Dixon School Road Climbing

This digital Dixon School Road climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Dixon School Road days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

Convenient to Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as the Upstate of South Carolina, Dixon School Road Boulders is a storied part of Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, NC. While the park itself was founded in the 1970s, the rocks here have been climbed in some form or fashion since the 1980s. Most of the hardest and most famous of the established boulder routes went down in the 90s and 00s thanks to Doug Reed, Diab Rabie, Jr., and Gus Glitch.

Boulder Field Details:
This guide currently contains more than 200 problems. There are certainly more problems out... Show more

This digital Dixon School Road climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Dixon School Road days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Convenient to Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as the Upstate of South Carolina, Dixon School Road Boulders is a storied part of Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, NC. While the park itself was founded in the 1970s, the rocks here have been climbed in some form or fashion since the 1980s. Most of the hardest and most famous of the established boulder routes went down in the 90s and 00s thanks to Doug Reed, Diab Rabie, Jr., and Gus Glitch. Boulder Field Details: This guide currently contains more than 200 problems. There are certainly more problems out there to be (re)established. If you have information on additional routes, add them with supporting footage. As they can be vetted, they'll be verified as part of this guide. In that same vein, I'm aware of still-open projects at Dixon. The RIC (Risk, Intensity, and Complexity) rating on some of these is extremely high. Feel free to try your hand at them, but do so at your own risk and with respect to the rules and regulations of the North Carolina State Parks system. Know your own limits and remember that no boulder problem is worth your life. Having said that, a route is eligible for inclusion in the verified guide only once it has been confirmed as sent. The boulders are accessible all year long. You will stumble on folks working problems regardless of what the calendar or thermometer reads; however, prime climbing time is between October and February. More rainy days creep in during March and April. When the heat and humidity settle in with the approach of summer, the resulting reduced friction makes higher grade problems extremely difficult to work. Though, the combination of sharp holds and the abundance of shade at Dixon does provide for any outdoors trip to be successful. As a smaller boulderfield (relative to those you'll find out West), Dixon is historically split into two main areas - Lower and Upper. Lower Dixon contains the boulders SW of the Ridgeline Trail Boulders Overlook access and Upper Dixon is roughly everything located NE of that point. The Ridgeline Trail runs just about parallel to the main boulder trail on the Eastern side in Upper Dixon, so you'll find most all of the boulders to the West of the main bouldering trail. Take note on the map of the paths that lead to some of the boulders that are downhill and away from other boulder clusters. If you are planning a trip to stay overnight, search local listings for more details. Nearby, construction is underway on a premier RV park and a large Casino resort. Acknowledgements: I'd like to shovel praise and appreciation to the area's original guidebook author, Matt Bielejeski. When I approached him for assistance on building this digital guide, he was ready with encouragement and accommodation. My only regret is that we didn't meet sooner. Thank you, Matt! Additional gratitude is due to Mike Reardon, Executive Director of the CCC, and to Glen George, the Crowders Mountain State Park Superintendent. Both of these men's input and counsel have proven invaluable. Thanks to you both. Finally, bouldering at Dixon would not be possible without all the support from the Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC), the NC Division of Parks and Recreation, and the Friends of Crowders Mountain. If you enjoy any part that the park and/or boulder field has to offer, I highly encourage you to follow the links provided below to show your appreciation with a donation of any amount: CCC https://carolinaclimbers.org/donate Crowders Mountain State Park https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/crowders-mountain-state-park Friends of Crowders Mountain https://friendsofcrowders.com/donate/ >FOCM host a Saturday morning work day once a month at Crowders. If you want to give back and/or are heading out to climb anyway, why not join us for some park maintenance and refreshments? The park's hours of operation coincide with Daylight Saving Time: 8AM-6PM EST; 8AM-9PM DST. Contact the parks department using the information at the following link for more details: https://www.ncparks.gov/about-us Crowders Mountain State Park - Directions and Area Description: To access the boulders, head to 108 Van Dyke Road, Kings Mountain, NC 28086. There you'll find an outfitted ranger station (that was established in large part to the efforts of the CCC) with a blacktop parking lot, free parking, bathrooms with running water, office, and a boulders registration box. Whether you're hiking the Ridgeline Trail or bouldering, don't neglect the registration box - fill out the form before heading out to the field. Good record-keeping helps when budgetary evaluations come up for consideration. From the boulders registration box, you have three options for approaching the boulderfield: 1. You can hit the Ridgeline Trail straight away out the back of the ranger station. This is the most roundabout way to reach the boulders but a pleasant hike nonetheless. Follow this trail 1.1 miles to reach the boulderfield. If you do opt for this route, know that bouldering in the area behind the ranger station is strictly off limits. Discussions have been had about changing that. As of now, however, climbing outside of the boudlerfield proper is prohibited. Climb boulders only once you have crossed over Bethlehem Rd. 2. Head back out the entrance driveway toward Van Dyke Rd. Turn left and walk toward Bethlehem Rd, taking it down to the crosswalk. When you reach the crosswalk, hit the crossing button, turn right, and cross over the road to join the Ridgeline Trail. Follow this trail .3 miles to the Boulders Overlook. This will bring you to the back of the TMI and Incinerator boulders. Head SW for Lower Dixon and NE for Upper Dixon. This is the approach method endorsed by the rangers. 3. The most most common approach (although somewhat discouraged due to erosion concerns) is heading directly to the main boulderfield trail. Head back out the entrance driveway toward Van Dyke Rd. Turn left and walk toward Bethlehem Rd, taking it down to the crosswalk. When you reach the crosswalk, hit the crossing button, turn right, and cross over the road. Instead of continuing onto the Ridgeline, turn left and walk down a couple hundred feet to the power pole. You'll see the path that has been worn to make the main trail. Enter the field, look up to your left, and you'll see Zeus Eye almost immediately.