Via Ferrata is a gateway drug to rock climbing. This extra-secure approach to climbing, in which people traverse steel cables while safely hooked in via carabiners, is an accessible way to spend a day on rock without extensive training. While the activity is extremely widespread in the European Alps, it’s less common in the U.S. In fact, there are fewer than 30 via ferrata routes in the entire country.
It’s even less common in the South, but the region recently gained a new option. Frontier Climbing Co. partnered with Arkansas State Parks to open a via ferrata at Petit Jean State Park, giving it the distinction of being the only U.S. state park to offer the experience.
What Is Via Ferrata?
Unlike sport climbing, there are no knots, ropes, or belaying involved in a via ferrata. You traverse a steel cable wearing a harness with two lanyards that each have a carabiner. As you go, you clip the carabiners onto the cable. Along the way, there are steel handles and cables drilled in the wall to step on. If you slip, the lanyard arrests your fall.
It’s much less technical than typical climbing. Essentially, if you can climb a ladder and are reasonably fit, you can do via ferrata.
Petit Jean State Park
Located only an hour from Little Rock and right next to Ozark National Forest, Petit Jean State Park lies in one of the most beautiful parts of Arkansas. Time and erosion have created striking canyons, caves, and rock formations from the sandstone here. Visitors come here to camp, hike the park’s 20 miles of trails, or fish and kayak in Lake Bailey.
The half-mile via ferrata route at the park delivers vertical exposure and stunning vistas of the Cedar Creek Valley from under the Palisades Overlook, about 80 feet above ground. Climbers cross a suspension bridge, a foot bridge, a sky ladder, and a series of ledge traverses across 10 pitches.
The route is a partnership between the Department of State Parks and Frontier Climbing Co., a professional guiding company. Founded in 2024, the locally run business offers guided climbing and instructional courses in multiple areas in the state.
The experience is “an opportunity to develop technical skills, build confidence through intentional decision-making, and connect with landscapes you can’t reach any other way,” the company said on its website. If you’re a regular visitor to the park, you’ll get to experience it from a new perspective, and if you’ve never been, there’s no better introduction.
The route opened to the public in August, and it’s already proven extremely popular. During the first weekend, every spot was fully booked.
How Does It Work?
To climb the route, visitors must go with a certified guide and reserve in advance. The whole experience lasts approximately 3 hours. First, there is a safety briefing, and guides walk guests through a practice route. Once everyone shows proficiency on the practice route, they move on to the real deal.
The cost depends on the number of people who sign up. If you go as an individual, it’s $150. But if you go with a group of four or five, it only costs $85 per person. You must be over age 12 and weigh between 88 and 265 pounds to participate.
Learn more on ExploreOrigin.com.
