Gold Coast Cliffs Rock Climbing

Locate the Kistler Memorial Hwy on the west side of Linville Gorge. Directions below are referenced by driving north on this gravel road.

The best approach to everything from the south end up to Zen Canyon is this:

If driving north on Kistler, park in a small spot on the left (west side of road) 7.2 miles from the beginning of the gravel section. Locate the "drainage ditch" which is the trail head. It should take about 10 minutes to hike down to the RJ this way, as opposed to 35 min if traversing in the whole Rock Jock. Once at the RJ, to get to Razors Edge and Zen access trails turn left. To get to Moonshine and Underworld access trails turn right. Further approach info can be found under the respective canyon access.

If climbing at Bluejay canyon and north the best approach is this:

Hike in from the north end of RJ. Either start at the Conley Cove trailhead and hike south to the intersetcion of the Rock Jock trail (longer way), or park 1/4 mile south of Conely Cove at a faint parking spot located in the steep S curve (there are several spots). The old path is nearly gone but the start can easily be found at a tree with a big X spray painted on it and a rock cairn. Walk a minute or less through the woods to the RJ and turn right. There are many smaller cliffs within about 5 minutes from the car. Hacker's Point is about 15 minutes and Bluejay is about 20-30 minutes (just past "blue jay falls"). It is the drainage gully ("canyon") where the trail turns sharply uphill and crosses come large down tree's. Instead of going up, just go down the drainage.

For good smartphone-compatible maps, look here: lgmaps.org/?page_id=10