Summersville Lake
Climbing Sections:
- Behind DC (3)
- Coliseum (11)
- DC Memorial Boulder (9)
- Lichen and Satisfaction Walls (12)
- Long Point (3)
- Long Wall (14)
- Narcissus Cave (9)
- Orange Oswald Wall (21)
- Oswald Extension (2)
- Perot Wall (7)
- Pirates Cove (8)
- Rat's Hole (1)
- shoreline boulders (0)
- Whippoorwill (8)
About Summersville Lake:
| Summersville's climbing is considered by many to be an extension of the New River Gorge areas. Summersville Lake is the result of a dam built on the Gauley River (Class 5 whitewater). The Lake already boasts hundreds of climbs from 5.7 to 5.14, but there remain miles of untapped (or inaccessible) cliffline. Most of the climbs are accessible year round, but a few trad and sport areas are only accessible by boat or during the fall and winter when the water from the lake is released through the dam. Deep water soloing is available spring and summer while the lake is full. |
| Nearest town or city: | Summersville |
| Directions: | To access Summersville Lake climbing, take Rt. 19 south from Summersville. Just after passing the Summersville Lake Boat access and Airport Road, you will see a parking lot of the northbound side of Rt. 19. Park in this lot follow the obvious trail up the hill. The trail splits on a couple of occassions so follow these general guidelines. Stay on the left until you reach the broken down bridge at the bottom of the valley. Once you cross the bridge, follow the trail back uphill and follow the trail to the right (usually well marked). After about 30 yards or so the trail splits again and you should stay right (again usually well marked). Stay on this trail past the stove and other kitchen appliances (leftover garbage now used as a trail marker), until you see the trail break right and down the hill (likewise well marked). Follow trail down the hill until you reach a stream bed that feeds a short water fall, use Army Corp. of Engineers ladder at waterfall to access the climbing. |
| Latitude, Longitude: | 38.24596, -80.85638 |
| Access Issues: | |
| Camping: | Yes |
| When to Climb: | |
| Quantity of Climbs: | Lifetime |
| Books: | The New River's Best Sport Climbs (Fly'n Brian McCray), New River Gorge and Summersville Lake (Steve |
| Click the Update links above to provide data for any blank field of this Area. To modify existing fields, send an Editor Note. | |
Forum Discussions (14)
| Subject | Author | Replies | Last Post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Lock your car and hide everything!!! | thatguy513 | 17 | Jan 12, 1:08 AM |
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When they start draining Summersville? | rastafarout | 1 | Aug 06, 5:12 AM |
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West Virginia Watersports | juststrange | 0 | May 23, 11:28 AM |
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Camping for Climbers near Summerville Lake | dave172 | 3 | May 20, 10:42 AM |
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Climbing at Summersville Lake | uhighfreak | 5 | Apr 19, 7:27 AM |
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New River Gorge Climbing Conditions for the weekend | ems8080 | 4 | Feb 22, 5:38 PM |
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Route Info for Satisfaction Area at Summersville, WV | miico000 | 0 | Dec 11, 7:12 AM |
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Summersville Lake Deep Water Bouldering Mini-Guide | sketch | 0 | Jun 09, 2:30 PM |
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Nagging question about Orange Oswald Wall Climbs.. | lugor | 3 | Oct 23, 4:09 PM |
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Summersville Tomorrow (Tuesday 17 May and 18 May) | dbrayack | 0 | May 16, 3:29 PM |
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Summersville- Deep Water Bouldering | xclimber47 | 13 | Nov 18, 2:03 PM |
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Tobacco Road, fixed draws and route info | dbrayack | 3 | Apr 28, 7:39 AM |
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New @ Summersville | ken | 4 | Jul 30, 8:27 AM |
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Summersville beta | leaverbiner | 16 | Aug 12, 9:25 PM |
