The 13 Coolest Climbing Gyms in the World
In the ’80s, ’90s, and much of the early aughts, rock climbing gyms were little more than training grounds where climbers honed their skills in preparation for objectives on real rock. But these days are long gone. Over 2% of the U.S. population has climbed indoors at least once in the last year; a growing subset of regular climbers (as much as 30%, by some estimates) exclusively climb inside; and there are many more for whom outdoor trips are rare vacations from near-daily trips to the plastic.
Despite the moaning of a few old crust kings, the recent proliferation of large, ornate climbing gyms is simply a natural progression of our planet’s growing population and our sport’s growing popularity. It also means that many indoor gyms have become world-class destinations in their own right, as worthy of a visit as many a legendary sport crag or boulderfield. Below are 13 of the world’s coolest climbing gyms, in no particular order.
The 13 Coolest Climbing Gyms
1. Kletterzentrum Innsbruck, Austria
We can’t have a list of the best climbing gyms in the world without Kletterzentrum Innsbruck (perhaps better known as “KI” for us Americans; looking at that first word gives me anxiety.) This sprawling Innsbruck training center is oft-touted as the world’s best climbing gym, due to the sheer size (60,000 square feet of climbing surface), variety (over 550 roped routes, 200+ boulders), and world-class setting. It’s also the largest gym in history built in a single push (others have surpassed it in fits and starts), and a must-see if you’re in Innsbruck.
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2. B-PUMP Ogikubo, Japan
Japan puts out fiendishly strong climbers like Krispy Kreme puts donuts out on an assembly line—and when you visit gyms like B-PUMP Ogikubo, it’s easy to understand why.
The B-PUMP chain has a rich history dating back to 1993, and it now operates half a dozen gyms around Tokyo. Their Akihabara location is the largest gym in the country, but the boulder cave Ogikubo is perhaps the most iconic, due to its focus on top-shelf climbing, training, and diverse creative setting. You’ll see no shortage of Japanese IFSC pros on a visit to B-PUMP. (Be warned, the problems are notoriously stiff, even for Japan.)
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3. CATS Gymnastics, Colorado, USA
The historic Boulder gym CATS (Colorado Athletic Training Center) may be outshined by more modern gyms, but it deserves a place on any list like this for its history alone. Founded in 1988, CATS is one of North America’s oldest climbing walls (Vertical World edges it out by one year.)
The gym was built by gymnast and climber Robert Candelaria, and this history shows, because it’s as much a gymnastics training center as a bouldering gym. Where climbing is concerned, CATS puts a strong focus on competitive youth training and coaching, as opposed to casual climbing. American crushers from Brooke Raboutou to Daniel Woods have trained here, and pretty much every Colorado-based climber has hit the CATS spray wall at one time or another.
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As you can see, the holds are bad, the density is absurd, and the walls are never reset, which means you can test yourself on V14 testpieces that were first climbed decades ago. For instance, Bubble Wrap (V13/14), first climbed by Daniel Woods in 2013.
Bubble Wrap from James O’Connor on Vimeo.
4. Climb BlueSky, Kenya
East Africa’s first public rock gym, Climb BlueSky in Nairobi, Kenya may not have the world-class facilities offered by the previous few gyms, but it’s noteworthy if only for the way it’s cultivated our sport, expanding access to climbing in this developing African nation. Bouldering and roped climbing are both available, and the gym offers classes, as well as day trips to crags like Hell’s Gate National Park and the Lukenya Hills. BlueSky also puts on an annual climbing competition, JamRock.
5. CopenHill, Denmark
The 280-foot outdoor wall at CopenHill sits on the side of a building in downtown Copenhagen and is the tallest artificial climbing wall in the world. Each of the wall’s five lead climbing lines offers two routes (10 total), and to get from the bottom to the top involves climbing four 65-foot pitches. This is no playhouse for newbies. A multi-pitch certification is required to climb the CopenHill, and although the easiest route on the wall goes at 5.9, most of the lines are harder, with difficulties up to 5.12c.
6. Excalibur, Klimcentrum Bjoeks, Netherlands
The eye-catching 121-foot Excalibur spire in the Dutch town of Groningen is often touted as the tallest freestanding climbing structure in the world. (As far as I can tell, this 137-foot tower at Georgia’s Banning Mills actually takes the cake, but for sheer vision and aesthetic value, you can’t beat Excalibur.) The tower’s silhouette is extremely imposing—at its steepest, the wall is 36 feet overhung—and the structure has both top ropes and lead routes up to 5.13c. And it is certainly a contender for the single coolest climbing gym in the world.
Excalibur is part of the Klimcentrum Bjoeks climbing center, which also has an outdoor boulder park, home to over 200 problems on permanent concrete boulders. Per the Bjoeks website, camping on the grass beneath the tower is free, and you can also spend the night inside the tower by request. The gym has showers and a kitchenette with a microwave and refrigerator. It’s a destination gym if ever there was one.
7. Ouray Ice Park, Colorado, USA
Ouray, Colorado’s Ice Park—open every winter since 1994—is the largest man-made ice climbing arena in the world. Host of the legendary Ouray Ice Festival each January, the park houses more than 200 ice and mixed climbing routes along 1.7 miles of the Uncompahgre Gorge.
