Bouldering Look Rock - Smoky Mountains

We took a drive to Look Rock which according to a forum post on TradGirl is the only place in the Gatlinburg area to do any type of climbing. It's over an hour drive but a pleasant and scenic drive. The guys at Smoky Mountain Outfitters told us to check out the area below the parking lot and another area a half mile hike up to where the ranger tower is (the actual attraction at Look Rock). We hiked up there first for the view and then poked around for the trails leading to the rocks but the paths were fairly overgrown with poison ivy so we headed back to the parking lot. There are several trails heading down to the rocks below but the easiest and one least likely to force a climb down is at the far east end of the lot.

The crags are probably better for top roping since the ground beneath is still steep and jagged with rock making a high jump or fall onto a crash mat still dangerous. My wife was my only spotter so I took it easy but enjoyed a good workout. We didn't explore the whole area and got right into climbing where we came down the trail so we only hit a fraction of the routes. Not my favorite place to climb but not bad considering the lack of other options. ('Read More' for additional pictures)