West Virginia · Rock climbing · Upper Tract

Sunshine Wall (Guide Wall)

16 sport climbing routes in West Virginia with 7 difficulty grades.

16 routes
5.8 – 5.11b/c
Sport

Is Sunshine Wall (Guide Wall) open right now?

Closure in the area

There's a closure order in Monongahela National Forest. It doesn't name Sunshine Wall (Guide Wall), so check the source for the area it covers.

As of · Source: USFS · Monongahela National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Sunshine Wall (Guide Wall)

Best months: April–June and September–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.

  1. Jan

    44° / 23°

  2. Feb

    47° / 25°

  3. Mar

    56° / 31°

  4. Apr

    68° / 40°

  5. May

    76° / 50°

  6. Jun

    84° / 59°

  7. Jul

    88° / 63°

  8. Aug

    86° / 62°

  9. Sep

    81° / 54°

  10. Oct

    69° / 42°

  11. Nov

    57° / 33°

  12. Dec

    47° / 27°

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Petersburg, WV, 11.1 mi away at 960 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Sunshine Wall, also known as Guide Wall, is a climbing area in the Potomac Ranger District of West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, managed by the Forest Service. It sits among a cluster of climbing spots, with Ninja Wall and Long Branch Wall both about 0.1 mile away. The area is a sport climbing destination. Sixteen routes are listed, all rated between 5.8 and 5.11b/c. Among them are Pockets Full of Sunshine (5.8), first climbed by Heather Jiles in 2017, and Guide's 11 (5.11b/c), the hardest of the bunch. The most comfortable climbing season runs from late spring into early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Petersburg, about 11 miles away, put May highs near 76°F and September highs around 81°F, with July peaking near 88°F. Jess Judy campground and the Big Bend Loop hike lie about 1.8 miles off. North Fork Mountain Trail is a little farther, at about 2.2 miles.

Routes (16)

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive

North Peak - East FacePhoto: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

North Peak - East Face

~10 min drive

North Peak - East Face in West Virginia has 30 climbing routes.

34D WallPhoto: drsmith7383, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

34D Wall

~28 min drive

34D Wall in West Virginia has 10 climbing routes ranging across 9 difficulty grades.

Nelson RocksPhoto: drsmith7383, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Nelson Rocks

~28 min drive

Nelson Rocks in West Virginia has 6 climbing routes across 5 grades, featuring mixed, sport, and trad styles.

Crescendo WallPhoto: drsmith7383, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Crescendo Wall

~28 min drive

Crescendo Wall in West Virginia has 7 climbing routes with mixed and trad styles.

Spruce Knob boulderingPhoto: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Spruce Knob bouldering

~32 min drive

14 bouldering routes in West Virginia spread across 6 difficulty grades.

Southwest CornerPhoto: MonongahelaNF, Public Domain Mark (via Flickr)

Southwest Corner

~10 min drive

Southwest Corner in West Virginia has 15 climbing routes across 9 grades.

Ninja Wall

~0 min drive

Ninja Wall in West Virginia has 22 climbing routes across 14 grades, offering sport and trad styles.

Long Branch Wall

~0 min drive

Long Branch Wall in West Virginia has 16 climbing routes across 14 difficulty grades, offering sport and trad options.

Entrance Walls.

~8 min drive

Entrance Walls in West Virginia has 17 mixed climbing routes across 9 difficulty grades.

Lower Slabs

~10 min drive

Lower Slabs in West Virginia has 33 climbing routes across 14 grades.