6) Middle Beauty
Middle Beauty in West Virginia has 7 climbing routes with sport and trad options.
- 7 routes
- 5.8 – 5.13b
- Trad · Sport
Is 6) Middle Beauty open right now?
No closures listed
The National Park Service lists no closures for New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
As of · Source: NPS · New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Best time to visit 6) Middle Beauty
Best months: June–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
41° / 23°
15 wet
Feb
44° / 25°
13 wet
Mar
52° / 31°
14 wet
Apr
64° / 41°
14 wet
May
72° / 50°
14 wet
Jun
79° / 58°
12 wet
Jul
81° / 61°
12 wet
Aug
81° / 60°
11 wet
Sep
75° / 54°
9 wet
Oct
65° / 42°
10 wet
Nov
54° / 33°
11 wet
Dec
45° / 27°
14 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Oak Hill, WV, 8.5 mi away at 2,040 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Middle Beauty is a climbing area in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia, managed by the National Park Service. It sits among a cluster of other climbing areas, with Thunder Buttress, Burning Buttress and Beauty Mountain all about 0.1 mile away, and 3) The Brain about 0.2 mile off. The Brain is the closest of the nearby climbing areas. The area has seven routes, six of them trad and one sport, with grades ranging from 5.8 to 5.13b. The hardest is Thundering Herd at 5.13b, and the sport route is Hilti as Charged at 5.11d. The easiest is Mononuclear Knows It at 5.8, first climbed by Tom Howard and Bill Newman in 1981. September is the most comfortable month to visit, with typical highs around 75°F and lows near 54°F, and it has the fewest wet days of the year. Those are typical averages from a nearby weather station in Oak Hill, about 8.5 miles away. The Keeneys Creek Rail Trail is about 0.3 mile away for a walk off the rock.
Routes (7)
Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
Photo: tr.robinson, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)R) The Cirque
~1 min drive
R) The Cirque in West Virginia has 27 climbing routes across 16 difficulty grades.
Photo: Ryan Stavely, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)South Nuttall
~1 min drive
South Nuttall in West Virginia has 18 climbing routes across 11 grades, offering sport and trad options.
Photo: tr.robinson, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)P) Jacob's Ladder Area
~2 min drive
Jacob's Ladder Area in West Virginia has 9 climbing routes with sport and trad options.
Photo: daveynin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)I) Honeymooner's Area
~2 min drive
I) Honeymooner's Area in West Virginia has 30 climbing routes across 17 grades.
Photo: daveynin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)G) Diamond Point
~3 min drive
G) Diamond Point in West Virginia has 19 climbing routes with 13 difficulty grades.
Photo: daveynin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)F) Flash Point Area
~3 min drive
F) Flash Point Area in West Virginia has 8 routes with 7 difficulty grades, offering sport and trad climbing.
Photo: Wv funnyman, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)E) Kaymoor Slabs
~3 min drive
14-route climbing crag in West Virginia with sport and trad options.
7) Thunder Buttress
~0 min drive
7) Thunder Buttress in West Virginia has 15 climbing routes across 11 grades.
5) Burning Buttress
~0 min drive
5) Burning Buttress in West Virginia has 17 routes with 11 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad climbing.
Beauty Mountain
~0 min drive
4-route climbing crag in West Virginia with sport and trad options.
