Selden Neck

Directions

Selden Neck is an island in the Connecticut River directly across from the Deep River. The entire island is a state park. The easiest access by boat/canoe/kayak is from the Deep River town dock. Head north around Eustasia Island and then diagonally across the river from there. See map below. Look for the Quarry Knob camp area which is marked with a sign and a picnic table. You can land here and follow the blue dot trail down river for awhile. The trail will bear left into the woods and bring you to where you can see the cliffs on your left.

Description

This is a good adventure for some fun climbing. There are multiple cliffs on Selden Neck island. The ones shown here are the steepest and cleanest faces. The Shadow Wall and the Quarry Wall are about 50 feet heigh and have sport, trad, and mixed routes. Some of the bolted routes require one or two pieces of supplemental gear to lead them safely. So beware before heading up. This area is best avoided in summer when the poison ivy and deer ticks abound. There has been some ongoing development here so you may find additional routes. The routes are listed in David Fasulo's Rock Climbing Connecticut. There are ten recorded routes here from 5.9 to 5.11. There are other route possibilites to the left and right of the Shadow and Quarry walls if you want to explore and clean some rock.  The crag is seldom visited so expect some dirty rock.  


Landing site and path in.


Shadow Wall and Quarry Wall.


Amber Kaltenstein climbing at Seldon Neck on a beautful Fall day.  Photo by David Fasulo