Needleseye Climbing

This digital Needleseye 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 Needleseye days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

From the Oak Hill Website:
"Needleseye Park is a spectacular 281-acre municipal park of permanently protected land in Oak Hill, Fayette County, owned by the city and managed under a deed of conservation easement via the WV Land Trust. This unique municipal park now features brand-new facilities to maximize the enjoyment of its stunning, rugged landscape."

Oak Hill Website: https://oakhillwv.gov/parks/page/needleseye-park

Needleseye holds a special distinction in the New River Gorge region, being the first public lands to have a formal Climbing Management Plan, signed by th... Show more

This digital Needleseye 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 Needleseye days smoother, safer, and more dialed. From the Oak Hill Website: "Needleseye Park is a spectacular 281-acre municipal park of permanently protected land in Oak Hill, Fayette County, owned by the city and managed under a deed of conservation easement via the WV Land Trust. This unique municipal park now features brand-new facilities to maximize the enjoyment of its stunning, rugged landscape." Oak Hill Website: https://oakhillwv.gov/parks/page/needleseye-park Needleseye holds a special distinction in the New River Gorge region, being the first public lands to have a formal Climbing Management Plan, signed by the New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) and City of Oak Hill. The City of Oak Hill Parks and Recreation Director, Josh Sapio, encourages climbers to develop, document and share the varied bouldering and route climbing on park property. Climbers have been playing on these boulders and cliffs since at least the 1990s, with most of the original names and first ascensionists lost to time. There was a resurgence of interest and development soon after the purchase of the property in 2017 by WVLT and Oak Hill. Developers including Pat Goodman, Amanda Smith, Chris Marley, Josh Mowrer, Eric Cox , Zak Roper and Matt Jones took what was previously sporadically climbed boulders to a true bouldering destination. Needleseye now boasts the largest number of lines of any single area in the New River Gorge region, with potential for more development. Show your love for Oak Hill by patronizing local eateries such as Mandabees, The Frozen Barn, Black Bear Bakery and El Bandido! 🚶‍♂️ Approach summary - Mellow to moderately rugged approach. 3 to 35 minutes. 💎 Notable problems - "Gettin Randy" V0, "Gelatinous Cube" V0, "Going Postal" V1, "Swift" V1, "River Styx" V2, "Parabola" V2, "Elephant" V3, "Holly Underclings!" V3, "Wildlife Arete" V5, "White Knight" V5, "Toadstool" V5, "Ice Ice Baby" V5, "Snug As A Bug In A Rug" V6, "Japanese Denim" V7, "Hogosha Sit" V7, "Cervical Line" V8, "King Sorrow Sit" V8, "Season's Change" V9, "Death Rattle" V9, "Roll In Peace" V9, "Father Figure" V10, "Golden Goat" V10, "Angel Eye" V12/13 💧 Dry time - Half to 1 day for most things, however certain lines are perpetually wet seasonally. The area is south-facing so many boulders dry and melt out quickly when the leaves are off the trees. All boulders tend to dry fully in the late summer and early fall. 🍂❄️🍃 All seasons, well shaded in the summer. 🚗 Drive from downtown Fayetteville - 12 minutes 🚗 Drive from Summersville - 40 minutes 🚽 Bathrooms - Fantastic bathroom facilities at the parking. 📶 Cell phone service - 5/5, Excellent. Worse towards the back of the boulder field. 🐶 Dogs - Dogs are allowed, please keep them leashed, especially around the bike trails. There are NO access issues at Needleseye Park, climbing is allowed and encouraged! Driving Directions: From Fayetteville, Driving Time 12 minutes: Head South out of Fayetteville on WV-16 (Court Street) for 3.8 miles, then turn left to stay on WV-16. After 0.9 miles turn Left onto Dickenson St. Drive 0.2 miles and turn Right onto Wilson St. Drive 0.2 miles, turn left onto Gatewood Road. Drive 1.0 Miles and turn right onto Needleseye Rd. Drive 0.7 miles to the Park Entrance. From Summersville (Walmart), Driving time 40 minutes: Take US-19 South 29.7 miles to the Lochgelly Rd exit. Take a right off the exit, shortly this turns into WV-16 S. 1 miles from the Lochgelly exit take a Left onto Dickenson St and follow the remainder of the directions above. Hiking Directions: There is a kiosk with an excellent overview map with the boulders and trails at the back of the parking area at the main trailhead. See sub-area access descriptions for fine details.