For many rock climbers in the Northeast, August 1 is more than just another date on the calendar. It’s the day that climbing routes previously shut down to protect nesting peregrine falcons officially reopen. Across New York and Vermont, hikers and climbers can now return to cliffs like Chapel Pond and Propect Rock. But not everywhere is open, and in some areas, caution is still advised.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation shut down several climbing spots in April, including Chapel Pond and Poke-O-Moonshine, to give peregrine falcons — an endangered species — time to nest without human interference. By August 1, all of those closures had been lifted. In Vermont, the Audubon Society and state officials followed a similar schedule, reopening cliffs at Bone Mountain and App Gap.
Despite the general trend, Upper Upper West in Vermont remains a delicate spot. The climbing group CRAG-VT has warned that falcons there have, in some years, stayed territorial into August. 'Climbers should use caution,' a CRAG-VT official said.
Eagle Hollow, another Vermont site, was also lifted from its closure. But a private landowner there has now posted the cliff as 'CLOSED,' and climbers are being asked to respect the decision. CRAG-VT is still working out access arrangements with the landowner.
In New Hampshire, Rumney Rocks — a popular climbing destination — had parts of it closed in early April. The U.S. Forest Service announced on July 13 that those areas were open again. But across the region, Acadia National Park remains the exception. Trails like the Jordan Cliffs and Penobscot East have stayed shut since March, and the National Park Service has not released any updates on when they might reopen.
