North Carolina Guidebooks

Dixon School Road Bouldering 2nd Edition (2025)

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This is the most complete guide for Dixon Bouldering with over 300 established lines and over 70+ projects listed.

Dixon School Road Bouldering

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Convenient to Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as the Upstate of South Carolina, Dixon School Road Boulders is a storied part of Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, NC. While the park itself was founded in the 1970s, the rocks here have been climbed in some form or fashion since the 1980s. Most of the hardest and most famous of the established boulder routes went down in the 90s and 00s thanks to Doug Reed, Diab Rabie, and Gus Glitch.
I’d like to shovel praise and appreciation to the area’s original guidebook author, Matt Bielejeski. When I approached him for assistance on building this digital guide, he was ready with encouragement and accommodation. My only regret is that we didn’t meet sooner. Thank you, Matt!

Additional gratitude is due to Mike Reardon, Executive Director of the CCC, and to Glen George, the Crowders Mountain State Park Superintendent. Both of these men’s input and counsel has proven invaluable. Thanks to you both.

Finally, bouldering at Dixon would not be possible without all the support from the Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC), the NC Division of Parks and Recreation, and the Friends of Crowders Mountain. If you enjoy any part that the park and/or boulder field has to offer, I highly encourage you to show your appreciation with a donation of any amount.

FEATURED: Moore's Wall Bouldering

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This guide book provides a good guide to a variety of different boulder problems at Moore's wall specifically. It's well illustrated and includes a fair amount of history about bouldering in the area.

FEATURED: Carolina Rocks: The Piedmont

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2015, 288 pages

The Piedmont region of North Carolina contains four distinct climbing areas; each with their own cultures and strengths.

Moore’s Wall is one of the best destinations in the east for steep trad climbing on perfect quartzite. As a bonus crowds are small with organized groups almost non-existent. Enjoy one to three pitch routes from moderate to hard core. Best Spring to Fall.

Stone Mountain is the east coast’s best friction area by far. Acres of unblemished granite make this a must do destination for slab aficionados. The setting is magical and the climbing amazing. Best October to March.

Crowder’s Mountain contains a large mix of trad, top rope, and sport climbing near North Carolina’s largest city. Best Fall to Spring.

Pilot Mountain is located minutes from Winston-Salem. Recent re-bolting efforts have contributed to the areas status as the States most popular climbing area with super-easy access to great top rope and sport climbing. Some trad routes area also available. Best Fall to Spring.

North Carolina Crags

New WNC Boulders

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A bouldering guide to new WNC areas opened by the Carolina Climbers Coalition

- 148 pages, full color
- Comprehensive guide to newly-opened climbing areas, opened by the Carolina Climbers Coalition
- Areas include: Upper and Lower Buffalo Creek Boulders, Chimney Rock Village Boulders, Hickory Creek Boulders, Weaver Knob, and McKinney Gap
- 100 percent of proceeds will be donated to the Carolina Climbers Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding and preserving climbing in the Carolinas and beyond.
- 500+ problems listed, V0-V11, with a great concentration of moderates

Forbidden Fruit; The History and Exploration of Laurel Knob

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Laurel Knob in North Carolina has a rich history of access issues and victories. Read through the details that Mike Fischesser documented in this full color, 281 page book.

High Country CLimbing

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The climbing around Boone, NC has something for every climber. With beautiful mountain views, four-season climbing, and high-quality sport and trad lines, the High Country of North Carolina offers great cragging for a lifetime of adventure. This guide covers over 200 routes on the cliffs closest to Boone, NC: The Dump, Ship Rock, Moon Rocks, Little Wilson, Sunken Treasure, Stack Rock, and Holloway Mountain. All areas were previously published in other, out of print guides.

Southern Pisgah Rock & Ice

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400+ pages, full color
Comprehensive guide to Looking Glass Rock (7 previously unpublished crags included), Cedar Rock (dozens of new routes, new crags), John Rock (never before published), 215 Area Ice and Sam’s Area Ice, Slate Rock and Ice, Pilot Cove Area, Graveyard Fields Ice, Cathey’s Creek (several updates from previous guides), Fish Bowl Crag, possibly more surprises
Area’s described include the southeast’s largest collection of moderate multi-pitch routes, several difficult aid lines up to Grade V, over 50 ice lines from WI2-4, and trad or sport routes from 5.3-5.13.
Detailed history of the 50+ years of climbing in the region
Full color photographs from the area’s most talented photographers
Detailed climbing topos and elevation maps for approaches.

Rumbling Bald Rock Climbs

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268 pages, full color, glossy
360 routes described on the south face of Rumbling Bald Mountain, the closed Dark Side of Rumbling Bald routes described for historic reference and advocacy, we are also including super secret guides to Slate Rock Areas and Bradley Falls
26 detailed topos (see sample page)
Hundreds of photos: action shots, sweeping landscapes, aerial photos, first ascent and historic photos, descriptive route shots with lines drawn
22 areas described
Extensive history into NC climbing, focused around climbing on the South Face of Rumbling Bald Mountain within Hickory Nut Gorge
3,000 plus hours and 4 years of beta compiling
Main Authors: Mike Reardon, Sean Cobourn
Contributing Authors: Bruce Burgess, Anthony Love, Clint Calhoun, Matt Gentling, Grover Cable, and Ron Funderburke
Bios: Rodney Lanier, Jeep Gaskin, Thomas Kelley, Nathan Brown, Doug Reed, Bruce Burgess
Photographers: Shannon Millsaps, Ben Butler, Michael Turner, and many many other

FEATURED: Carolina Rocks: The Piedmont

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2015, 288 pages

The Piedmont region of North Carolina contains four distinct climbing areas; each with their own cultures and strengths.

