, or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kung Fu Grip<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (V5) in the West Side Boulders, a steep 15-foot boulder that demands a number of heel hooks. Southern exposure and warmer temperatures make this one of the best winter climbing destinations in the Southeast, meanwhile a new parking lot and improved trail system have made Rumbling Bald more user-friendly in recent years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fall is prime time for bouldering in the Southeastern United States. Cool weather and retreating poison ivy lure climbers like me back into the woods to our favorite problems. And while the region\u2019s tall cliffs and granite domes might be the most obvious targets for climbers, the boulder fields hidden in the forest are rapidly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":89993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[448,734,1542,12],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-89592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climb","tag-bouldering","tag-climbing","tag-south","tag-travel"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/climb\/best-bouldering-south","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Why You Need to Go Bouldering in the Southeast This Fall","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/best-bouldering-south","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/best-bouldering-south"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/10\/Hero_Bouldering-Southeast_Content_Team_051018_55546.gif?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/10\/Hero_Bouldering-Southeast_Content_Team_051018_55546.gif?fit=2000%2C1500"},"articleSection":"Climb","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessica Bernhard"}],"creator":["Jessica Bernhard"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["bouldering","climbing","south","travel"],"dateCreated":"2019-10-16T22:46:58Z","datePublished":"2019-10-16T22:46:58Z","dateModified":"2023-09-06T02:42:54Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Why You Need to Go Bouldering in the Southeast This Fall\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/climb\\\/best-bouldering-south\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/climb\\\/best-bouldering-south\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/Hero_Bouldering-Southeast_Content_Team_051018_55546.gif?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/Hero_Bouldering-Southeast_Content_Team_051018_55546.gif?fit=2000%2C1500\"},\"articleSection\":\"Climb\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Jessica Bernhard\"}],\"creator\":[\"Jessica Bernhard\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Uncommon Path \\u2013 An REI Co-op Publication\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"bouldering\",\"climbing\",\"south\",\"travel\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2019-10-16T22:46:58Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-16T22:46:58Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T02:42:54Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rei.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/10\/Hero_Bouldering-Southeast_Content_Team_051018_55546.gif?fit=2000%2C1500","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89592"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192737,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89592\/revisions\/192737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89592"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=89592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}