Rockreation Review

My 7 yr old just loves the rock climbing experience. The staff are very knowledgeable, passionate about the sport, practice safety and ther're totally cool. I would highly recommend Rockreation to anyone, especially parents of kids (6 years & older) that love climbing. Although it is not inexpensive, you will be impressed.

I was really excited about this place. However, this is not a place for beginners. The staff is pretty arrogant and would rather you know that they know how to do things and you don t than take the time to actually instruct you. And it s always packed. Which is actually kind of surprising....

Again, very disappointed. I would look around and tour some others before becoming a member here.

Came in town for the weekend and came to Rockreation for a day pass. Couldn t of had a better experience. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful and went out of their way to make sure we had a great experience. Highly recommend visiting Rockreation if you re in the area or getting a membership if you live nearby!

Rockreation is a fun, exciting, and welcoming activity for kids and adults of all ages! With their recently redone facility and clean workout space, this is a great place to come to get some climbing, bouldering, yoga, or weight workouts in. They can also house birthday parties, corporate events, or team building activities. They offer a variety of classes, from beginner to advanced. What makes them really great is their wonderful and welcoming rock climbing community. If you are a newbie, feel free to ask one of the veteran climbers for tips or advice.

Love LAB. It's about a 2 min walk from my condo, it's like having a climbing gym in my building. It has a huge variety of routes, beginner to expert- and they add new routes weekly. They also have a ton of free(for members) classes and Instructional courses and a full gym with weight & cardio machines. I wish they had a couple top rope problems, but as a member, you can use any touch-stone facility.

Here's the thing about Rockreation: it may be smaller than other gyms in the area, but it is WAY more personal and feels like much more thought and care is put into each route. It feels like it's run top-to-bottom not by businessmen but by passionate climbers, and the staff almost always seems happy to be there. They are always around: patrolling, giving tips, belaying for kids, or kicking around a soccer ball during slow hours. It feels like a community, hometown gym.

The routes are quite difficult for their grade, particularly with the boulders, and that gives a greater sense of accomplishment and progress. The routes are interesting and set thoughtfully and are hardly ever "left-right-left-right"; even the easy routes require some problem-solving and are fun to climb again and again. As for the top roping, I'd advise anyone choosing gyms to focus not on the height of the walls, but on the quality of the routes. Although the gym is small, it doesn't feel that way when you're there - the creativity and care put into setting means that you spend more time with each route than you might at other gyms, and I've never felt like I've run out of things to do.

If you're near the area, support the "mom-and-pop" local gym that is Rockreation! It truly does have a more personal vibe than the bigger chains - a difference that is worth the price. There's a second location in Costa Mesa that I like going to whenever I'm down there as well.

An excellent place to climb with a really great community feeling. Not typically too busy and it has lot's of variety.

Great climbing gym where you can boulder, lead climb and top rope which also offers daily yoga and fitness classes. The staff are very friendly and helpful. It can get busy in the evenings. There are dedicated parking spots in a lot and street parking is typically available. There are lockers in the restrooms along with showers. There is an upstairs workout area with cardio equipment and free weights and a separate yoga studio. The place is clean and the people are friendly.

This is the only gym I've been to so far in LA but they haven't really given me any reason to go anywhere else. The staff is nice, the routes are varied and challenging, and the bathrooms are super nice. My only complaint would be that there are sometimes about a million kids running around and the boulders can get pretty packed on the weekend as well. Also, the monthly membership fee is a tad steep, even if you're just getting the bare bones package. But they do offer fitness and yoga classes for a few dollars more a month and I'm eager to check it out.

Mediocre gym with very short, maybe 25ft climbing walls.

Good climbing gym with friendly staff. Great for both children and adults.

Small friendly community, but no more autobelays. Gets crowded with kid parties on the weekends but the routes are changed regularly and the staff is very accommodating.

Great climbs, good exercise. If you have time to kill, stop by.

I come at least twice a week. They have good climbs, and usually add new climbs each week. They have a good cardio and weightlifting area.

I am a member here. I like this gym but they often gear their routes to intermediate climbers and it can be just a little tough for beginners. There is enough to do, and they change the routes often!

