Beach Pond

Hemlock Ledges

Directions
   Beach Pond is in Exeter, RI on the Connecticut border. It is 32 miles/39 minutes from Providence.  From points north take Exit 14a off Rt 95. Go right (east) on Rt 102. Take a right (south) on Rt 3. Take a right (west) on Rt 165 and go for approximately seven miles. From points south take Exit 9 off Rt 95. Go right (north) on Rt 3. Take a left (west) on Rt 165.
   There are multiple ways to approach the cliffs. The most direct is to park at the lot on RT 165 on top of the hill before you get to Beach Pond. From there you walk back east for 100 feet or so and take the trail on the right (south). It is the one marked with the arrows. Where the trail folks stay to the left. You will go for a half mile or so and come to a small brook cross the brook and continue on the trail.  It will meet up with the Tippecansett trail (yellow blaze). Follow that and you will see Hemlock Ledge on the left. This approach takes about 15 minutes at a steady pace. Another approach is drive until you see Beach Pond. Just before the road starts across the pond, turn left into a small parking area at the water's edge. Follow the yellow trail markers (Tippecansett trail) around the pond to the south end for about 3/4 mile. You will  see the cliff on the left side of the trail. 

Routes-History
Hemlock Ledges at Beach Pond is approximately 40 feet high at the west end of the cliff. The rock is granite with little or no loose rock. The rock is slow to dry after rain as it faces north and is shaded. There are trees just about everywhere at the top of the cliff to set up top-ropes. but you will need a long static rope or webbing. There are a few routes on cliff that have been led on gear and retro-bolted with permission of the FA. This is a good practice area for a new leader to practice trad or sport but it is not a rock gym.  There are some established boulder problems on the shorter overhung portion on the east end of the cliff but you should refer to Mountain Project for information on bouldering. All First Ascents (FA) refers to a route that has been led ground-up no falls or takes unless otherwise noted as a top-rope (TR) ascent.  A system denoting quality of one to three stars is used.  

I got some newly released Wild Country Flexible Friends during the Christmas of 1988 and dying to use them  I went to Hemlock Ledge in the early Spring of 1989 and led everything I could conceivably get gear in (some pretty run-out, looking at them in retrospect). I, and many others (Rhoady Loadies, Ozone Alpine Club, AMC, Ward and Chris Smith), top-roped the cliff well before that because it was one of the few cliffs in RI that tall and it was before rock gyms.  With the advent of rock gyms it is a crag that faded into obscurity and in its natural state virtually no one climbed there. I cleaned and retro-bolted all the routes I led and a couple of new ones in 2018.  Recently I have seen 15 climbers there on a weekend day some coming from as far away as Boston and central CT.  As soon as I bolted it, it became popular.  I have gotten a lot of appreciative feedback from area climbers.  It is a convenient local training crag that facilitates new trad leaders placing gear with the back-up of a bolt and new sport leaders looking to practice outside before going to Rumney or Farley. It doesn’t exclude anyone from climbing there depending on their preference on protection.

Many climbers assume that the bolts are someone else’s responsibility.  Your safety is ALWAYS your responsibility when you are climbing outside. Climbing is inherently dangerous. Fixed hardware is installed and maintained by individuals who pay for the hardware out of their pocket. I advise you to always inspect a bolt before trusting it and review your anchor before lowering off. If you know of any bolts/hardware in RI or nearby CT in need of replacement report it to me and I will probably know who put it there and/or who is qualified to address the problem.

        Main Cliff (right/west end of cliff)

Purple-Oh Mandy 5.8+. Orange-Son of a Beach 5.7. Yellow-Beach Blanket Bingo 5.7+. Blue-Sand Bag 5.6.  Red-Topless Beach*5.7. Green-Muscle Beach 5.7




Nicole leading Topless Beach.

