This place is located in a church and I found that to be interesting. They definitely have some older equipment but I think the place itself was nice since it has a lot of other amenities. I think it's pretty decent for anyone who likes to climb! I had a fun time trying out more beginner friendly problems. read more

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employees were extremely rude and passive aggressive. anytime we didn't do something perfectly they gave us attitude when they never even asked us if we knew all the rules in the first place. however the courses were fun and had a good amount of diversity. read more

Hoosier Heights only has two payment tiers: unlimited ($70/month) and per-climb ($20). The pricing structure makes it tough to participate as a person with disabilities. When I gave feedback about this, the staff member on the phone was dismissive, chuckling my concern off by letting me know that people regularly shower Hoosier Heights with praise regarding what a good deal it is. I know friends who canceled their memberships after years of daily climbing because the gym quality didn't match the price and they'd rather pick another sport than climb HH. It would be good to have a middle tier for people who climb several times a months-ish due to disability or any other reason. Many gyms have accessible climbing rates with proof of EBT/Medicaid but Hoosier Heights doesn't offer anything like that, either. Some months I can climb 5-6 times and some only climb twice. If I get the membership (which I currently have), I risk paying $70-35 per climb on a bad month. If I cancel and then get back into it, I'm paying 2x the monthly membership fee in day passes. The all-or-nothing membership strategy seems unnecessarily exclusive and their lack of accessibility measures doesn't match the "climbing is for everyone," attitude they project outward through marketing, etc. It's a fun spot and the interior is lovely but I think the membership strategy needs work, as well as the culture around hearing feedback from members. read more

I don't know much about rock climbing so that's the viewpoint we're coming from. Seemed a little expensive but it was fun. There's two buildings, one with bouldering the other with belays or self belay which I thought was really cool. Staff was friendly, I would probably go again if they had a discount night or something read more

Our experience here was phenomenal. We spent 4 hours here today, and we only left because we were hungry (ok, and tired!) One: the bouldering part of the gym is in a former church. It's got plenty of natural light, and c'mon - climbing in a church. It's a holy space! The route setting is great and includes plenty of options for climbers of all skill levels. The bouldering sanctuary has two prominent sides: slab, and not-slab. with some long routes, big moves, and overhung craziness for those who enjoy that kinda thing. Personally, I love slab. I projected V2s while my 5 year old played on VBs, my son skipped around V0s and V1s, and my friends worked of V5s and 6s. There were plenty of routes above that grade, too. Two: the top rope/lead part of the gym is in a separate building, so we bouldered to our hearts content until we decided to venture over for more big fun on the big walls. The sheer number of routes and autobelays is super impressive. I understand they only have 3 setters. Wow. They do good work. Again, there were plenty of options for our youngest kiddo while the adults worked on tougher climbs. Have I mentioned I love slab? The slab options and the mixed walls that had various levels of slab and inversions were fabulous. I would make the trip from Indy to climb here again in a heartbeat. Their restrooms and cubbies are super limited. It would be nice to have better facilities; this seems to be a trend in my reviews of climbing gyms. Note to groups: I saw several large groups come through today. If you are planning to take a group of kids, I would highly recommend having some adults trained to belay on top-rope so your kids aren't limited to the autobelays - especially with groups of 10 or more. As impressive as the number of autobelays is, there are a lot of climbs that require big moves, strength, or advanced technique, so kids could get really bored waiting around to climb one of the few 5.7 or 5.8 autobelays. You also might divide up and take part of your group bouldering while the other part climbs top-rope or autobelay. Have fun! read more

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Hoosier Heights has the two best climbing gyms in Indiana. This new building is as beautiful as it is fun. Although I'm a seasoned climber, this gym has something for everyone, regardless of ability. For the climbing veterans, there's tons of hangboards for training, a systems board, a moon board, numerous auto belays, and more. For newbies, there are tons of beginner routes and knowledgable staff to assist. There are always child friendly options as well. The community of climbers there were inviting and welcoming to those of all abilities. As a seasoned climber, I enjoyed the different styles of each setter and the beauty of using quickdraws to hold back the chandeliers in the bouldering area, as depicted in the photos attached to this review. They also have coffee available as well as a sweet hangout area with board games for eating food or resting between climbing. read more

Hoosier Heights - Bloomington - Chandeliers being held back with quickdraws ‍ - Rock Climbing Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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This place is awesome, and metal a.f. Climbing in an old church is brutal, and the stained glass lends amazing light. read more

Hoosier Heights - Bloomington - Went to prey today - Rock Climbing Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

I'm ready to share my experience as a member of Hoosier Heights staff for two years. I loved HH. I loved my community of friends and the work I did everyday. I was enthusiastic and happy to be there, and genuinely feel that I put my blood sweat and tears into the building of the new facility. I loved my job; interacting with people excited about climbing, giving orientations in Spanish, and having a positive impact on the climbing team I coached. But I saw some changes in the management and priorities under Joe Anderson, the current owner. The goal of this business is no longer a community for climbers, but a means to lining Joe Anderson's pockets. Hiking up the prices of memberships and day passes while barely paying employees is not a good look. I've grappled for a long time about sharing my stories. I love this community, the people I worked and climbed with, but we were mistreated and taken for granted. And as much as it saddens me, I cannot contribute to Hoosier Heights financially in anyway, because the values are sickening. Joe Anderson is a racist. He once drunkenly ranted to me about eugenics, how the world would be better off if we could breed superior human beings. He explicitly told me you can identify genetic superiority by looking at someone, and it is geographically determined. Joe Anderson is a misogynist, speaking down to the women who RUN the facility while he is mostly absent. I have heard him make comments about women's bodies, and other female staff have told me stories of him looking down their tops and generally making them uncomfortable. Joe Anderson does not represent what our climbing community values, and the staff members that speak up do not last long. Management is complicit, never taking a stand. We must do better. There are so many wonderful people experiencing climbing together, and Hoosier Heights needs to embody diversity, equity, and justice. Furthermore, we as a climbing community must constantly look for new ways to ensure we are socially and politically conscious. We have to start somewhere, and I felt it necessary to share my story. There are a thousand more beneath the surface. Let us work together to build a better community. read more

