West Virginia OutsideOutdoor recreation guide
Plan a trip

Home/Places/Beauty Mountain
Climbing Area · New River Gorge

Beauty Mountain

A long band of high-quality Nuttall sandstone on the gorge rim above Fayetteville, with a concentration of classic moderate trad and sport routes and one of the best views from any belay in the East. Historically significant to New River climbing development.

Nuttall · SandstoneTrad + sport · Mixed

Know before you go

  • Check the NRAC access database — ownership on the rim is a patchwork
  • Approach is short from the parking area
  • Autumn friction is dramatically better than summer

What you can do here

Sport Climbing

Mar–Nov

Traditional Climbing

Apr–Oct

Outdoor Photography

Year-round
AdvertiseThis space is available

Guides, gear and lodging near Beauty Mountain

Place-level placement for operators within range of this trailhead, put-in or crag.

List your business here

Who looks after it

Friends of New River Gorge National Park & Preserve Nonprofit Supports the New River Gorge, Gauley River and Bluestone National Scenic River through conservation, recreation and National Park Service partnerships. Visit Meadow River Valley Association Nonprofit Particularly important around the Meadow River Valley and climbing and recreation access. Visit Mountain Project — West Virginia Platform Essential route-level climbing database for the New River Gorge, Summersville Lake, Meadow River, Gauley, Seneca Rocks and other climbing areas. Visit New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) Nonprofit One of the most important organizations on this entire list. Protects and expands climbing access, maintains trails, replaces hardware and works with landowners and land managers throughout the New River Gorge region. Visit NRAC Climbing Access Database Nonprofit Especially useful for determining land ownership, current access restrictions and sensitive climbing locations before you visit a cliff. Visit National Park Service — New River Gorge Climbing Federal Official rules, access information and climbing management for the national park. Visit New River Gorge National Park & Preserve Federal America's newest national park — 53 miles of protected river, 1,600+ climbing routes, hiking, rafting and mountain biking. Visit Gauley River National Recreation Area Federal 25 miles of the Gauley and 6 miles of the Meadow — the whitewater that defines autumn in West Virginia. Visit

Nearby in the New River Gorge

Overlook · New River Gorge

New River Gorge Bridge

A 3,030-foot steel arch carrying US 19 some 876 feet above the New River — for decades the longest single-span arch bridge in the world, and still the image most people carry of West Virginia.

876 ft above the river3,030 ft arch span
Trail · New River Gorge

Endless Wall Trail

A 2.4-mile point-to-point trail along the gorge rim through hemlock and rhododendron, crossing Fern Creek on a footbridge and reaching Diamond Point, an exposed rock outcrop with a view up the gorge to the bridge.

2.4 mi point to pointDiamond Point the overlook
Trail · New River Gorge

Long Point Trail

About 3.2 miles round trip on mostly level old roadbed to a rock promontory below the rim, which provides the most-photographed view of the New River Gorge Bridge.

3.2 mi round tripFlat most of the way
Overlook · New River Gorge

Grandview

1,400 feet above a horseshoe bend in the New, with a seven-mile view up the gorge — the widest perspective anywhere in the park.

1,400 ft above the riverLate May rhododendron peak
River · New River Gorge

Sandstone Falls

The largest waterfall on the New River — not tall, but 1,500 feet wide, spilling across the full breadth of the river between islands at the point where the gorge begins to open.

1,500 ft falls width10–25 ft drop
Trail · New River Gorge

Kaymoor Miners Trail

A steep descent from the gorge rim to the ruins of the Kaymoor One coal mine and processing plant, including 821 wooden steps down the former haulage incline.

821 steps2 mi round trip

Almost Heaven Swings