Great Falls Park

Great Falls Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Map showing the location of Great Falls Park
Map showing the location of Great Falls Park
Map showing the location of Great Falls Park
Map showing the location of Great Falls Park
LocationFairfax County, Virginia, USA
Nearest cityMcLean, Virginia
Coordinates38°59′51″N 77°15′18″W / 38.99750°N 77.25500°W / 38.99750; -77.25500
Area800 acres (320 ha)
Established1966
Visitors645,000[citation needed] (in 2002)
Governing bodyNational Park Service
Great Falls (climbing area)
Map showing the location of Great Falls (climbing area)
Map showing the location of Great Falls (climbing area)
Map showing the location of Great Falls (climbing area)
Map showing the location of Great Falls (climbing area)
LocationFairfax County, Virginia, USA
Nearest cityMcLean, Virginia
Coordinates38°59′20.87″N 77°14′51.52″W / 38.9891306°N 77.2476444°W / 38.9891306; -77.2476444
Climbing typetop-rope crag
Height35-50 feet
Pitches1
Ratings5.0-5.12
GradesI
Rock typeWissahikon Mica-schist with quartz crystals
Quantity of rockdays worth
Developmentvery well developed
Cliff aspectEast facing
Seasonspring to fall
OwnershipNational Park Service
Campingnone
Classic climbs
  • Snowflake (5.6)
  • Romeo's Ladder (5.6)
  • Bird's Nest (5.7)
  • Splinters (5.7)
  • Executioner's song (5.8)
  • Diagonal (5.9)
  • Two-Lane Highway (5.10a)
  • Lost Arrow (5.10)

Great Falls Park is a small National Park Service (NPS) site in Virginia, United States. Situated on 800 acres (3.2 km2) along the banks of the Potomac River in northern Fairfax County, the park is a disconnected but integral part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.[1] The Great Falls of the Potomac River are near the northern boundary of the park, as are the remains of the Patowmack Canal, the first canal in the United States that used locks to raise and lower boats.

  1. ^ "Great Falls Timeline". National Park Service. Retrieved March 7, 2020.