AMC Outdoors, November 2006
Dance with vertigo atop the Northeast’s most impressive cliffs. Or crane your neck stiff staring skyward from below. Cragged by jags, dusted by snowfall, these seven vertical landmarks heighten any Northeast outdoor experience. Most are easily accessible, but all of them require caution, especially for a late fall visit. Always prepare for full winter conditions if you’re planning a trip this holiday season.
OTTER CLIFFS AND THE PRECIPICE TRAIL
Acadia National Park, Maine
Granite columns plunge into the foaming sea. Rock climbers spider their way up salty cliff faces. Located adjacent to the main park road, Otter Cliffs is usually abuzz with activity. A network of short paths lead to numerous lips and dropoffs, where you can belly out to the edge and peer straight down into the crashing surf. A few miles away, the Precipice Trail climbs Mount Champlain, ascending nearly a thousand feet via iron steps, ladders, and rails. The trail may be closed during peregrine falcon nesting season, typically spring through mid-summer.
Distance: Precipice Trail, 0.8 mile one-way
Info: www.nps.gov/acad, 207-288-3338, Discover Acadia National Park (AMC Books)
KING RAVINE
White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
The sheer headwall of King Ravine is akin to many in the glacial-gouged Presidential Range, with one important difference. Perched on the ravine’s western lip is Crag Camp, a self-service cabin run by the Randolph Mountain Club on a first-come, first-served basis. Here you can sit for hours, soaking in full views from the cabin porch of the ravine’s vertical escarpments. Quickest access is via the sheltered Amphibrach and Spur trails, or you can trace the ravine’s full rim, including two above-treeline miles, via the Valley Way, Gulfside, Spur, and Amphibrach trails.
Distance: 7.0 miles round-trip to Crag Camp; loop 9.3 miles
Info: www.randolphmountainclub.org, Randolph Paths (RMC Books)
MOUNT PISGAH
Lake Willoughby, Vermont
A thousand feet above Lake Willoughby in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, the
cliffs of 2,751-foot Mount Pisgah soar over the rippling waters. On the opposite shore looms Pisgah’s sister peak, the sheer and cracked face of 2,648-foot Mount Hor. Together they pinch the lake between stark exposures of vertical stone. Route 5A winds along the base of Mount Pisgah and provides neck-bending views from the car, or you can tackle the South Trail, which ascends to the summit of Mount Pisgah past airy ledges and vertical drops to the lake below.
Distance: South Trail, 1.7 miles one-way
Info: Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont (GMC Books), http://maps.anr.state.vt.us/atlas/lands/willoughbysf/html/general.html
CROW HILL
Leominster State Forest, Mass.
The long-distance Midstate Trail runs over the top of Crow Hill in north-central Massachusetts, offering up cliff-top views that extend to the Boston skyline more than 40 miles away. A network of climbers’ paths explores the base of the walls, which rise as high as 110 feet overhead. Traverse the area on the Midstate Trail between Route 140 and Stone Hill Road, or wander around the base to check out the scene—and scenery—of this popular top-roping destination (free permit required); access is from Fitchburg Road off of Route 2.
Distance: Midstate Trail, 3.3 miles one-way
Info: www.mass.gov/dcr/parks, 978-874-2303, Midstate Trail Guidebook (AMC Worcester chapter), www.midstatetrail.org
RAGGED MOUNTAIN
Southington, Conn.
Six hundred feet long and more than 100 feet high, the naked cliffs of Ragged Mountain jut from the rolling central Connecticut landscape. Perhaps the most dramatic of the state’s basalt traprock ridges, Ragged Mountain has been a climbing epicenter since the early 20th century. The mountain is even owned by a group of climbers, the Ragged Mountain Foundation. The nonprofit manages 56 acres here, including the cliffs and a portion of the long-distance Metacomet Trail, which winds along the summit ridge and past several viewpoints.
Distance: 2.2 miles one-way to summit
Info: www.raggedmtn.org, The Connecticut Walk Book East, 19th edition (Connecticut Forest & Park Association)
THE TRAPPS
Mohonk Preserve, New York
Vertical cliffs lurch hundreds of feet overhead along the century-old Undercliff Carriageway. Located in Mohonk Preserve along Shawangunk Ridge (a.k.a. The Gunks), these crags are world-famous for their long climbing routes and usually teem with roped adventurers. As you travel along the wide level path, take time to gape at the sheer rock wall, or wander the paths that lead to the cliff base. Access is from the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center.
Distance: 2.4 miles one-way
Info: www.mohonkpreserve.org, 845-255-0919, Northern Shawangunk Trails, Map 10 (NY–NJ Trail Conference)
HIGH ROCKS
Ralph Stover State Park, Pennsylvania
Tohickon Creek slices through a verdant gorge hemmed by 200-foot escarpments. The High Rocks Trail curves along the top of the ravine, offering guard-rail protected views into the canyon from atop clifftops. In season, climbers dangle from the rock walls and whitewater paddlers race down the streamcourse. The trail connects Ralph Stover State Park with adjoining Tohickon Creek County Park, and can be accessed from either end.
Distance: 2.7 miles one-way
Info: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks, 610-982-5560, 50 Hikes in Eastern Pennsylvania (Backcountry)
MORE GREAT CLIFFS
ME: Black Head and White Head, Monhegan island; Tumbledown Mountain, Weld
NH: Cannon Cliffs, Franconia Notch; Bondcliff, Zeacliff, and Imp Face, Pemigewasset Wilderness; Cathedral and Whitehorse Ledges, North Conway
VT: Mount Horrid, Brandon Gap; Deer Leap, Bristol
MA: Purgatory Chasm, Sutton; Chapel Brook Ledges, Ashfield
CT: Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden
PA: Worlds End State Park, Forksville
CONTRIBUTORS
Joe Antol, Chair, NY–NoJ Chapter Climbing Committee; Malcolm Crawford; Paul Dale; Jed Eliades, Mountaineering chair, NH Chapter; Mike Lanza, author, New England Hiking; Brian Phillips; Don Savino; Mark Sondeen, Mountaineering Chair, CT Chapter; Jim Van Natta
- Matt Heid is senior editor at AMC Outdoors.
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