Description

Summersville Dam is a scenic stretch of riverside boulders with easy access and a free campground. There are some fantastic standout classics here and many fun problems in between. "Pizza Slice" V8 is one of the best of its grade in the country. The trail is poor and/or rock hopping, and a bit of willingness to explore is helpful here, as the boulders are a bit scattered.

🔴 In the fall (and times of heavy rainfall upriver), the Army Corps of Engineers begins releasing water out of Summersville Dam, lowering the level of the lake. This happens Friday through Monday starting the second week of September until the end of November. Below the dam, of course, this means the Gauley River is raging. The release of the surplus of water from the dam creates one of the finest whitewater rivers on the east coast. Under the surface, world class boulders create the whitewater rapids. These boulders' time to shine is in the spring starting April 1st, when the dam is turned to minimum release of 7.5ft to refill the beautiful Summersville Lake. Similarly, during the end of Summer before the scheduled releases, low precipitation also will have the river at minimum flow. During this time the boulders along the Gauley's riverbanks are exposed and climbable. For all of the boulders in the river to be climbable, the water level should be about 7.5ft (400cfs); however there is still a lot of climbing when the water is up (i.e. Gauley Gee Boulders, Original Sin Boulder, and Hideaway Boulder). You can use this website to find the current river level: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/2378/flow

🚶‍♂️ Approach summary - Variable. Chill to rugged. 2 to 20 minutes.
💎 Notable problems - "Tiger Lily" V2, "Zero Gravity" V2, "Vesper" V2, "Baloney Sandwich" V2, "Soap Drop" V3, "Pick Pocket" V3, "Vesper Low" V4, "Day Star" V4, "River Dog Right" V5, "Gauley Gee Wilikers!" V5, "Shut the Front Door" V6, "Encore" V7, "Pizza Slice" V8, "Black Sloper Problem" V8, "Hideaway" V9, "Forbidden Fruit" V10, "Rosewater" V10, "The Ark" V11, "Original Sin" V11
💧 Dry time - Hours to 1 day.
🍂❄️🍃 Seasonal Beta - Best in April while the dam is at minimal flow to fill up the lake. Otherwise Fall to Spring. Warm in the summer but the water is often low.
🌊 Water Level Beta - This is highly variable. Starting April 1st and until Summersville lake is full (usually 3 to 4 weeks), the water level on the Gauley is set to minimum flow of 7.5ft and all boulders should be climbable. In the fall, assuming low precipitation, Tuesday through Thursday on weeks of Gauley Release the water level is set at 8.5ft. The Gauley Gee Boulders, Hideaway, the right side of Original Sin Boulder, and several others are climbable regardless of the river level. Boulders that require minimum flow of 7.5ft include the Beauty Boulder, Sandshark Boulder, Black Sloper Boulder, and Swamp Ass Boulder. At 8.5ft and lower boulders climbable include Pick Pocket Boulder, Wastelands Boulder, Zero Gravity Boulder, Danger Zone Boulder, Rosewater, The Ark, and Encore. "Pizza Slice" is best at 9ft and lower.
🚗 Drive from downtown Fayetteville - 15 minutes
🚗 Drive from Summersville - 25 minutes
🚽 Bathrooms - Pit toilets at the parking area.
📶 Cell phone service - 3/5, variable.
🐶 Dogs - Must be leashed at all times. This is National Park and Army Corp land.

Routes on Summersville Dam Boulders
118 boulder
Browse topos
Photos
Premium topo by New River Gorge and Surrounding Areas
Stella Mascari
S. Mascari
from New River Gorge
Aaron Schneider
A. Schneider
from Mount Lookout, West Virginia
Other Premium topos by New River Gorge and Surrounding Areas 70
Summersville Dam Boulders

The area is access sensitive!

***This area is water level dependent. Many boulders are climbable regardless of water level, however lots are water level dependent. See the description of this area on the home page of Summersville Dam Boulders for specific water level information before you climb here.
You can use this site to find the current river level:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/03189600/

Driving Directions:
From Fayetteville, turn right onto US-19N and drive north for 17 miles, crossing over two beautiful bridges. When you get to the first stoplight, make a left onto WV-129. In 3 miles, drive over the Summersville Dam, then make your second left at the sign that says "Gauley River Access" (the first left is the ranger station parking lot). Follow the road as it switches back down the hill and into the parking lot at the bottom. Parallel park near the gated-off river-access road straight ahead for the upstream end of the boulders (Morning Glory Boulder to the Danger Zone Boulder), or behind the pit toilets in the back of the campground for the downstream end of the boulderfield (The Danger Zone Boulder to the Truncated Boulder).

Hiking Directions:
Upstream: Hike down the gated river-access road that is 200 yards before the campground for the upstream end of the boulderfield. To reach the Morning Glory Boulder, take the left trail just before the small building. Walk along the beach or, at higher water, the fishing trail through the woods. to get downstream to all of the other boulders.

Downstream: Hike the gated road behind the pit toilet in the back of the campground to its end (keeping left at the fork). As of fall 2022 this road is being converted into more camping sites. The trail then turns left, gets much smaller, and goes steeply downhill to the river. To find the Gauley Gee Boulders, keep an eye out to your right for a tiny chainlink-fenced in section of woods. Turn into the woods and walk along the first edge of the fenced in area to get behind it. Follow the small trail up the till behind the fenced in area to the boulders. For the rest of the boulders, follow the main trail (keeping left at the fork) down to the river's edge. The Express Boulder and everything further downstream will be to your right. The rest of the boulders will be to your left. The riverbed has rock hopping, scrambling, and routefinding. If the water is high, the highwater trail has overhanging branches that catch your pad. The Gauley Gee Boulders have a flat walk to a short but steep, poorly maintained trail going up to and around the boulders. Total hiking time: 2-20 minutes.