General

Safe Harbor is a collection of crags along a 6.5 mile stretch of the Enola Low Grade Rail Trail along the . Susquehanna River. This crag is now one of Pennsylvania’s best sport climbing destinations.

Type of Climbing

There are over 400 bolt protected one pitch routes, with grades from 5.7 – 5.12. Most of the rock is less than vertical with a few steeper lines, offering fingery face climbing on slippery rock.

Directions and Parking

Safe Harbor is on the Susquehanna River and is named after a small village near the cliffs. it is 100 miles and 2 hours drive from Washington. There are different parking areas depending on which cliffs you intend to visit and details can be found in the guides or on Mountainproject (see section on Guidebooks below)

Crag Logistics

Safe Harbor is divided into two major sections, North and South.

Safe Harbor South (~ 150 routes) is the more popular, accessible, and concentrated climbing area, located in Conestoga Township. This area has a number of classic climbs with the bulk of climbs in the moderate range.

Safe Harbor North (~ 260 routes) is located a few miles from Safe Harbor South, but the area is more spread out and offers steeper climbing and may require longer ropes or multiple pitches. Belaying is typically more shaded but tends to be less “kid friendly” than Safe Harbor South.

Plenty of sunlight and dark colored, southwest-facing rock make Safe Harbor a good cool weather destination., but with little shade this crag should be avoided in the summer. There is no water and toilets are available at some of the parking areas.

Some routes may require a piece or two of gear and a stick clip is useful.

Guidebooks

Safe Harbor is listed in MountainProject

There is also a paper guide published by Seth Derr in 2019 This is now out of print . A new edition should be available in 2025.

The latest content is also available as a digital guidebook in the Gunks+ app,