Rock climbing at Great Falls Park
Rock climbing is allowed at Great Falls Park. I don’t know the first thing about the sport, so I can’t offer any advice. The following is a copy of what is posted on the National Park Service’s Great Falls Park website.
Climbing sites begin downstream of Overlook #3 and end near the emergency boat ramp at Sandy Landing. No climbing is permitted in the historic canal cut. Routes range in length from 25 to 75 feet. Difficulty ranges from 5.0 up to the highest rated climbs at 5.14. Most of the routes are in the 5.5 to 5.9 range. All climbing is top-rope, and no anchors may be drilled into the rock. Bring enough anchor material to have two independent anchor systems and allow about thirty feet of material from the edge to your anchor and you will be set to move to almost every climbing area in the park. The majority of the climbs are accessible via a walk down route except during periods of high water, above 4.5 on the Little Falls gauge.
Water levels are reported on the National Weather Service website.
View into Mather Gorge from a climbing spot in Great Falls Park
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Last updated on January 17, 2025