Love this place. Almost a second home since I was introduced to climbing 6 months ago. Bouldering, top rope, lead climbing, cardio, weights, showers. Very friendly staff. I highly recommend it.

Great place to rockclimb. Good people, nice atmosphere. The fact they take time to change up the routes all the time is very appealing. Highly recommended.

The bouldering area was pretty small, so if you mostly Boulder this might not be the best place. However, there were a ton of top rope and lead climbs that are great.

Friendly knowledgeable staff and community. I enjoy this cozy gym and love the challenge of the routes. Bathrooms are clean and they have a good amount of designated "Rockreation" parking spots by the front entrance.

Awesome family-friendly neighborhood climbing gym. My 8-yr-old son loves climbing with me here.

Most welcoming and friendly staff in Los Angeles! My favorite part about this gym is the community they build. Ive been climbing here for about two years now and have met some of my best friends in LA here. The vibe set by their community events, and friendly staff create a wonderfully sincere, trustworthy, positive, accepting, encouraging, honest, and lovable group. I HIGHLY recommend taking their teambuilding courses, Rockfit, and Yoga classes!

For free usage of all the tracks you would need to pass a little exam. There are a lot of them. all the equipment is provided.
BUT you'd better not leave your bike there in the evening. One bike was stolen, one was saved by the lock

Great for serious rock climbers, great for neophytes, great for kids. The climbs are many and varied, the exercise options myriad, the staff helpful.
The only negative I meant mention is the clumsy gate/check-in procedure: It seems unnecessary, but maybe it's an insurance thing.

I have been a member here for 2+ years and found myself at a plateau in terms of advancing in my climbing. I decided to get a personal trainer and it was money well spent.
Jenn Tanaka, my trainer, was amazing. I specified for a shorter trainer since I am also very short. She was great at analyzing what I was good at and what I needed to improve on. She also gave me exercises that not only trained and strengthened me, they also made my body familiar with the movements that are key to climbing better and harder.
After 6 weeks of training, I am a stronger, smarter and way more confident climber. Thank you Jenn and Rockreation!

Cool gym. Pretty small got to find weird times to go or else it gets pretty crowded.

Great place to get in a quick climb in West LA. Amazing staff and welcoming environemnt.

I am not an expert climber. In fact it was my first time to even try it, so I am not even sure if my input is of much value. However I HAD TONS of FUN here with kid today and totally recommend it to kill the boredom and work out at the same time!

My gf and I tried it for a month. We took the rock climbing class and then took the test. I tried working out several times there, but never really enjoyed it. The rock climbing facilities are nice. The weights are minimum. Hours are a little tricky because twice a week they don t open until noon. Pretty expensive considering how crowded it always is there. The staff really wasn t friendly at all. They do not try to help in anyway. It s mostly college students just getting paid. So our first negative experience....My gf has never rock climbed before and when she did the belay test, the instructor/staff just said she was doing it wrong. No correction, no advice, no tips, etc. He allowed her to stay confused after I fell while he was supervising and distracting her. Then he turned to her and said, you failed, come back in 24 hours and you can test again and that was it. So yeah we were done. When we showed up to cancel, no one even asked why we wanted to cancel our memberships. I would look elsewhere

Beginner climber! Had a wonderful time with my friend in the free climbing area. Met some cool cats. Had a wonderful time. Great vibe

Came here on the weekend to boulder and there were not that many people. This facility is all bouldering so if you want to belay, this is not for you. They have different levels that you could choose, V0 being the easiest and gets progressively harder as the numbers go up. If this is your first time, V0-2/3 would be your best bet. Anything else would require more technique.

Went here once. The beginner wals are extremely easy. Then there are other walls that are super hard. Very little intermediate.

Great climbing gym at a reasonable monthly rate, with constantly rotating routes. 4 stars instead of 5 because the place is a straight up daycare on weekdays - children swarming every climbing route and all the gym equipment.

Visited here while in town. Super clean, friendly vibes (of course, aren t most climbing gyms awesome!?) they ve got a little of everything....and bonus...fantastic showers. Will be back 1/month when I visit Santa Monica.

