Alabama Climbing

It may not be the first place you think of as a climbing destination, but Alabama has some excellent crags to choose from, most within a two-hour drive of Atlanta or Birmingham.

Climbing in Alabama is mostly sandstone. The Cumberland Plateau, which hosts the great sandstone cliffs of Tennessee, extends into northern Alabama. Areas like Jamestown are similar to T-Wall and Sunset in Chattanooga, though the cliffs are not as tall. Other areas like Cherokee Rock Village (Sand Rock), by contrast, tend toward sandstone with a fair amount of conglomerate mixed in.

For trad climbers, Jamestown is the top destination, with numerous excellent lines. Areas like Cherokee Rock Village (Sand Rock) and Griffin Falls have a mix of sport and trad, while Palisades Park is a great place for setting up easy to moderate topropes. Boulderers can enjoy the great problems of Horse Pens 40 and Moss Rock Preserve.

Because many of Alabama's destinations are on private land, access has been a perennial problem. While there are some areas that have been closed with little hope of ever reopening, Jamestown is a special success story. In 2005, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition purchased the land that includes the Jamestown cliffline, reopening the area to legal climbing for the first time in 12 years. With luck, other off-limits areas can be reopened with similar tactics.