Purgatory Chasm State Reservation
A narrow chasm lined with boulders, fissures, caves, and short woodland trails turns geology into a physical route.
Artwork inspired by George Loring Brown
A narrow chasm lined with boulders, fissures, caves, and short woodland trails turns geology into a physical route. The experience depends on body scale. Frost-split rock, glacial processes, named formations, and scrambled passages are felt through footing and confined space rather than viewed from a distant overlook.
Wear shoes made for boulders and skip the chasm floor when wet, icy, or beyond your mobility. A rim route offers context without every scramble, and children need close supervision. The main route is not accessible and includes drops, squeezing, and unstable footing. Pets and small children may be safer on rim trails.
- Chasm length
- About a quarter mile
- Geology
- Fractured bedrock and glacial action
- Route
- Scramble with rim alternatives
Quick guide
- Test the first rocks
- Turn back before commitment if footing fails.
- Use the rim
- A safer route still explains the landform.
Know before you go
- Test the first rocks
- Turn back before commitment if footing fails.
- Use the rim
- A safer route still explains the landform.
- Keep hands free
- Scrambling requires three points of contact.
- Avoid wet stone
- Traction changes immediately after rain.
Good to know
The main route is not accessible and includes drops, squeezing, and unstable footing. Pets and small children may be safer on rim trails.
Notice these
- Chasm floor
- Lover’s Leap
- Fat Man’s Misery