General

Little Stony Man is in the Shenadoah National Park, above Skyline Drive. There are around 20 moderate routes on greenstone rock.

A major benefit of this area is that the cliff is at over 3000ft and faces north west. Consequently it is in the shade until the afternoon and is one of the few places to climb comfortably in the middle of the DC summer.

Getting There

From Washington, D.C. area, take Interstate 66 West to US Route 15 south. Follow to Route 29 and turn right. Once in town, make a right hand turn on Route 211 West, where you are about 30 miles from Skyline Drive at the Thornton Gap Entrance. Going South on Skyline Drive, you pass mile marker 39, and you will see Little Stony Man on the right. The parking lot is in between mile markers 39 and 40.

The climbing area is a short hike along the AT from the parking lot on Skyline Drive.

Climbing Considerations

The climbs at Little Stony Man are typically 80 – 100ft in height.

For lead climbing: A 60 meter rope and standard rack will suffice for most leads. Be aware that there is still a significant amount of loose rock on this increasingly popular crag. Also, many of the routes are not that well protected so caution is advised; not a place to push grades. Most of the routes are in the 5.3 – 5.7 range.

For top-roping: The Appalachian Trail actually runs along the top of the cliffs, making this a popular destination for hikers. The Park Service frowns upon climbers crossing the trail with long top rope anchors; as they can trip hikers or simply tempt them to interfere. In many places creative use of slinging boulders combined with traditional protection allows for safe anchors which don’t cross the AT. Given the height of the cliff, a toprope with a bottom belay will need 60m+ ropes.

Access Restrictions

Per the Shenandoah NP Climbing Guidelines:

Tree anchor use is prohibited directly on or around Little Stony Man and all off-trail areas on Little Stony Man located south of a line placed 28.3 yards (35 meters) north of the Chute Trail are closed to visitor use. The large boulders on the northernmost end of Little Stony Man cliffs between the A.T. and  Passamaquoddy Trail are also closed.

In this NPS diagram, climbing is permitted between the two closed areas (in red).

Guidebooks

This following Little Stoney Man guide was written by David Raboy and Vince Penoso, two PMC members. There is similar information on Mountainproject.