Payne Lake
- 11 routes
- 5.5 – 5.10+
- Trad · Sport · Mixed
- May–Sep
- best months
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Weather is good · OpenWeather · checked 2 h ago
Payne Lake is a climbing area in Pulpit Rock State Forest in New York, managed by the State Department of Conservation. It sits among a cluster of climbing spots in the forest, with Oliver Leavitt about 1.5 miles away and First Overlook and Cliffs Minor each about 5 miles off. The area has 11 routes, with grades ranging from 5.5 to 5.10+. Six are trad, three are sport and two are mixed. Among the named routes are Another Cookie at 5.5 and Pure Peter Pan Peanut Butter at 5.5, along with Never Ending Math Equation at 5.10+. Summer is the most comfortable time to climb. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Gouverneur run to highs around 79°F in July, with lows near 57°F. Winters are cold, with January highs averaging about 26°F. Otter Creek, a canoeing spot, is about 5 miles away. Fairyland Wall and Indian River Lakes are both within about 5.5 miles.
Best time to go · May–Sep
Best time to visit Payne Lake
Best months: May–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
26° / 5°
16 wet
Feb
29° / 6°
13 wet
Mar
38° / 17°
13 wet
Apr
53° / 31°
12 wet
May
66° / 42°
12 wet
Jun
75° / 52°
12 wet
Jul
79° / 57°
11 wet
Aug
78° / 55°
10 wet
Sep
71° / 46°
11 wet
Oct
58° / 36°
13 wet
Nov
45° / 27°
15 wet
Dec
33° / 15°
17 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Gouverneur 3 Nw, NY, 8.9 mi away at 420 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Routes (11)
Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
CLIMB
Oliver Leavitt
~3 min drive
Oliver Leavitt in New York has 4 climbing routes with bouldering pads and sport.
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First Overlook
~9 min drive
First Overlook in New York has 4 routes ranging from easy to hard, offering bouldering and sport climbing on rock with bouldering pads and sport bolts.
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Cliffs Minor
~9 min drive
Cliffs Minor in New York has 11 bouldering routes across 6 grades.
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Indian River Lakes
~9 min drive
Indian River Lakes is a New York climbing crag with 11 routes.
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Fairyland Wall
~9 min drive
Fairyland Wall in New York has 7 bouldering routes across 4 grades.
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Butter Cliffs
~12 min drive
Butter Cliffs in New York has 6 climbing routes with bouldering and sport options.
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Twin Falls Cliff
~54 min drive
Twin Falls Cliff in New York has 8 routes with 7 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad climbing.
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Eagle Falls
~59 min drive
Eagle Falls in New York has 49 climbing routes on mixed, sport, and trad.
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The West Side
~1h 1m drive
West Side, The is a climbing area in New York with 4 routes.
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Misfit Boulder
~1h 1m drive
Misfit Boulder in New York has 8 bouldering routes.
