I classify as a mediocre climber (V3’s and below), but enjoy trying different gyms, styles, settings. I most enjoy climbs that are fun puzzles or focus on the mind-body connection. Here’s some gyms I’ve been to!
Pacific Pipe
2140 Mandela Parkway, in West Oakland.
Pacific Pipe is, probably, my favourite bouldering gym in the bay. It helps that it is the biggest indoor bouldering gym in North America. There’s always a new project to be found on its two floors. Shoutout to the setter Bear, who sets the left half of the second story– creator of some of my favorite climbs ever! There’s a taco truck right outside as well. A great beginner’s gym, expect to see a lot more young kids than usual. This gym’s got a little something for everyone.
Dogpatch Boulders
2573 3rd Street, in San Francisco’s Dogpatch.
I find Dogpatch’s settings to be way too upper-body-strength focused, and not focused enough on the parts of climbing I most enjoy – the puzzles of it all! The stark white overhead lighting also doesn’t lend it much favor. Some of the climbs on the right half of the gym are really fun.
Mission Cliffs
2295 Harrison Street, in San Francisco’s Mission District.
It’s unfair to put Miss Cliffs on this list, because it isn’t really a bouldering gym. It does have a small bouldering section, and does a lot with the little space. However, at anything except dead hours, it’s simply too crowded to not worry about accidentally coffin-dropping someone (or someone falling on yourself). Pettily, I also dislike the mud brown “realistic” boulder wall colors.
Benchmark Climbing
1414 Van Ness Avenue, in San Francisco.
While a favorite of a lot of friends in SF, I didn’t enjoy Benchmark SF. I found it too focused on big, dynamic moves, with climbs heavily clustered together because of the tight space. It was fun to run into so many friends, though!
The Oaks
1875 Solano Avenue, in North Berkeley.
Converting a old theatre into a climbing gym is a fantastic idea. The Oaks is a wildcard pick– far north in Berkeley, you get to dodge most of the stereotypical climbers and settings, and instead solve problems set for and by people enjoying the art of climbing. There’s always a big circle boulder problem or something funky around. It doesn’t update nearly as often though.
Hyperion
801 Willow Street, in Redwood City.
I rarely get all the way out to Hyperion, but enjoy it whenever I do. It benefits from being in the South Bay – the boulder settings are lavish and plentiful. With that said, Hyperion has for me the Dogpatch Boulders problem: not enough variety! (It also happens to lead in injuries-per-visit for me, though I’m not sure that says anything about the gym)
First Ascent Uptown
4718 N Broadway, in Chicago’s Uptown.
Why is a random gym from Chicago on this list? Because First Ascent in uptown Chicago is my favorite climbing gym.
There’s quite a few things going against FA. Climbing isn’t nearly as popular in the mid-west. Most of the gym doesn’t have high ceilings for tall boulders. The floor space is pretty small, leading to a cave-like design that could lead to overcrowding. All of these end up being FA’s strengths instead. The lack of popularity means that climbs are funky and regulars friendly. The low ceilings constrains climbs to be challenging in other, interesting ways – puzzles! mind-body connection! The cave-like structure lets you grab some crevice for yourself and invest in a project in peace.
h/t Yuqing for introducing me to this gym!