There are many broken up cliff lines on the west side of Linville Gorge. The name Gold Coast refers to the section that lies below the Rock Jock Trail. There has been a fair amount of undocumented exploration on these walls over the years. Many of the explorers only made the trip a hand full of times due to the generally heinous approach to these cliffs. One particular party even bushwhacked over from the east side, not realizing that there was a road on the western rim! The recent re-construction of the rock jock trail (at least the northern half anyway) has influenced the most recent interests in the Gold Coast climbing, and made for some pretty reasonable approaches. This has resulted in some truely classic routes being established in the more recent time frame.
Getting There
Locate the Kistler Memorial Hwy on the west side of Linville Gorge. Drive south on this for roughly 5 miles. Either start at the Conley Cove trail head and hike south to the intersetcion of the Rock Jock trail (long way), or Drive 1/4 mile past Conely Cove south to a faint parking spot located in the steep uphill S curve. At this time there is a small rock cairn to mark the trailhead. Take this foot path a short ways to the RJ trail and turn right (south).
Gold Coast Cliffs
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