General

The Michaux State Forest in Southern Pennsylvania is west of I15 and north of Gettysburg. It is quite extensive and contains a number of small but good climbing areas.

Shaffer Rocks and White Rocks (Pondbank) are two of the better small crags in the forest. They are roughly 80miles/90 minutes drive from Washington DC. Parking is limited at both crags so try to share rides and/or carpool. Directions to the crags can be found from Mountainproject – see the section below on Guidebooks.

Shaffer Rocks

Shaffer Rocks is predominantly a top-roping crag although there are a few routes that can be led on gear. The crag is easily accessible – a ten minute walk from parking – and has 30+ routes around 60ft in height from 5.3 to 5.11+.

The rock is a good quality Weverton quartzite that dries quickly despite being a north facing wall….so this is a good summer destination.

Schaffer Rocks is on the Appalachian Trail and there is a very nice cabin less than 100 yards from the base. The cabin is The Hermitage, can be rented and more details can be found on the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club’s Website. Camping is also possible at the nearby Caledonia State Park.

Pond Bank

Pond Bank has two main areas, Brown Rocks and White Rocks. Brown Rocks is smaller and the routes are shorter.  Both crags face west and get afternoon sun.

Most visits to Pondbank go to White Rocks, which is predominantly a trad crag with 60+ routes from 5.3 to 5.11+ on a number of different cliffs. The approach is a ten minute flat walk to the base of the climbs on a signed path opposite the parking area (around six cars). The climbs are one pitch up to 125ft in height with either a rappel descent or an easy walk-off. Some routes have one or two bolts but there are no sport climbs. Some of the routes need large cams.

Guidebooks

The Mountainproject guide to the climbing and directions to White Rocks (Pondbank) is here and the Mountainproject guide to the climbing and directions to Schaffer Rocks is here.

There is also a Pennsylvania Guidebook .with some information about these crags.