Moore’s Wall is one of the best destinations in the east for steep trad climbing on perfect quartzite. As a bonus crowds are small with organized groups almost non-existent. Enjoy one to three pitch routes from moderate to hard core. Best Spring to Fall.

Stone Mountain is the east coast’s best friction area by far. Acres of unblemished granite make this a must do destination for slab aficionados. The setting is magical and the climbing amazing. Best October to March.

Crowder’s Mountain contains a large mix of trad, top rope, and sport climbing near North Carolina’s largest city. Best Fall to Spring.

Pilot Mountain is located minutes from Winston-Salem. Recent re-bolting efforts have contributed to the areas status as the States most popular climbing area with super-easy access to great top rope and sport climbing. Some trad routes area also available. Best Fall to Spring.

FEATURED: Carolina Rocks: The Piedmont

Purchase this book

2015, 288 pages

The Piedmont region of North Carolina contains four distinct climbing areas; each with their own cultures and strengths.

Moore’s Wall is one of the best destinations in the east for steep trad climbing on perfect quartzite. As a bonus crowds are small with organized groups almost non-existent. Enjoy one to three pitch routes from moderate to hard core. Best Spring to Fall.

Stone Mountain is the east coast’s best friction area by far. Acres of unblemished granite make this a must do destination for slab aficionados. The setting is magical and the climbing amazing. Best October to March.

Crowder’s Mountain contains a large mix of trad, top rope, and sport climbing near North Carolina’s largest city. Best Fall to Spring.

Pilot Mountain is located minutes from Winston-Salem. Recent re-bolting efforts have contributed to the areas status as the States most popular climbing area with super-easy access to great top rope and sport climbing. Some trad routes area also available. Best Fall to Spring.

FEATURED: Carolina Rocks: The Piedmont

Purchase this book

2015, 288 pages

The Piedmont region of North Carolina contains four distinct climbing areas; each with their own cultures and strengths.

Moore’s Wall is one of the best destinations in the east for steep trad climbing on perfect quartzite. As a bonus crowds are small with organized groups almost non-existent. Enjoy one to three pitch routes from moderate to hard core. Best Spring to Fall.

Stone Mountain is the east coast’s best friction area by far. Acres of unblemished granite make this a must do destination for slab aficionados. The setting is magical and the climbing amazing. Best October to March.

Crowder’s Mountain contains a large mix of trad, top rope, and sport climbing near North Carolina’s largest city. Best Fall to Spring.

Pilot Mountain is located minutes from Winston-Salem. Recent re-bolting efforts have contributed to the areas status as the States most popular climbing area with super-easy access to great top rope and sport climbing. Some trad routes area also available. Best Fall to Spring.

Climber's Guide Pilot Mountain State Park

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Local climber Jeff Dillon has just published a new guide to climbing at Pilot Mountain. Other books that had information on Pilot, such the Kelley guide, have been out of print for some time, and hand-printed guides at the park itself have been of questionable accuracy. Dillon's new pamphlet-sized guide now fills this void.

In addition to the usual required information on routes and ratings, the Climber's Guide to Pilot Mountain State Park includes a nice color map of the different sections of the climbing area, as well as notations where climbing is prohibited. There's a handy summary of the different sections and hiking times to get to them, and a good selection of photos of the routes. A brief description of bouldering at Pilot Mountain is also included.

The Climber's Guide Pilot Mountain State Park is free and available for download from the Carolina Climbers Coalition web site (click on the "Purchase This" link above). You can also pick up a copy at the park ranger station.

Cedar Rock and Satellite Crags

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Cedar Rock and Satellite Crags leads you through several previously unpublished climbing destinations throughout the granite enriched Pisgah National Forest, NC. The book contains a comprehensive guide to the many exposed faces of Cedar Rock, and satellite sections on the remote Fish Bowl Crag, the obscure Victory Wall, the enduro pumping Cathey’s Creek, the romping Pilot Rock, and a little mention of the famed John Rock. Written in the tradition of other climbing guidebooks in NC, a goal of this book was to navigate the color of NC climbing while helping you navigate its vertical terrain.

Covers climbs from 5.2-5.13
200 + climbs outlined, single pitch, multi-pitch, and ice included
Illustrated, detailed topos
Climbing history of each area
Many color photos, many of first ascents, 140 pages
Information on hiking trails and waterfalls

Selected Climbs in North Carolina

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It would be hard to squeeze the huge volume of North Carolina climbing areas and routes into a single book, but Selected Climbs comes pretty close. Both Yon Lambert and Harrison Shull are longtime Carolina climbers, and they draw on their experience to outline the best routes of the state's numerous destinations. Some of the areas included are Linville Gorge, Stone Mountain and Rumbling Bald.

One great feature of Selected Climbs is its topos. These diagrams show not only the selected routes described in each climbing area; they also outline routes which didn't get written up. The guide also includes fascinating reading on the history of route development in each area, and numerous great photos by Shull (who is a professional outdoor photographer) of climbers on the rock.

Selected Climbs in North Carolina is available at area climbing stores, or online at the publisher's website (see link above).