Climbing Near Plainville, Connecticut

Apparently this area is owned by the same company as Stone Haven and is CLOSED. This is unfortunate given that the 35-40 ft high slab holds the distinction as being the ONLY crag in Ken Nichols' "Blue Book" where every climb has at least one star! Of the 8 climbs listed, Ken solo First Ascended seven of them, probably all on the same day in March 1994. Since it's CLOSED, specific directions are not given.

This is the northern-most crag on Bradley Mtn, thus I've named it "01___" It is home to one of the few free-standing pinnacles in the Northeast. Nichols lists some 59 routes on Sunset Crag in his "Blue Book", while the 1st ed. "Green Book" has diagrams which should be helpful for locating climbs. This outcrop has been climbed on since the 1930's; however, since View Road and its houses went in the area has fallen into disuse. (DO NOT ACCESS by parking on View Road.) There's some broken glass from the "natives", and ratings are a bit "old School". I'd visit Sunrise rock first; much cleaner, although there are some worthy routes on Sunset. Park on Ledge Road, about 1/2 mile south of View Rd. where there's a very small pull-out on the west side. (alternately, park at the Plainville Reservoir parking; see Fire Wall for instructions on obtaining parmit; and walk back north on Ledge Rd to the trailhead. Look on the east side of the road for the path; there may be a bit of wetness crossing the drainage ditch. See "Bradley Mtn Sketch Map": Hike up the path, which shortly makes a 90-degree turn left, then 90-degree right and climbs up somewhat steeply. When the path flattens out, look for a less worn path that crosses at 90-degrees. Take this to the left (north) past a small pond, and continue on to the crag.

Nike Base is a small, seldom-visited traprock (basalt) crag just south of Pinnacle Rock on the Metacomet Trail. It has a lovely view of the suburbs and is delightfully free of the broken beer bottles that adorn Pinnacle. Most climbs are 40-50 ft. tall. The ratings are old-school and stiff. The crag is named for a Cold War era surface-to-air missile radar site that was located here and operational from 1956-61. You can still see remnants of the concrete and fences, especially if you walk a bit south on the Metacomet Trail. Read more at coldwar-ct.com Access the bottom by scrambling down a brushy gully on climber's right or rappelling down. Bring a long static or webbing to set top rope anchors from trees. Follow the driving and parking directions for Pinnacle Rock. As you head up the jeep trail from the road, continue past the large cement blocks another 100 yards to the top of the hill. Turn right onto the blue-blazed Metacomet Trail and walk 0.4 mile (about 20 minutes) to the top of the crag. You are 30 seconds from the crag top when the trail becomes a narrow rock ledge next to an old chainlink fence. When the trail opens up again, look for the distinctive jutting block on your right about 40 feet off the trail. You can also get there by hiking north on the Metacomet Trail from New Britain Ave., but it's a much longer walk.