Gunks in the summer?

Having been through this, I can tell you that once the kids become ambulatory, climbing with them becomes problematic.

My advice would be to pick someplace that the family would enjoy as priority one with climbing as the secondary criteria. Find someplace fun that's reasonably close to a climbing area you'd enjoy. Going through the stress of trying to climb and still feel good about the family's experience just isn't worth it.

Maybe I was a bit extreme but I put aside climbing, except for the occasional social climbing day for three years when my daughter was age 2 to 5. I have never regretted it for second. And I was definitely a "climbing is a way of life" person. It still is.

frank minunni wrote: I put aside climbing, except for the occasional social climbing day for three years when my daughter was age 2 to 5. I have never regretted it for second. And I was definitely a "climbing is a way of life" person. It still is.

yeah man, I did the same and no regrets. life is complicated enough for everyone at that age.

Totally agree, Frank, which was honestly what drew me to the Gunks in the first place. I'd be ok with less than optimal climbing if it were better for the rest of the family, as long as it's not intolerable. I've climbed in Texas in July so my tolerance is a little high, but I'm hoping for something a bit more reasonable.

Is anyone going to mention that climbing at the Gunks costs 18 dollars a day? or 80 dollars for a season pass(unless they increased it) plus its crowded and the camping and Air BnB options are expensive.

Don't get me wrong the climbing is great but its one of the only places on the east coast you have to pay to go climbing at.

Whites,Daks,Acadia all decent options.

When you say other things to do? Are you talking about hiking,camping,paddling, bird watching? Or are you talking about movies,ice cream,petting zoo, shopping, restaurants and bars?

I know it might sound crazy but I would consider Vermont. Shelburne Farms is a great kid venue, lake Champlain for beaches and water sports, plenty of cool restaurants and bars. Bolton Vermont for trad/sport cragging and Smugglers Notch for Bouldering. Lots of hiking and other outdoor activities as well.

kenr wrote: But many of the Gunks classics are only a single pitch, or not much more than that. Or ... more precisely, many of the high-quality Gunks routes have two pitches (or three), but only one of them is "classic". . (and many climbers who know the Gunks well avoid including the non-classic pitches). Anyway there are virtually no points on the Gunks cliffs where you cannot span between bottom and top with a single 60-meter rope. The main reasons for breaking Gunks routes into multiple pitches are rope-drag and convenience. If you're looking for routes with real multi-pitch commitment, gotta go somewhere else. Ken

Maybe I should have left the "single pitch" part out of my statement. I was more referring to if you have your sights on plugging gear and climbing big roofs at the gunks, Rumney doesn't sound like a great option 2. Plus traveling half way across the country to clip bolts at Rumney seems excessive. Just my 2 cents.

DRusso wrote:Is anyone going to mention that climbing at the Gunks costs 18 dollars a day? or 80 dollars for a season pass(unless they increased it) plus its crowded and the camping and Air BnB options are expensive. Don't get me wrong the climbing is great but its one of the only places on the east coast you have to pay to go climbing at. Whites,Daks,Acadia all decent options. When you say other things to do? Are you talking about hiking,camping,paddling, bird watching? Or are you talking about movies,ice cream,petting zoo, shopping, restaurants and bars? I know it might sound crazy but I would consider Vermont. Shelburne Farms is a great kid venue, lake Champlain for beaches and water sports, plenty of cool restaurants and bars. Bolton Vermont for trad/sport cragging and Smugglers Notch for Bouldering. Lots of hiking and other outdoor activities as well.

You are probably going to have to buy an entrance pass at Acadia too. There are ways around it but hardly worth it.

I actually have done that, but I was in Boston visiting a friend. Rumney's great, but I don't know if I'd fly across the country for it, especially since I'm driving distance from the Red and prefer plugging gear anyways.

DRusso wrote:When you say other things to do? Are you talking about hiking,camping,paddling, bird watching? Or are you talking about movies,ice cream,petting zoo, shopping, restaurants and bars? I know it might sound crazy but I would consider Vermont. Shelburne Farms is a great kid venue, lake Champlain for beaches and water sports, plenty of cool restaurants and bars. Bolton Vermont for trad/sport cragging and Smugglers Notch for Bouldering. Lots of hiking and other outdoor activities as well.

All of the above, or as much as can be crammed into one place. VT is a cool option, although I'm much less familiar with the climbing there.

Now that I know you're planning on flying, I'll double down my vote for the Tahoe area (plenty of non-climbing stuff to do), Colorado, or Squamish.

Ted Pinson wrote:VT is a cool option, although I'm much less familiar with the climbing there.

No one goes to Vermont for the rock climbing.

johnva wrote:storm king down the road from new paltz (about an hour??) is amazing and worth a day. We hit it one day when it had rained in the morning.

