Hanging Chain Boulders/ No Trespassing

In January 2021, it was brought to Chimney Rock State Park's and Carolina Climbers Coalition's attention that several of the boulder clusters in the Hanging Chain Boulders are on private property. The land manager of the property met with CCC representatives and Chimney Rock State Park staff to discuss property lines in relation to boulders. Chimney Rock State Park has asked boulderers not to boulder in the Hanging Chain Boulders that are on State Park Property. Contact Chimney Rock State Park with questions about this. Additionally, the vast majority of the Hanging Chain Boulders are on private property and you will be trespassing if you enter. The State Park boundary is now clearly signed. Please respect private property and do not enter these areas. These areas are outlined in the latest Rumbling Bald Boulders guidebook and should now be omitted from your tick list. Although we bring up this news with sadness, we can not see this as 'access lost' since climbers never had legal access to this area in the first place. Please do not cut social trails or attempt to build up existing trails anywhere on State Park land without State Park permission. As always, leave no trace! 

Access to the Hanging Chain Wall is not affected by private property boundaries.

Rumbling Bald boulders are getting heavily used. Nearly 20,000 climbers per year visit Rumbling Bald and this number is growing. Considering this perpetual increase in popularity, the CCC has been working hard to try to expand climbing access within the greater Hickory Nut Gorge so that we are not all funnelled into one area like Rumbling Bald. Since Chimney Rock State Park's inception, we worked with the park to secure climbing access at Rumbling Bald. In 2012, the CCC purchased the West Side Boulders at Rumbling Bald. In 2014, we worked with the Town of Lake Lure to open the Buffalo Creek Boulders. In 2018, we worked with Conserving Carolina and Chimney Rock State Park to open Eagle Rock and Little Bearwallow Falls. In 2020, we worked with the Village of Chimney Rock to open the Chimney Rock Village Boulders. At Chimney Rock Village Boulders, Rumbling Bald, and Eagle Rock, we have built and maintained extensive trail networks with land owner permission. Come join us! Building partnerships to legitimize climbing access has been a strong point of our coalition, especially in the Rumbling Bald region where the rocks are many but the access is few. Join the CCC!