The ice park is open for around three months each year—-usually from mid-December to the end of March, depending on conditions—and is free for all climbers, though paying members get early access to the park each day. Although the park doesn’t offer ice climbing classes, there are a number of clinics run by commercial guides during the annual Ice Festival, so it’s a great place to pick up the sport if you’ve never climbed ice before.
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8. The School Room, England
The mysterious English School Room is invite-only, so you and I probably won’t be climbing there any time soon. But as far as gyms go, you’d be hard-pressed to make a case that there is a better rock guru den anywhere in the world. Almost everyone who is anyone in 1990s and 2000s British hard climbing—Ben Moon, Malcolm Smith, Rich Simpson, Stuart Cameron, Jerry Moffatt—cut their teeth here. And these days it’s still frequented by all-stars like Jim Pope, Molly Thompson-Smith, Aidan Robers, and Will Bosi.
The School Room was the iron that sharpened British hardmen to go outside and tackle some of the world’s first top-shelf 5.14s. It was also the birthplace of the legendary MoonBoard. First built in 1993 in the Anns Grove School, today the School Room operates out of a new warehouse space owned by MoonClimbing. If cool (for you) is a synonym for dingy, tweaky, historic, and hard, this is certainly up there (with CATS) as the coolest gym on the planet.
Related: How the Legendary School Room Gym Helped Ben Moon and Jerry Moffatt Push 5.14
9. Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, Scotland
Built inside a repurposed quarry near Edinburgh, Scotland, the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA: Ratho) offers a unique take on indoor climbing, with a tarpaulin-roofed arena that feels like a blend between an outdoor crag and a gym.
In addition to several hundred roped and boulder problems on plastic, there are also 65 rock routes on the exterior of the dolerite quarry, including classics of both trad—Shear Fear (E2 5c/5.10b), Wally 1 (E2 5c)—and sport—The Corrieman (6b+/5.10d), King Silly (7a+/5.12a). Beyond climbing, the “arena” houses a cafe, and also offers aerial assault courses, fitness classes, and a soft play area for children. Gotta say, climbing outside while in a climbing gym is pretty cool.
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10. Parque de Escalada Los Silos, Chile
The mission of Chilean nonprofit Fundación Deporte Libre (Free Sport Foundation) is to transform abandoned urban spaces into public sports facilities. That’s exactly what they did with two derelict cement factory silos in Santiago de Chile in 2018. Now the “Parque de Silos” is a colorful outdoor climbing gym, with 20 sport climbing routes up to 65 feet high along the walls of the silos, as well as a freestanding boulder with 500 square feet of climbing surface.
It’s free to climb at the Parque de Silos 365 days a year, and the gym also offers free climbing classes and free equipment rental for top roping. (Lead climbing is also available, but climbers must bring their own gear.) In addition to the Parque de Silos, Fundación Deporte Libre operates 14 other free public parks around Chile, including other climbing walls, a skateboarding park, a mountain hut on the Calbuco volcano, and several traditional playgrounds and open spaces.
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11. Diga di Luzzone, Switzerland
This isn’t a climbing gym, per se, but if you’re looking for audacious artificial climbing, you’d be hard pressed to find a cooler one than the 541-foot Luzzone Dam, which is home to the tallest artificial climbing face in the world. The concave dam is climbable via a fully bolted, five-pitch 5.10b, and it costs €20 per climber.
The final couple hundred feet are overhanging, so be prepared for some serious exposure! The bottom of the wall has no holds, you’ll need a ladder (locked up at the base of the climb) to reach them, which you’ll get access to after paying the fee.
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12. Gneis Lilleaker, Norway
This Oslo gym—which opened in the fall of 2023—houses 50-foot roped walls, 15 auto belays, and plenty of bouldering and training, but it’s the location that makes it stand out. Gneis Lilleaker’s walls are contained within a large glass atrium looking out on a waterfall and the river Lysakerelven outside. Per YouTuber Magnus Midtbö, Gneis Lilleaker is “the most beautiful climbing gym in the world.”
13. The Cave at CityROCK, Colorado, USA
Housed in a former movie theater, Colorado Springs’ CityROCK is a solid climbing gym in its own right, with 43-foot rope routes up to 5.14 and boulders at V12. However, the caving simulator, dubbed “The Cave,” is something you can’t experience at any other climbing gym in the world.
A 40-foot vertical shaft and 225 feet of cave passages snake around and beneath CityROCK. Treading lightly is the name of the game, since you’ll earn points based on how gentle you are when crawling through these artificial tunnels (sensors on the wall flash if you touch stalactites or get too close to a cave painting, for example).
Once you’re out, you can compare scores at the end to see which one of your party did the best job leaving no trace. Night-vision cameras let friends watch you while you’re in the caves, too. Admittedly, The Cave is more of a novelty for birthday parties, schools, and summer camps, but it also serves as a training ground for serious cavers, firefighters, and cave rescue teams. And it certainly makes CityROCK unique.
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