Long Mountain Rock Climbing

Driving to the trailhead (from VA I81)

* Mile 0: Off I-81 take the Woodstock Exit #283 onto Route 42 South towards Columbia Furnace. This is a right turn at the exit ramp‟s traffic light.

* Mile 5.2: Right onto route 768, Union Church Rd.

* Mile 5.5: Right onto route 675, Wolf Gap Rd.

* Mile 8.4: Right onto route 675, Wolf Gap Rd.

* Mile 10.0: Left onto route 789, Sam Clark Rd.

* Mile 10.3: Bear right at fork on to route 691, Judge Rye Rd.

* Mile 14.3: Park at trailhead for Long Mountain Trail (2900 feet).

There is parking and a primitive campsite on the right side of the road. The sign for the Long Mountain trailhead is not visible form the road but yellow “i” shaped blazes can be seen.

Approach

Other than the first 15 minutes there is no formal trail to the cliffs. For your first visit, allocate 1.5-2 hours for the approach hike. After becoming familiar with the approach hike, and assuming you don't get lost and are reasonably fit, the approach should take no more than 1.5 hours.

Hike Long Mountain Trial down about 0.6 miles (10 - 15 minutes) to 2800 feet and large clearing on right. Continue approximately another 100 yards and watch for an unmarked use trail heading up hill on the right. This trail leads steeply up through dense laurel and then through a small rocky area to the ridge of Long Mountain. Once at the top, pass a campsite with a nice view, and follow the ridge along a well-cairned use trails for 45 minutes to one hour. The cliffs become visible at the north end of a meadow. Drop down to the right side of the ridge to approach the walls from below.

A 'work in progress' guide can be found at the Potomac Mountain Club website.

http://www.potomacmountainclub.org/long_mountain