Looking for a spot to take the kids for some easy climbing for an hour or two. They are little so very easy and short is fine.

Thanks
Dave

Whitestone, if they aren't too little.

there are some kid sized walls in squantz pond state park

there is a better cliff in woodbury...in a small park....theres even a small guidebook pamphlet written by ken nichols for it...the climbing isnt great but its surprisingly entertaining for what it is....some people have had issues there in the past as some locals think they own the public cliff...but i've never had an issue there...i've probably climbed at least a dozen or 15 days there when visiting family.....i usually solo easy routes...but there are abundant trees for toprope anchors and plenty of 5.easy terrain

I thought Ken had second billing on that one

Orenaug Park in Woodbury had some really nice climbs on the (now closed) Viewing Wall. The North End has some hard routes through a large OH. Easy routes in the Pond Area.

Whitestone is nice but not many routes there.

How about St. John's Ledges in Kent? (They might be too little for that)

Orenaug would work too, and has the advantage of a shorter approach.

St John's Ledges has a lower cliff that is a little shorter than the main cliff and has some easier 5.2-ish climbs, but my experience was that they got a little dirty after a big rain. Also it's a much further drive.

Thanks for the input. Orenaug in Woodbury was my first thought, but Im pretty sure that the majority of that cliff is on private property and closed by the land owner. If there is still part of it open and there is at least one or two easy lines that that is probably a good option.

St. Johns I am aware of and have checked it out but its probably a 45+ minute ride and the gunks is only another 10 minutes. I'm looking for something that would be good for quick after work or just an hour or two on a weekend.

Whitestone looks like a good bet. Only about 20 minutes or so from my house and plenty of easy stuff on the the slab. Does anyone know if there are any access issues there or that place 100% ok? Pretty sure I was there about 10 years ago but can't say for sure.

I've done plenty of hiking at Squantz. Not really a whole lot there that is easy and not covered in poison ivy. Plus I'm not so sure climbing is legal there.

Thanks you for all the input.

Dave

Orenaug has access disputes which involve the majority of the cliff. The uncontested side apparently has a decent 5.4, though I haven't done it.

Whitestone has no access issues apart from frequent mud on the ATV trails.

The Pond Area at Orenaug is open and has about 30 short routes including:

One 5.2
Four 5.3s
Four 5.4s
Two 5.5s
One 5.6
One 5.7
Three 5.8s
Also a few 5.9-5.11s

PM me if you want a pdf of the Pond Area pages from the guidebook.


I was there two days ago. Only place in CT where I've seen Five Lined Skinks. The top suffered a forest fire last year and some of the trees are dead. It's in a state forest just like Pootatuck (Squantz). No access issues that I'm aware of. Lot's of illegal ATV traffic, though.

officially there is enough of orenaug open to climbing that you'll be fine keeping the kids busy on a toprope for a few hours...i cant imagine someone chasing a couple of kids out of there....i've never been bothered there in all the days i've climbed there but i've always stayed in the open area near the pond

climbing in squantz was legal as of a few years ago.....maybe ca 2005 or so a bunch of us spent some days boulder hunting out there...found some fun stuff....ct state parks was ok with it then and we checked with rangers who didnt have a problem with us climbing....