Storm King is great. Infinite grassy hills for junior to run around on, and cool art, especially Andy Goldsworthy's wall

to the OP - Gunks is very family friendly. My climbing partner and his wife have a 3 year old and they climb there often, and have since he was born. There is a great, family friendly campground about 10 minutes from the cliff called Jellystone. It is a kid friendly campground. NO non-families allowed, so you don't have to worry about heavy drinking and noise. The campground has a pool, a river that you can tube in, and all sorts of kid friendly, Yogi Bear-themed, activites. They have campsites AND cabins for rent. The campground is also about 15 minutes from New Paltz, so you can still go into town and do the whole tourist thing there

http://www.campjellystone.com/

Topo Gigio wrote:to the OP - Gunks is very family friendly. My climbing partner and his wife have a 3 year old and they climb there often, and have since he was born. There is a great, family friendly campground about 10 minutes from the cliff called Jellystone. It is a kid friendly campground. NO non-families allowed, so you don't have to worry about heavy drinking and noise. The campground has a pool, a river that you can tube in, and all sorts of kid friendly, Yogi Bear-themed, activites. They have campsites AND cabins for rent. The campground is also about 15 minutes from New Paltz, so you can still go into town and do the whole tourist thing there campjellystone.com/

FYI - this camp is pricey. $65 per night for a tent site and almost $300 per night for the cabins. That will certainly add up over 2 weeks! I know they offer a lot of extras for the kids, but yours will be too little to enjoy most of it. I (mother of two, 2.5 and 5) vote stay at a normal campground, swim at splitrock and sink the savings in a 529 plan. You know your family, though, and if it's worth spending a bit more because this is just what your family is looking for, go for it.

Wow if I ever pay to camp in a place like that you all have the permission to put me down.

Man if I was a climber planning to visit the northeast and all I did was consult Mountain Project I would be convinced the only place to climb was the Gunks. You guys all love it soo much.

Marc801 wrote: *Hiking - long, short, level, steep, whatever, including a few quasi-via ferattas. * Mtn biking on the extensive carriage road system * Playing in/around the numerous lakes. * For kids especially, tons of exploration: the rugged, rocky coast, life in the tide pools, the bog on the west side. * Whale watching boat rides * Other boat tours * The ferry to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (a very full, long day - bring your passports) * Tour of the fish packing plant in SW Harbor * Walk across the natural causeway at low tide in Bar Harbor and explore the small island (with the abandoned mansion, if it hasn't succumbed to the elements by now) * Ranger-led interpretive programs * Rent sea kayaks or canoes * Try and find the old cog railway line up Cadillac Mtn (it was *really* difficult to find it 30 years ago - I suspect only short sections are still discoverable - but I know the lines of iron anchor pins in the bedrock granite will still be there. It would take a bit of research to know where to start looking.) * Stargazing at the summit of Cadillac Mtn. * Eating lots of lobster. Disclaimer: I spent 1-3 weeks every summer with my parents in Bar Harbor from age 3-17 and always loved it. I did not start rock climbing until college (Gunks, Oct 1972, w/ Rutgers U Outdoor Club. On that trip I met someone named R. Goldstone who was leading the totally terrifying Something Interesting while I was gumbying up Three Pines).

Just wanted to add to the list:

• Tea and popovers at Jordan Pond House
• Explore Thunder Hole
• Admire tall ships that are hand built in SW Harbor
• Explore the "quiet side" of the island for more feel of real Maine
• Can't stress enough - eat lots of lobstahs! Even lobster-flavored ice cream

Acadia is amazing. The free shuttle system is really convenient, and lets you take bikes on it so you can explore the carriage road network in bits and pieces.

Question to the OP: is your non-climbing spouse also your belayer or are you planning to hook up with random people to climb? If former, there are many places in CO where you can stay in a resorty mountain town, get a couple of pitches in on a pretty decent rock say in the morning and then go do touristy stuff in the pm with the fam like soaking in hot springs. But if your wife is not going to belay, unless you plan to climb in Rifle, most these places are BYOB (bring your own belayer).

DRusso wrote:Man if I was a climber planning to visit the northeast and all I did was consult Mountain Project I would be convinced the only place to climb was the Gunks. You guys all love it soo much.

I love a lot of places, I just happen to live in the Gunks. I got distracted by a snarky response, but I think Acadia is great. Just so there's no hard feelings,

Sunset on Cadillac Mountain

Coast near Bar Harbor

Tidal pool near Bar Harbor

Nice hiking

Acadia coastline

Jordan Pond

While we're pouring on the Acadia love...

Looks like this thread has become an Acadia tangent. Since were on topic I'm hoping to get up there for a week this summer. Any suggestions on when the best weather is and most likely for crowds to be at least bearable.

Someone say Acadia?

south wall

otter

south2

ct cracks

proper camera racking

precipice variation

thats it !! everyones going to acadia this yr. lol

to the op since i didnt comment back after my 1st suggestion. and since i have a 6yr old and a 4 yr old who have been going up there since they where just 6 months old, there is so much to do up there family wise you should have a good time,other things that where not suggested are

the oceanerium , its where they breed lobsters and have some cool stuff for the kids to see, you have to pay to get in but a cool experience even for adults.

there is echo lake over near the southwest harbor its fresh water and has a sand beach, go there instead of the "sand" beach in the main area of the park.

we go over the 4th of july so we spend the morning in town for the parade and lobster fest at the park the rotary holds. then fireworks at night

there is also a cool little beach called hunters beach, very small parking lot if its full come back later type of thing, its a short 1/4m hike that the kids will do fine on, but go at low tide you can scramble around the rock face on the left side there maybe 50ft but fun.

there are plenty of small restaurants in town and outside but no fast food you will need to leave the island for that.

there is alot more to do up there but we always have a good time