Climbing in a Coastal Paradise
Maine has is home to some of the best coastal rock climbing in North America. Tall and remote trad areas, seaside crags, boulders and wooded sport crags like Shag Crag, even massive ledges like those found on Mt Kathadin are some of the tallest and steepest alpine theaters for New England rock climbers. Acadia boasts seaside crags that offer the ocean climbing with granite nubbins speckled over walls and views of lobster boats below your climbing shoes. Portland Headlight has soft and steep rock with boulder problems in a postcard setting: the lighthouse above the bouldering is one of the most photographed in the world! Maine is one of the most aesthetic places to climb in New England if not the East.
The Highest point in Maine is Mount Katahdin at5,270 ft (1606.4 m). Maine is the least densely populated state east of the Mississippi. The state has almost 230 miles of coastline, and a portion of this has high-quality granite however a lot of this is also broken jumbles of choosy rock that you wouldn’t want to climb. The really good granite is worth visiting. Areas like Acadia and many other shoreline areas have some of the highest quality granite in the Northeast.
Maine rock climbing is becoming more and more popular. In the 80s and early 90s not much was known to non-New Englanders about Maine’s granite walls and small crags. Popularity grew as Acadia became more developed and other areas like Shag Crag got more developed and known as a sport climbing area. In the late 90s,more climbers started to show up, visiting the massive walls of Mount Kathadin and sampling Kathadins basin of ice climbing terrain. More climbers in present times now view Maine as a good state for a road trip and to visit unique seaside granite crags and bouldering areas.
The bouldering scene in Maine is perhaps amongst the most active in regards to development. Many areas along the coast are being developed and having attention brought to them. Several new granite areas are also popping up in the vicinity of Baxter State Park. Large granite boulders with possibilities for varying grades are yielding some awesome new areas are sure to be popular areas in the near future.
Climbing Season
The season in Maine has problematic concerns: black flies are a season onto itself; you don’t want to climb during this season. This season in Maine lasts until late early July and starts in late spring. The weather in summer is slightly cooler than other New England states but you can still get 90+ days with lots of humidity, it’s just less frequent than lower NE. Winter is harsh for rock routes, ice is great however. You can have great days in spring and fall and many locals prefer these times of year than any other.
Eastern Maine Climbing Areas
Eastern Maine is the side of the state anyone traveling to Maine to climb hits first. Portland is the first city with climbing as you enter the lower southeastern corner of Maine. The most popular areas in this part of the state are Jockey’s Cap, Shag Crag, Portland Headlight and Stone Nation. Many climbers that climb in the Mount Washington Valley can skip across into Maine and visit Jockey’s Cap very easily as it is only a 45 minute drive from the Mt Washington locale.
Eastern Maine Areas
- Portland Headlight/Fort William
- Shag Crag
- Jockey’s Cap
- Stone Nation
The Top 4 Climbing Areas in Western Maine
All Western Maine Areas
Shagg Crag
Jockey’s Cap
Twitchel Pond
Portland Headlight
Grafton Notch
Stone Nation
Land of Overhangs
Best Bouldering
Twitchel Pond
Portland Headlight
Best Sport Climbing
Shagg Crag
Best Trad Climbing
Shagg Crag
Best Ice Climbing
The Notch
Jockey’s Cap
Jockey’s Cap is one of Eastern Maines more popular areas due to its proximity to the New Hampshire border. A reasonable drive from North Conway and a 45 minute drive from Portland Maine makes this area easy to get to for Maine or New Hampshire climbers.
Portland Head
Portland Headlight is a small but heavily-visited sea crag located in Portland, Maine. This area has some soft sea rock, mixed samplings of chosy stone, and steep but short overhangs above raging tides. Due to proximity to Portland, this area is a popular but small area.
Shagg Crag
Shagg Crag is one of the best options for sport climbing in the entire state of Maine. Steep granite and difficult climbing has brought climbers from all over New England to climb on this overhanging granite wall with four-star routes and excellent setting.
Twitchell Pond
Twitchell Pond is a quiet and relaxing pond in the heart of Maine. This area is known for boulder problems on rounded granite that ranges from V0 to V9 in a peaceful setting. This area is one of the better bouldering areas in the state of Maine.