Fern Buttress
Near Fayette
- 13 routes
- 5.9 – 5.13b
- Sport · Trad
Is Fern Buttress 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 Fern Buttress
Best months: April–November. 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
42° / 23°
Feb
46° / 25°
Mar
55° / 31°
Apr
68° / 40°
May
75° / 49°
Jun
81° / 58°
Jul
84° / 62°
Aug
83° / 61°
Sep
78° / 54°
Oct
68° / 43°
Nov
56° / 33°
Dec
46° / 27°
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Anstead Hawks Nest Sp, WV, 4.9 mi away at 1,296 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Fern Buttress 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 spots, including the 5) Wild Seed Area, 6) Thieves Area and 3) Workmen's Buttress, all about 0.1 mile away, and Fern Gully, which is also close by. The area has 13 routes, with sport climbing making up nine of them and traditional climbing four. The grades run from 5.9 up to 5.13b, with the hardest route being Just Send It at 5.13b. Sport climbers will find Mega-jug at 5.11b and Welcome to Conditioning at 5.12d. For timing, late spring and early fall are the most comfortable. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 75°F and September highs around 78°F, with July the warmest month at about 84°F. That station sits a few hundred feet lower than the buttress, so temperatures on the rock may run a little cooler.
Routes (13)
1) Arm Forces Area(2)
2) Monolith Wall(4)
4) Just Send It Wall(3)
9a) Fern Creek Falls(4)
Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
Photo: Wv funnyman, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)E) Kaymoor Slabs
~1 min drive
14-route climbing crag in West Virginia with sport and trad options.
Photo: daveynin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)F) Flash Point Area
~1 min drive
F) Flash Point Area in West Virginia has 8 routes with 7 difficulty grades, offering sport and trad climbing.
Photo: daveynin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)I) Honeymooner's Area
~1 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
~1 min drive
G) Diamond Point in West Virginia has 19 climbing routes with 13 difficulty grades.
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.
6) Thieves Area
~0 min drive
6) Thieves Area in West Virginia has 13 climbing routes across 9 grades.
3) Workmen's Buttress
~0 min drive
3) Workmen's Buttress in West Virginia has 9 climbing routes across 7 grades.
Fern Gully
~0 min drive
11 traditional climbing routes at Fern Gully in West Virginia.
7) Orchard Wall
~0 min drive
7) Orchard Wall in West Virginia offers 14 climbing routes across 10 difficulty grades, with sport and trad options.
8) Ritz Cracker Area
~0 min drive
8) Ritz Cracker Area in West Virginia has 19 climbing routes in mixed, sport, and trad styles.
