Charleston offers primarily trad climbing directly on the coast, but there are a number of bolted climbs as well. It offers the unique opportunity to climb so close to the ocean that you actually have to keep an eye on the tide so that your belay spot doesn’t get flooded.
Rock Type: Gneiss – a subset of the granite family
Climbs: 200+, almost exclusively trad
Location: 30km south of Westport. Map
My Experience
We barely did any climbing here because it is almost entirely trad and there was no way we were travelling with all our gear. However, we were able to get on a few bolted climbs at the Bolt City Boulders wall. Here, the climbing is right on the coast, so the belay spots are often upon rocks getting splashed by the ocean. It is pretty incredible. We also had the pleasure of our first seal sighting on the rock below some of the climbs.
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