Briar Ledge
Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- 5 routes
- 5.8 – 5.11b
- Trad · Mixed
- Apr–Oct
- best months
Clear today
Weather is good · OpenWeather · checked 7 h ago
Is Briar Ledge open right now?
Closure in the area
There's a closure order in Shenandoah National Park. It doesn't name Briar Ledge, so check the source for the area it covers.
Active Closure
Park closure covering Shenandoah National Park · NPS · Shenandoah National Park
Parking at Boundary Access Areas
Park alert covering Shenandoah National Park · NPS · Shenandoah National Park
As of · Source: NPS · Shenandoah National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Briar Ledge is a climbing area in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, within the Shenandoah Wilderness. The National Park Service manages the land, and the area sits among several other climbing spots, including Eagle's Gift and Lower God's Area, all within about a tenth of a mile. The climbing here is trad, with one mixed route, and the grades run from 5.8 up to 5.11b. House Broken is the easiest at 5.8, and The Unchained! is the hardest at 5.11b. The Untamed, a mixed route, is rated 5.10d. Summer is the most comfortable time to climb. Typical averages from the nearby Big Meadows weather station, about 7 miles away, show July highs around 75°F with lows near 59°F, while winter highs stay in the 30s. Big Meadows Campground is about 7 miles away for an overnight stay, and the Hazel River offers paddling about 5 miles off.
Best time to go · Apr–Oct
Best time to visit Briar Ledge
Best months: April–October. 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
36° / 19°
Feb
38° / 22°
Mar
44° / 27°
Apr
57° / 37°
May
64° / 46°
Jun
70° / 54°
Jul
75° / 59°
Aug
73° / 58°
Sep
69° / 52°
Oct
58° / 42°
Nov
48° / 32°
Dec
39° / 24°
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Big Meadows, VA, 7.1 mi away at 3,540 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Routes (5)
Facts about this crag
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