Pawtuckaway Climbing

Located in Nottingham, NH, Pawtuckaway State Park is the southernmost of the major climbing destinations in the state. Hundreds of glacial erratic boulders line the forests while the assorted and scattered crags stay mostly out of sight. The three small mountains of Pawtuckaway are the remains of a ring dike formed by an extinct volcano and the rock is a smooth but fully textured granite of a different quality than the climbing elsewhere in this so-called Granite State. While the park is known primarily for its bouldering, which happens to be some of the best in the country, crack climbs of exceptional quality abound on the numerous crags alongside slabs and difficult face climbs. Between boulder problems and routes there are nearly a thousand climbs to be enjoyed, put up over the years by the likes of Dave Graham, Tim Kemple, Rio Rose, Brett Meyers, John Sirois, Dean Potter, Charlie Bentley, and dedicated crews from UNH. In short, there’s plenty here for everyone. Grab a pad or a rack and come hone your skills before you unleash them on the world, or for those of you who aren't local this is a great place to take a road trip to. As with all New Hampshire crags, it is best in Autumn but fun always.

Bouldering: There are nearly two dozen separate bouldering areas within the park of varying quality. At best, the high quality rock offers up ranges of styles and difficulties from V0 to V13. Between cracks, aretes, faces, slopers, crimps, highballs, and lowballs, every style is covered. The bouldering here is unmatched in New Hampshire and the sometimes coarse, sometimes fine grained granite will quickly wear through your skin but you won't want to stop. The most popular spots are Boulder Natural, the Round Pond Boulders, and Blair Woods, although by no means is that the extent of the bouldering. Hidden gems are scattered throughout the park, most of which didn't make it into the guidebook. Check out the New England climbing documentary Uncommon Ground for a little intro to what you will be climbing on in this magical forest of rocks. Seth having his heel pop.

Trad and Top Roping: The Lower Slabs, Upper Cliff, Devils Den and more offer great trad climbing, although you wouldn't know it on a busy day 'cause all you can see are top ropes. The Upper Cliff and Lower Slabs are very popular for summer camps and family top roping outings, so venture out to one of the other crags if things are taken. A 5-10 minute walk will get you to either the Lower Cliff, the Dome, or the Ridgeline/Small Walls. The trad climbing here is short but sweet, 50 feet on average, though Devil's Den offers longer pitches as well as a few multipitch climbs (and fewer crowds). Crack Master Dean Potter learned much of his crack climbing skill jamming the perfect cracks of P-way and so could you.

Sport Climbing: There are a few bolted sport routes in Devil's Den, the Microwave Area, and at the Yellow Dog Wall with difficulties ranging from 5.6 to 5.13. The age and quality of the bolts are questionable, some are brand new, some are decades old, so be wary.