Small with low top rope routes, but cozy with great people. I love the fact there are autobelays if you don't have a partner. Top rope walls are maybe 33' so it's not a marathon event. Routes are changed regularly. Good community.

Hands down, my favorite gym in CA. I just wish it wasn't so far from where I live. Clean locker rooms, nice weight area and equipment, and it never gets ridiculously crowded like Mission Cliffs.

Great local gym. Smaller than others, but has a lot of long time regulars.

Too many kids, not enough bouldering paths. The bouldering that was available was freaking difficult! It's probably much better for more advanced rock climbers.

What a nice place! Staff are so nice and friendly! It s good excise for sure, and we also got to meet new friends.

Best thing I did for me, my wife and my 9 year old daughter, she loves it.

Great experience !!! We took the Gravity classes and they are great. The instructor tailored his teaching to our level and made it a great session. We were able to put his advice and teaching in practice as we were going. They have different levels so call in to see what's best for you!

Very friendly and helpful staff, but they just don't have the space/equipment/hours for me to be happy with a $75 price tag. Our main reason for keeping our membership is predominantly the convenience of it (we live only a few blocks away). With places like cliffs of id and sender one charging similar (if not lower) amounts, but housing much much larger walls/facilities/open hours, it certainly isn't the former parts. If this gym were anywhere other than santa monica it would cost half the price for a membership (case in point, hangar 18 costs around $40/month ). I like the gym, but I really don't like how much it costs for what it is.

Really fun spot for rock climbing and Belaying. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful/knowledgeable. The space has a gym and a dedicated area for kids. Overall great experience.

Decent space, although very disappointed that Grigri belaying devices aren't allowed at the gym, despite them being safer and allowing for self-belaying.

Great place for a birthday party, all the kids had a great time

Jake is always knowledgeable, personable, helpful, and has the patience of a saint as demonstrated when dealing with - how shall I say it - grumpy patrons as I recently observed. He has great advice on climbing technique, conditioning, equipment, shoes, etc., and I trust his advice and suggestions, and appreciate him taking the time to answer my many questions (I'm a newer climber so need a lot of hand holding at this stage.) I've seen him coaching the youth team and hope to get my nephew involved if scheduling works out around the new school year. Give this young man a raise and/or a promotion as he represents LA Boulders in the best possible light, and seems to genuinely care about the clientele, the company, and the sport in general. Oh - he has great taste in music, too.

A nice climbing gym! Good boulder room and good walls / overhangs !! There is a reserved area for weight lifting, changing rooms with bathrooms and showers, and vending machines.
Outside parking, easily reachable also by bus.

I took the intro rock climbing class to get certified to belay. The instructor was great, the class covered all the basics and gave you time to get comfortable. Very safe. And the facility is fantastic. Tons of walls with lots of different levels of difficultly. I would highly recommend the class and the LA location.

Good fun, lots of quality walls and designs to choose from. Definitely worth visiting in the future.

Staff and service is always good. Girls at the front desk are helpful for a quick tutorial.

I'm sorry as much as I love this place and their friendly staff, they do not train people well enough for Belay Certification. My newly certified belay partner dropped me 15 feet to the ground because he was distracted chatting to someone on the benches that they placed way too close to the climbing walls. They need to (1) move the benches back so less distracting, (2) go over more safety basics before handing out belay certs like don't be distracted, (3) do at least one follow up belay test after several days have passed to ensure learning was retained, and (4) not tell a belayer who drops someone because he wasn't paying attention "it's okay". It's not okay. (5) bonus: Also got pink eye, provide more sanitizer and signs warning of that stuff there, yuck.

Great climbing gym for LA, easy to access and not to expensive. Dug the routes they had available.

My son attended a summer camp here and absolutely loved it.

Our two grandchildren, 7 and 10, did the Kids Climb session this afternoon. I cannot say enough good things about their instructor Laurie; she was tuned into each kid s personality and was consistently supportive, encouraging, and energetic throughout the two-hour lesson. What a wonderful experience! Thank you.

The facilities are very poorly kept but the staff is friendly enough. However I can't recommend this place as despite canceling our subscription they continued to charge our credit cards. We called, were assured it was a mistake and would be taken care of, and never heard back.