Where to Climb

Allamuchy State Park: Easily the most "developed" climbing area in the state, Allamuchy has been popular with local underground craggers for years. Now that it's legal to climb there, climbers can enjoy the park's bouldering sites and even some longer wall climbs on Allamuchy Mountain with a drive-up-and-climb kind of convenience that you won't find elsewhere in the state. Enter off of Stephen's Park Road in Warren County.

Wawayanda State Park: The most remote park in the New Jersey state park system is also home to some surprisingly good climbing. Since the waiver policy was put in place, climbers have begun to explore Wawayanda's backcountry crags and hidden rock faces. The park is a good 3-1/2 hours from southern New Jersey, most of the climbs require difficult hike-ins, and set routes are currently non-existent, but the area's climbing potential is huge. Located in the northern part of the state in Sussex County, take the Warwick Turnpike from West Milford.

Green Pond: Overlooking the swampy, overgrown Green Pond outside of Butler, NJ is what Anderson calls "some of the best climbing in the state." Aside from a few scattered boulders, Green Pond offers a 150-plus foot vertical wall that stretches some 200 yards end to end. Access can be tough – it takes about 20 minutes to hike in from the road, plus the talus field – but the payoff is a virtually unclimbed wall and non-existent crowds. Not all of it is pretty, but it's a chance to get creative and create your own routes. Butler is in Morris County, and access is easiest via 287 to Route 23.

Delaware Water Gap: Situated near the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is best known for its paddling and backcountry hiking, but the areas is becoming more popular with climbers as well. Several area climbing schools offer classes at the Water Gap, and a number of routes have gone up on the New Jersey side in recent years. From the east, take NJ Interstate 80 to Exit 34 and go 25 miles west to the town of Layton, NJ.

Somerset County boulders: Local, convenient, and plentiful, the bouldering areas in central New Jersey’s Sourland Mountain Preserve were recently approved for climbing by the Somerset County Park Commission. The hills in this area are renowned for their boulder climbing, and now that it's legal to climb in Somerset County the local climbing scene is starting to venture out of the gyms. Remember though, several neighboring counties and landowners still prohibit access. Take 287 west to Hillsborough and enter via East Mountain Road.

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