This is an incredibly beautiful new bouldering area on the banks of the Cheat River. With 55 problems from V0 to V10+, all within a 5 minute walk down the well maintained Allegheny Trail, I can see this area becoming very popular. The boulders get plenty of sun exposure, and dry quickly, so it’s often the best spot to climb in the summer, despite the heat (but who cares, you can just jump in the water!) The rock here is higher quality than the nearby Cooper’s rock, and produces much more interesting bouldering. The sandstone has much finer grains, and is easy on the skin. Nearly every problem involves slapping up some slopers, which always makes things exciting. There are still a few projects left to do as well, so for the stronger climbers out there, have at it! If you are willing to explore, there’s also a plethora of undeveloped boulders on the banks of the Cheat, further downstream.

Important side note: Every boulder can be accessed when the USGS gage height for Albright, WV is at 11. But you can climb most of the boulders when the gauge height is as high as 13.

From I68 eastbound, take exit 23 (Bruceton Mills) and head right (towards Albright and Kingwood). After about 12 miles, you will find a small blue sign for Teter’s Campground on the right. Make the sharp right turn towards the campground, but drive past it on the left. About 1/4 mile past the campground, there is an obvious gravel parking lot on the left with a red sign labeled “Cheat Canyon Wildlife Management Area.” Park here, and head down the trail. After about 100 feet, take the right fork (the left one is a little overgrown and unappealing anyways). After about 3 minutes, the trail intersects with a flatter trail following the river downstream. 2 more minutes down the trail, passing some newly renovated sections of trail, there is a cairn on the left marking a faint climber’s trail to the first area (it’s a few feet past the large red oak over the trail). If the cairn is for some reason removed, it shouldn’t be hard to walk to the river bank and find rock. A few hundred yards further down the trail, there is another cairn, and an obvious climbers trail on the left, heading downhill to the second area. If you walk maybe 100 yards further down the trail, you can also walk down a fisherman’s trail to a beach area to swim. The approach to the first sector is 5 minutes, and 7 minutes to the second sector.