Main Cliff (left to right)
Oh Mandy 5.8+, FA Brian Phillips, July 2019. 4 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.
Son of a Beach 5.7, FA Brian Phillips, April 1989. 4 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks. Shared first bolt.
Beach Blanket Bingo 5.7+, FA Brian Phillips April 1989.  4 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.. Shares first bolt and go to anchors on either the right or left climb. 
Sand Bag 5.6, FA Brian Phillips April 1989. FA sport lead Shelley McDonald September 2018. 4 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks. Good stances to clip bolts.  Good for practice trad leading.
Topless Beach* 5.7, FA Brian Phillips April 1989. 5 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.A slightly harder and more interesting line than Sand Bag.
Muscle Beach 5.7, FA Brian Phillips September 2018. 5 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.  Awkward. Easier than it looks.
Left End

             (left to right) One Holer 5.8, Toe or Throw 5.10. Smiley 5.7
Left End (left to right)
One Holer 5.8, FA Jeff Sargeant, November 2020. Five bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.
Toe or Throw 5.10, TR Drew Lombardi, October 2018, FA Brian Phillips, November 2019. 3 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.  Height dependent one move wonder.
Smiley 5.7, FA Bob Tessitore, October 2019.  Four bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.
Shelby's Off Ramp, 5.8, FA Jeff Sargeant, October 2020. Sport or gear to 2” on the ramp then 2 bolts to drop-in mussy hooks.

Hidden Ledge

Directions
Follow the directions for Hemlock Ledges. Stay on the Tippecansett trail (yellow blaze) past Hemlock Ledge. You will see a sign for Deep Pond trail (white blaze). Take the Deep Pond Trail.  It will split with the Hemlock Ledges trail. Take the Deep Pond W trail to the left. Right after you cross a wooden bridge you go up a small hill.  Start looking for a small cairn on the right side of the trail on a rock. Enter the woods across from the cairn on the left side of the trail.  The trail is not cut nor marked at its entrance. Please do not cut or snap branches so we don't draw attention to the trail. Once you get in the woods 25 feet or so there is a cut trail.  Follow that to the cliff.  The approach is about 20 minutes from the parking lot. 

Routes-History
Hidden Ledge is 40 feet high at its highest point. This cliff was reportedly know by boulderers but obviously never climbed much, if at all, as it was covered in dirt and moss. I discovered it in 2024 when I was looking at the area on Google Earth and noticed what looked like a cliff in the woods away from any trail. With a compass and topographic map, I bushwhacked through a jungle of mountain laurel and found this cliff. It isn't as wide as Hemlock Ledge so there are few routes, and they are closely spaced to get as much out of this cliff as possible. Cliffs this size are a rarity in Rhode Island and unless lost it is highly unlikely that hikers will ever walk by this cliff. Like Hemlock Ledge it is a beginner area with easy routes. I debated whether to bolt some of the easier lines that have horizontals and will take gear. I left an obvious easy trad line and a hard trad line. There are currently three sport routes and two trad routes here.


Left Side: Yellow-Don't Even Tri 5.10. Red-Keepting It Easy 5.7
Right Side: Green-Baby Bump 5.6. Yellow-Bushwhacker 5.7. Blue-Push and Pull 5.8


Chris Beargeron on the FA of  Don't Even Tri

Routes from left to right
Don't Even Tri 5.10 trad, FA Chris Beargeron, March 2024. Difficulty varies slightly if you use the arete on the left or go straight up on crimpers.
Keeping It Easy 5.7 sport (5 bolts and anchor). FA Brian Phillips, March 2024. Shared anchors.
Baby Bump 5.6 trad, FA Emily Koo, April 2024. Friendly spacing of horizontal cracks. Shared anchor..  
Bushwhacker 5.7 sport (5 bolts and anchor), FA Brian Phillips, March 2024. This could be comfortably led trad clipping one bolt at the top.  
Push and Pull 5.8 sport (4 bolts and anchor), FA Drew Lombardi, March 2024.