Take an Adventure Vacation at NROCKS!

NROCKS Outdoor Adventures (formerly Nelson Rocks Adventure Center) is the premiere guided climbing center in West Virginia and the North Fork Valley Region. NROCKS offers a variety of lodging options that allow visitors to unwind after an excursion or schedule a multi-day adventure! Visitors from the Northeast region, and around the world, enjoy adventure vacations at NROCKS. Located in the Potomac Highlands region near Circleville, WV, NROCKS is an easy drive from Davis and Seneca Rocks, WV, and is less than an hour from the Canaan Valley and Timberline Resort. We regularly welcome visitors from Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington, DC.

NROCKS provides top quality equipment from CMI for all activities, which include: Sport Climbing, Top Rope Climbing, Zip Lines, guided Canopy Tours, Wild Caving, as well as the Nation’s Premiere Via Ferrata.

Via ferratas have been popular for decades in Europe, where over 300 routes are open to the public, but are relatively new to North America. That is because via ferratas were first built to transport troops in the Dolomite mountain region of Italy. Italian for ‘by way of iron’, the via ferrata is a permanently installed system of steel rungs and cables that allows you to climb up and over two towering rock fins. Troops would battle ferociously for mountaintops because of their strategic importance and therefore needed via ferratas to transport troops across the mountains. Interestingly, the 10th Mountain Division used Nelson Rocks to prepare for mountain warfare in the Apennines of Italy, long before the idea of a via ferrata ever came into existence.

Built in 2002, the NROCKS Via Ferrata was only the second of its kind to be established in the United States and still one of only three on the East Coast. NROCKS’ Via Ferrata offers a one-of-a-kind experience with over a mile of fixed-anchor, professionally-guided rock climbing. During this 3.5-5 hour climb you will gain 1085 feet in elevation, cross a suspension bridge that is 150 feet high and 200 feet long, and reach exposed heights of 280 feet. All you need for this day on the rocks is some physical ability, an appreciation of the outdoors, and of course a desire to have a great day outside! The double-fin rocks provide the unique combination of physical challenge and overwhelming beauty! Attracting thousands of people annually from the east coast and beyond since the early 2000’s, the Via Ferrata is open year-round, weather permitting.

Not to be overshadowed by the Via Ferrata, NROCKS’ North Fork Valley Canopy Tour was the first of its kind in this part of West Virginia and is still the longest, most scenic in the region! It begins with a short practice zip line so that first timers can get the jitters out while they learn the simple techniques that will keep them safely zipping through the trees. After successful completion of the practice zip, as they say…it’s all downhill from here (and thankfully so!)! With 12 zip lines as long as 680 feet in length, and 80 feet in the air, 3 sky bridges and a 40 foot rappel, the Canopy Tour is sure to quench your thirst for fun and adventure while also allowing you to enjoy the beauty of the North Fork Valley from your perch high in the trees!

NROCKS is open year-round and specializes in leading adventures for groups of all sizes. Come on out, enjoy the fun and become part of NROCKS’ history!