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I'm moving to Charlottesville in August, so I'm looking for the most useful guides to the area in terms of climbing and hiking. I'll definitely be getting a guide to Seneca Rocks, but is there a climbing guidebook that covers any areas closer to Charlottesville?

What about hiking? I'm sure I'll need a good guidebook to Shenandoah NP (which one though?), but does that also cover the area immediately around Charlottesville for quick outings?

Any recommendations?

The easiest way for you to make sure you get guidebooks that meet your needs is to go to the local REI store after you get to Virginia. They have a good selection covering various areas in Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia.

Another idea is to go to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) website. They offer a number of differenr guidebooks focusing on hiking & rock climbing.

This guide book provides a good overview of the area. You'll probably want to supplement this with individual guide books for Seneca and the New River Gorge.

Ha, I didn't even realize I was that close to the New River Gorge.

Thanks for the suggestions....not sure how much time I'll have for hiking and climbing, but if I find some time this summer when I arrive, I'd like to be semi-prepared to get out a bit.

What's bringing you to C'Ville fowweezer.... ooops, I mean builttospill? Check out Blue Ridge Mountain Sports (www.brms.com) in the Barracks Road Shopping Center in C'Ville. They have a large selection of guidebooks with the majority focused on local gigs. They have a knowledgable staff that will be happy to get you where and to what you want. It's not Utah but it is a great little town. Enjoy it...
john

builttospill wrote:Ha, I didn't even realize I was that close to the New River Gorge.

Yea, definitely hit up the Gorge. Both the Gorge and Seneca would be a hike for day trips but definitely doable for a weekend. On the way to Seneca, there is a pretty nice little sport crag right before Franklin. This used to a local hidden gem until Horst put it in his guide book, but I guess that's the way it goes.

jvarholak wrote:What's bringing you to C'Ville fowweezer.... ooops, I mean builttospill? Check out Blue Ridge Mountain Sports (www.brms.com) in the Barracks Road Shopping Center in C'Ville. They have a large selection of guidebooks with the majority focused on local gigs. They have a knowledgable staff that will be happy to get you where and to what you want. It's not Utah but it is a great little town. Enjoy it...
john

Grad school, actually, so I'll be a permanent Charlottesville resident for quite awhile. No, it's not Utah, but it seems pretty good....I mean, I'll at least be able to get a bunch of hiking in, even if alpine climbing and ice climbing will be harder to come by.

I'm sure I'll be in need of partners for Seneca and other stuff at some point, so I'll probably be posting here from time to time about that also.

Don't be so quick to dismiss the ice climbing. Check out the SP page on Whiteoak Canyon, some of the ice climbing pics are ones I took on a winter hike a couple years ago.

Builttospill,
There's definitely some decent stuff around here. I think the town lacks climbers more then it lacks climbing. There's some bouldering 15 minutes from town, rock climbing within 45 minutes, and plenty of hiking within an hour radius. There can even be a little ice 30 minutes away. There is a small climbing gym in town...it's really small but has enough to get you pumped and it's a great place to meet some of the local climbers.
http://www.rockytoprec.com/
Hit me up when you get into town.
Gregor

For hiking, nothing beats the PATC guidebook. The Falcon guide may have better profiles and trail descriptions, but the PATC guide covers just about every trail and AT segment in the park.

For recommendations of best hikes and lesser-known gems, feel free to send a PM. I've been all over that place and know some nice spots that trails don't go.

Hey, thanks guys, especially the info about ice climbing. It took me several years to really get to know Utah's local mountains and I am still really unfamiliar with a lot of areas....so I'm sure I'll be looking for a lot of information from people here over the next couple years. That and partners for Seneca and what not.

I live in Charlottesville! It's a great town for outdoors enthusiasts. It has a monthly regional publication called Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine (http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com) and they always list great hiking/biking/camping opportunities in the region, and the town is very centrally located to most recreational and park areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains so I'd recommend checking them out if you're looking to get started on fun outdoors things to do.

I've got a second non-climbing question, but I hate to start another thread.

How essential is central air conditioning in Charlottesville? It was pretty damn hot when I visited, but it was July, so who knows. I'm looking at apartments that are 2 bedrooms and obviously central air is a major differentiating factor among apartments. Anyone want to chime in on the misery of life without central air in central Virginia? I grew up in Maryland, in an almost identical climate, but my family always had central AC and I wasn't really paying attention anyway, being a kid and all.

Life would suck without a/c. My oldest son was renting a farm house without a/c while he was going to school. It really sucked. At least he had a private pool in his backyard. I wouldn't rent a place without a/c.

Granted that it's been unusually hot this year. However, even a normal year in the Charlottesville area would be miserable without A/C from mid May through at least mid September.