Great Falls Rock Climbing

A beautiful area in the Potomac River Gorge. The cliffs are about 60 feet high and made of hard, solid rock. The area is sunny and has lots of climbers and hikers. This is a major top rope climbing area with trees being the anchor norm. If you want a guidebook for great falls check out the PATC website and pick up a copy of A Climber's Guide to the Great Falls of the Potomac. If all else fails the VA/WV/MD Climbers guide by Horst is also a great guidebook for the area. A number of climbers that know this area well have mentioned that the rock is very suspect in some places. Others swear that it is completely bomber. There have been a number of incidents here regarding broken holds and gear pulling. This is a reminder that it is up to each individual climber to assess the quality of rock and to accept a level of risk that is appropriate for the person, and for the place.

Matt Lavendar made the following comment regarding the rock at Great Falls on Oct 3, 2021:

"A FYI for the junior geologists. The rock at Carderock/Great Falls is a mica schist - a type of metamorphic rock. It is NOT a partially metamorphosed schist nor does it contain granite. For junior leaders, the mica that forms a large percentage of this rock is a platey mineral that deforms under load. Many a seemingly "bomber" placement has pulled out of this rock. Those placements that don't shear through the rock often bust out portions of the rock. In short, leading on this rock is both detrimental to the rock and potentially detrimental to your health."                                

If you are preparing to belay from the bottom of a climb, before going check the water levels (on this government website designed a long time ago in a galaxy far far away) as many of the belay spots can get washed out as the river rises. The National Park Service suggests 4.5 feet and above may cover belay areas and down climbing access, but depends on the area. You can check the water level by looking up "Little Falls DC water levels" on a search engine in case the following links are dead.

• NOAA: https://water.noaa.gov/gauges/brkm2
• USGS: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/USGS-01646500

Also, this is a high traffic area for non-climbers, so it's recommended to have someone stay at the top of the cliff to prevent people from messing with the anchors.

Great Falls Park is managed by the National Park Service, and a fee is required to enter. As of 2025, a standard pass for a private vehicle is $20 and lasts 7 days. This pass works for the Maryland side of the park as well. More details are on their website: https://www.nps.gov/grfa/planyourvisit/fees.htm

Except on Christmas (December 25), Great Falls is open daily from 7AM to 30 minutes after sunset. https://www.nps.gov/grfa/planyourvisit/hours.htm

It's recommended to arrive at Great Falls before 9AM to avoid the long line of cars entering the park. The Maryland side of Great Falls doesn't get as much traffic as Virginia's: https://www.mountainproject.com/area/106890457/great-falls-maryland-side