Good Rec Climbing Locations around Philly?

dtreez

New member
Location
Bucks County
Looking for good rec climbing spots, specifically in Bucks County. Anyone know of any good spots?

Also, anyone know shat the PA laws are for climbing trees in parks/on public property, etc?
 
My knowledge of PA public climbing is limited to rock climbing, but I would guess that it is similar to tree climbing. Check the sign at the entrance to the park, but in my experience public parks always ban climbing due to liability issues.
 
Looking for good rec climbing spots, specifically in Bucks County. Anyone know of any good spots?

Also, anyone know shat the PA laws are for climbing trees in parks/on public property, etc?

Mileage varies greatly on public parks/properties. When you ask you often get a no. If you don't make a pain in the ass of yourself (for park rangers/public property managers) you will not have any problems. As I've stated often about climbing on public land, I follow the rule of don't climb where law enforcement can roll up to the tree in a vehicle or within an easy stroll of where they can park. They really don't care (except focal point/notable old-growth trees in say national parks), they just don't want phone calls complaining about you so they have to go find you. L.aws are made so that law enforcement has the option to remediate an obvious problem, they actually don't want to go after peopple who are smart and safe about what they're doing in trees but they do have to do something if you make a public display about it. Cell phones have made life so much worse for cops, people 911 on anything.
-AJ
 
Good strategy for finding good forest trees to climb in Bucks County (or anywhere) is look at Google Maps satellite view, zoom in closer and you can see where all the forest patches are. A lot of woods in the northeast have been cut multiple times so forest cover is no guarantee of quality trees. Best possibilities are in more difficult terrain where it was harder to get trees out. Areas at the bottom of steep slopes, or cliffs/rock outcrops and along rivers and streams often hold excellent trees. When you you find interesting looking spots on satellite view cross reference with local conservation lands, state parks etc. Topographic info is super useful so you can spot steep areas where tree are protected from weather and have the chance to live a long life. State forest lands have often been heavily "managed" with timber contracts so they are often not great except for certain pockets of good trees that have been protected or accidentally missed.

With Google satellite view you can see the crowns of big hardwoods and big conifers. I've found awesome trees this way. You can derive the GPS coordinates from the map and then use them to get to the tree as needed.
-AJ
 
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