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Elevation: 193 ft
GPS: 44.24707, -69.08739
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Shared By: Matty Zane on Jun 1, 2008
Admins: Ladd Raine, Jonathan S, Robert Hall

Description Suggest change

General:
The Camden Hills, on the west shore of the Penobscot bay, near Camden, Maine, have a variety of rock and ice climbing on a half-dozen small cliffs. While no Camden climbs are very long, some are of high quality. In particular, some of the ice climbs here are exceptional.

The Camden hills are composed mainly of metamorphosed rock that can vary wildly in appearance.

Gear: 
A standard Camden rack for the trad routes ranges from mirco-nuts, to a 3.5" Friend. Most areas take mainly small gear. It should be kept in mind that while the majority of the climbs in Camden are not extremely difficult, finding adequate protection can be. Many of the climbs have substantial run-outs, so it is best to be solid at the grade before leading the climb.

Guidebooks:
The defacto bible for the area is Camden Climbing, put out by locals Ben Townsend and Alan Rees. It's available at Maine Sport Outfitters in nearby Rockport.

Ben Townsend is very active on MP as well, and is a great friendly local guy, always up for giving some beta or sharing the secrets of Camden. Hit him up.

Guiding Services:
  • Equinox Guiding Service - New kids on the block this guide service is primarily focused on climbing both rock and ice in and around Camden Hills.
  • Atlantic Climbing SchoolWith an office right in Bar Harbor these guys primarily serve Acadia and Camden, though they will guide any location in New England and also offer guiding internationally. Locally owned, these guys put out the last couple guidebooks for Acadia.
  • Acadia Mountain Guides - Also based in Bar Harbor along with a location in Orono Maine, this school focuses primarily on Acadia but also guides throughout New England, along with occasionally offering AMGA classes. Owned by John Tierney, who wrote the original Clifton Guidebook.

Getting There Suggest change

All of the Crags can be reached from pull-offs off of Route 52. The approaches range anywhere from 2 minutes to 1/2 hr.

255 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at -Camden Hills

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
V5 6C
 4
The Crack
Boulder
V6 7A
 5
Pompadour
Boulder
5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c R
 10
Fourth of July (mid-cliff START)
Trad
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 6
Exasperator
Trad
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 6
ladder line
Trad
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R
 4
White Streak
Trad
5.10c/d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 8
Crescent Moon
Sport
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 5
Kudzu Corner
Trad
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 25
Sun Spot
Sport
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 4
Hot Corner
Trad
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 10
Dirty Harry
Sport, TR
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c PG13
 22
Cracked Up
Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 4
Running Free
Trad
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 6
sister city
Sport
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 12
Ariel
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
The Crack 10. The Spot > Geo Cache boulder
 4
V5 6C Boulder
Pompadour 10. The Spot > Pompadour boulder
 5
V6 7A Boulder
Fourth of July (mid-cliff S… 04. Barrett's Cove Cliff
 10
5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c R Trad
Exasperator 14. Ocean Lookout/ Up…
 6
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad
ladder line 13. Hot Spot , Rock C…
 6
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad
White Streak 04. Barrett's Cove Cliff
 4
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R Trad
Crescent Moon 06. Skyline Crag
 8
5.10c/d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Sport
Kudzu Corner 14. Ocean Lookout/ Up…
 5
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Trad
Sun Spot 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 25
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport
Hot Corner 13. Hot Spot , Rock C…
 4
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Trad
Dirty Harry 02. The Verticals
 10
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport, TR
Cracked Up 05. Lost Valley aka O…
 22
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c PG13 Sport
Running Free 14. Ocean Lookout/ Up…
 4
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Trad
sister city 13. Hot Spot , Rock C…
 6
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
Ariel 12. The Rampart
 12
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Sport
More Classic Climbs in -Camden Hills »

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