Details

Buzzard Rocks is an 80 min drive from Washington DC, followed by a 45 – 60min uphill walk. It is in the Elizabeth Furnace area of the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.

Buzzard Rocks sits on a ridgeline at 1300 ft and faces west.  It’s great in the mornings in the summer as the crag is shaded until 2pm.  In the winter you’ll want to go there in the afternoon. There is no water available.

There are around 30 routes from 5.3 – 5.11, the majority in the 5.7-5.8 range.  The routes are slab climbing, 60 – 120ft in length, with mixed protection, a few bolts plus gear.  Take a rack.  You need two 60m ropes or a 70m rope to abseil so you may want to take a spare rope to fix for this.  You can also walk down. Grades are softish.

Directions and Parking

Take I-66 to exit 6 for US-340/US-522, heading left (South) at the exit. After going over a bridge turn right (West) at the light onto 55 — look for a 7-11 on the left. Drive another 5 miles and turn left (South) at Fort Valley Rd/VA-678. After about a mile turn left on VA-619 at a sign that says “Fish Culture Station”. Drive 1.2 miles past the fish hatchery and look for a sign on the right for the Buzzard Rocks trailhead. Park in the small dirt lot and follow the trail about 2 miles to the top. There is an overflow

The parking lot is small and fills up quickly with hikers.  You need to be there early.

If there’s no parking try Talking Head Wall as parking on the road will likely get a ticket.

Guidebooks

Buzzard Rocks is in the  Rakkup Guide to the Elizabeth Furnace and is listed in Mountainproject  under Shenandoah & NW VA Region Climbing.