Eastern Edge Climbing Club

Climbing Areas Near Flatrock

Access to Flatrock

The climbing area at Flatrock is located 20 km. from downtown St. John's. Drive north out of St. John's on Torbay Road for aproximately 18 km. at which point there is a road leading off to your right with a large sign indicating access to Flatrock. (This road is Wind Gap Road.)

Convenient parking is available at two sites; at the government wharf, and on a small side road, as indicated by Ps on the access map. From the government wharf there is an easily-followed trail along the shoreline. The second access site is found along a small unnamed side road. Look for a rough road leading steeply up the hill and there are obvious spaces for parking at the base of this road. (On the access map, this road is indicated as a trail.)

It can take a little effort to find the various climbing areas, so be patient. It is worth the effort. The Big Wall area and Mark's Wall are located at the base of large sea cliffs. There is a roughly cut bulldozed track that leads down to the shoreline. Access to those climbs is from the large shelf that extends along the base of the cliffs. All the other climbing areas are found off the well-defined trail that loops along Flatrock Point.

The access trails in Flatrock come close to (and may cross) private property, so be respectful. The climbing areas themselves are in crown land and so there is no question about access rights. Sea birds nest on the east-facing cliff from late June to August. If you see nesting birds on the climbing areas or, worse yet, if the birds dive on you, it is best to climb somewhere else. Birds will not be a problem at any of the bouldering sites, or at the Blood Bath area.

Image and text by Len Zedel.
Editted and formatted for the Web by Andrew Draskóy, andrew@infonet.st-johns.nf.ca.
Last updated on January 4th, 1996.

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