Climbing Near Etna, Pennsylvania

Boulder by the Burger King on Route 8 in Shaler. Park in the lot where people park to fish in the creek. Walk over to the big boulder next to the BK parking lot.

Fall Run Park (Judge D.M. Miller Nature Reserve) is a 94 acre park located in Shaler Township within Allegheny County, PA. The park is widely known for its 30 foot water fall, steep drainages, and a beautiful scenic 1 mile trail. There are many small drainages in the park potentially leading to more ice climbs. The park has no viable rock for rock climbing, only ice, and when the conditions are right, this some of the easiest ice to access in the city. The park address is 187 Fall Run Road, Glenshaw Pa, 15116. The park can most readily be accessed by Route 28 from south of the city, and continuing onto Route 8 at the Etna exit (Exit 5B). From north of the city, the park can most readily accessed by Route 8. Upon entering the park, pass the soccer field on your right and park on the right hand side next to the basketball courts at approximately 40.5300398, -79.9482714.

For several decades Pittsburgh rock climbers have been discreetly climbing on the back side of the retaining walls of Frank Curto Park in Polish Hill. This wall sits high above the Allegheny River and The Strip District below, roughly across from the Heinz Factory on the North Shore, in a unique and remarkable urban greenspace less than 3 miles from the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh. In recent years, individuals from the climbing community have worked together to replace the aging hardware on the routes at Frank Curto as well as dozens of other “secret” routes at several urban crags throughout the city.  Please note that the installation of the new hardware was NOT done by either SWPACC nor the City of Pittsburgh but by countless climbers from the region who were committed to more fully developing our local climbing resources.  Shortly after the refurbishment of all of these routes, SWPACC reached out to City of Pittsburgh officials to discuss our ambitious “Climb Pittsburgh” project of partnering with the city to responsibly promote these resources and assist in their safest access and most sustainable use.  Among SWPACC/Climb Pittsburgh’s early successes was obtaining permission from the Department of Public Works in September of 2022 to clean up the sloped, muddy, weed-covered hillside beneath the routes at Frank Curto from where folks were trying to belay. Together with support from The Access Fund, SWPACC volunteers were able to level the belay area, build a retaining wall and then bring in tons of gravel that was spread at the base of the wall to provide a flat, clean and safe area from which to belay.  SWPACC/Climb Pittsburgh is extremely proud of the upgrade of this resource and encourages climbers to visit the park and enjoy eight different routes that can all be be led with six quick draws or top-roped with two. The routes are all in the (old school :) 5.9 range and are 35' tall.  These are the same sandstone blocks that you will find on many of the retaining walls and bridge pillars throughout the city including other urban climbing venues like The Arena, Seldom Seen, and The Pillar at Schenley Park.  The blocks are very featured with a variety of crimps, side pulls and textured slopers and all of these routes climb very much like vertical routes you would find on your favorite natural rock faces. Unlike Seldom Seen, these routes are not manky or dirty and they dry quickly after a rain. They are a must for folks wanting to sample a taste of urban climbing in one of our most beautiful and underutilized green spaces that is a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh. This is a true hidden gem! Frank Curto Park is in the Polish Hill section of Pittsburgh on top of The Strip District and overlooks the Allegheny River in the vicinity of the historic Heinz Factory.  Driving from the East, you would cross the Bloomfield Bridge and make a right on Bigelow Boulevard. Continue for a few minutes and pass through the five way intersection w Herron at the top of Polish Hill.  About 1 mi further is the park on your right.  Go slow and be careful not to miss the barely noticeable dirt “driveway” into the park.  If you miss that you will be forced to do a 25 minute correction.  Once in the park you will drive parallel to Bigelow Boulevard in the direction toward town.  Pass the French Fry art installation and continue for another 200 yards.  Park next to the three foot retaining wall on the right.  The routes are on the backside of this wall.  Access will be obvious.     There are eight bolted lines here that each has its own set of anchors. If you use the best holds under each set of anchors you can keep all of these routes in the 5.9 range. However, there is also much fun to be had by doing left or right variations for each set of anchors in which case you can easily enjoy 5.10 and 5.11 sequences.  The top anchors for all of the routes can be reached by leaning over the wall and can thus be top-roped easily if you have 2 quick draws for each route. If top roping, you will want to lower off of your draws (there are no chains or mussy hooks) and then simply walk to the top of the wall and reach over to retrieve your draws when done.