Most climbing areas in this country were developed quietly, by an adventurous few, in a time when the sport was relatively obscure. The majority were not designed by experts as actual recreation sites, with infrastructure to contain the impact and protect the environment. This wasn’t a problem when the cliffs and boulders saw few visitors, but the number of climbers in this country has increased dramatically, and our climbing areas are buckling under the pressure of more and more visitors.

Access Fund's mission is to keep climbing areas open and conserve the climbing environment. And we are working alongside local climbing organizations across the country to address these issues, but we need additional resources to prepare (and in many cases restore) our climbing areas to handle the increased traffic of our growing climbing population.

Photo above: The base of Roadside Crag in Kentucky showing signs of significant erosion, including exposed tree roots and social trails. Roadside Crag was closed for nearly 7 years, due in part to climber impacts. The Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team restored this area in 2018.