Description

🔴 ACCESS WARNING: Walking along railroad tracks is trespassing, illegal and dangerous. Do NOT walk on railroad tracks; trespassing and any illegal activity associated with climbers will jeopardize access to boulders. If you chose to use the rail corridor to access boulders, you must walk off the tracks and off the gravel that is private CSX property. The only tolerated exception is CAREFULLY crossing directly from one side of the tracks to the other, going from NPS land to NPS land. If you are near tracks, keep your eyes and ears open for trains and keep a large distance from the gravel. Trains are dangerous; coal and rocks often fall from or are thrown by trains. Trains can't stop. Don't make the conductor think they have any chance of running you or your dog over. Be respectful and polite to any railroad worker you see. This is VERY important to future access to all climbing areas near train tracks.

The Sunshine Boulders might not be the biggest or most concentrated area, but remains a staple of the Fayette Station loop. The classics packed into its handful of boulders makes it a must-hit spot. "Helium" V3, "Sunshine Arete" V5, "The White" and "1, 2, Punch" at V7, and "The Black" V9 are all some of the best of their grades at the New. There are many other great problems here as well, sitting in the shadows of their exceptional neighbors.

Please park in the Fayette Station overflow parking lot ABOVE the railroad tracks.

🚶‍♂️Approach summary - Slightly rugged. About 20 minutes.
💎 Notable problems - "Helium" V3, "Bubbles" V4, "Sunshine Arete" V5, "Sepia" V5, "Cristal" V6, "Boxer's Break" V7, "1,2 Punch" V7, "The White" V7, "The Black Lite" V8, "The Black Direct" V9, "TKO" V10
💧 Dry time - Mostly 1 day, a few boulders will stay wet longer.
🍃☀️🍂 Seasonal Beta - Best spring and fall. Despite the name (from the route crag above), this side of the gorge is SHADED and can be especially cold in the winter.
🌊 Water Level Beta - 1,2 Punch and A-Frame Boulders will rarely be affected by water levels.
🚗 Drive from Fayetteville - 15 Minutes
🚗 Drive from Summersville - 40 Minutes
🚽 Bathrooms - Pit toilets at the parking area.
📶 Cell phone service - 1/5, fleeting.
🐶 Dogs - Dogs must be leashed. This is National Park land.

Routes on Sunshine Boulders
41 boulder 1 Likes
Browse topos
Photos
Premium topo by New River Gorge and Surrounding Areas
Aaron Schneider
A. Schneider
from Mount Lookout, West Virginia
Stella Mascari
S. Mascari
from New River Gorge
Other Premium topos by New River Gorge and Surrounding Areas 70
Sunshine Boulders

The area is access sensitive!

🔴 ACCESS WARNING: Walking along railroad tracks is trespassing, illegal and dangerous. Do NOT walk on railroad tracks; trespassing and any illegal activity associated with climbers will jeopardize access to boulders. If you chose to use the rail corridor to access boulders, you must walk off the tracks and off the gravel that is private CSX property. The only tolerated exception is CAREFULLY crossing directly from one side of the tracks to the other, going from NPS land to NPS land. If you are near tracks, keep your eyes and ears open for trains and keep a large distance from the gravel. Trains are dangerous; coal and rocks often fall from or are thrown by trains. Trains can't stop. Don't make the conductor think they have any chance of running you or your dog over. Be respectful and polite to any railroad worker you see. This is VERY important to future access to all climbing areas near train tracks.

It is advisable to download the Fayette Station Boulders and Fayette Shine Boulders, along with this area, to aid with identifying boulders and navigation.

🚗 Driving Directions (ESPECIALLY for larger vehicles):
From Fayetteville, turn right onto US-19 north and cross the NRG bridge. Take the second right after the bridge onto Lansing-Edmond Road. Drive up the hill, then take your first right onto Fayette Station Road. Stay left at both forks. After the 2nd fork, the road becomes ONE WAY. Drive down the windy road, under the bridge, and past Bridge Buttress. At the next intersection, take a hard left. Now you’re headed down the gorge. Go all the way to the bottom and cross the wooden bridge. After passing the turnoff for Fayette Station, the road curves away from the river and follows a creek for about 100 yards before crossing over it. Just on the other side of the creek, turn right into an overflow parking lot.

🚶‍♂️ Hiking Directions:
From the overflow parking lot, hop down to the main marking and head towards the Fayette Station and Fayette Shine boulders. Picking your way along the riverbank, you will walk past/through the entirety of Fayette Shine boulders before reaching the Sunshine boulders. To access the Sunshine Boulder cluster, there is a trail from just UPstream of the Picturesque Boulder that leads up to the tracks. Walk up to the tracks, carefully cross the tracks and on the other side find an overgrown dirt road cutting up the hill (usually marked by a cairn). Follow this overgrown road for about 50 yard to a faint trail cutting right towards a mossy slab. This will take you straight to the Sunshine Boulder. For the 1,2 Punch Area, continue along the river past the end of Fayette Shine Boulders. For the Black Boulder, follow a trail up to the tracks on the right side of the 1,2 Punch Boulder, carefully cross the tracks and find a cairn marking a steep trail up the embankment.
The approach is mostly uneven but flat gravel, but the trails become steep and poorly maintained (though well traveled) when you turn off to your final destination.
Total hiking time 25-35 minutes.