Hoosier Heights is a great climbing gym just south of town. Moderately cheap to get a pass and climb as much as you want. Great variety of levels to chose from, everything from beginner to advanced. Hoosier Heights offers some good classes to help the first timer or long time climber hone their skills. Worth the visit. Over 12,000 sq.ft. of indoor climbing terrain! read more

Hoosier Heights - Bloomington - Rock Climbing Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

This is a great rock climbing gym and an asset to the city. They have a mostly very nice and helpful staff, a good variety of routes and bouldering problems, and decent additional amenities. I take off one star because there is room for improvement. They could probably clean the holds more, as it's sometimes difficult to tell what color a hold is and if it's a part of your route. The parking is frustratingly limited although they can only control that so much. Their gear shop could use a price list and more selection, in my opinion. I wish they had more seating in the top-rope area but it's not a huge deal. I wish they would use volumes for more interesting routesetting but I'm a beginner climber still so I don't let that affect my rating, it's just something I wish they would do. Edit: when I was there yesterday they said they had already ordered volumes and would start using them pretty soon, so that's hype read more

Looks like we've got lots of people that have been to fancier gyms on here. Is Hoosier Heights in Bloomington the best climbing gym in the world? No. Obviously not. Is it one of the best climbing gyms in a town of its size? I wouldn't doubt it. The new facility is both charming and practical. I wish the day passes were either cheaper or they offered more free passes for friends with the membership because I would love to bring friends, but the day pass prices are prohibitive. That being said the membership is more than reasonable. read more

I was a huge fan of the old place, and I was worried that the new gym would lose the culture the old place had. But I was worried for no reason. The staff is almost always very friendly and helpful. New routes are set pretty frequently, and they are always challenging. It seems like the difficulty was increased for the same rating when they moved to the old gym, but that is probably just a personal thing. Great gym, and I'm looking forward to climbing here for a long time! read more

I thought a lot about this review but I stand behind my 2 stars. I've been climbing for about 2 years now and climb at indoor gyms whenever I visit friends out of town. Or outside at red river gorge and las vegas. While the route setting is good and pretty fun, a lot of the belay aspects of this gym struck me as either annoying or dangerous. Some of it may be due to insurance policies or other things out of HH control hence the second star. 1st off you have to sign the safety waiver even if you have climbed at HH in indy. 2nd off they require you to take their belay course no matter what to use 6 year old gri gri's zip tied to the ropes. 3rd off you have to give them your wallet or something to even use the carabiners needed to use the gri gri's. 4th off everything here is really old, like at least as old as the gri gri originals. 5th off the belay instructors only know how to belay 'their' way, if you try to do any method that you would see at a crag outside they correct you. 6th off there are only 2 lights in the whole gym, which is great for that romantic cave like feel. read more

I can't speak much for the new facility although it looks fantastic. Unfortunately despite me having climbed here and elsewhere many times before and not needing gear, they still would require me to do a "first time" day pass which cost $25. Not really worth it since I no longer live here and it would have been a one time thing. read more

So fun here! Beginning climber and the staff was very friendly and willing to help friends and I out. Would recommend!

Pros: very friendly staff, plenty of parking. Welcoming lobby. CHEAP! Cons: holds were incredibly polished and in terrible, awful shape. Problems and routes were lackluster at best. BROulderers were a bit obnoxious. Old school wooden route and problem walls. Poor lighting and kind of dingy. All in all I can't really recommend this gym, but it's the only one in the area. I climb both indoor and outdoors, at least 3x a week at my climbing gym back home. I had high hopes when I entered the lobby and at first glance thought I was going to have a blast like usual. That changed when I actually got to start climbing. The problems were almost 100% brute force with really and I mean *really* bad holds for feet. To me it felt like the footwork was way off base, and very untrustworthy - nothing smooth about any of the movements and it was damn near impossible to see and find the next moves because the tape was missing or dirty and the lighting was really low. The gym really needs a better setter(s) and to put some time and effort into the interior atmosphere and take care of its space. The top out of the bouldering problems was full of junk like it was being used for a pseudo storage space. I did like the common area between the bouldering and routes, and the lounge in the middle of the roped area was neat. It was a bit reminisce of a very old school gym, and would be ok if you were just looking for strength-only oriented climbing. TL;DR: nice staff and lobby, sub-par routes and almost inexcusably bad footholds/hold quality in general. CLEAN YOUR HOLDS. read more

The staff is attentive and helpful. THe routes are challenging for all aged. Great place.

Hoosier Heights is a wonderful place, especially because of the people who work there! My son has participated in their summer camps several times and had a great time. I felt like he received attentive care, and he developed physically. He was in great shape! He also had a birthday party there and joined their kids climbing group -- lots of options to keep a kid entertained on snowy, rainy or hot summer days. read more

It's obviously the place to climb in town, although there is a bouldering room on campus also. I'm really not a fan of the wood walls, and I don't like belaying with Gri Gris, so I let my membership lapse and stopped coming, but every now and then I like to Boulder. Bouldering does wonders for my sciatica, but I'm not going to come regularly enough to justify a membership anymore. So it blew my mind last time I went and found they no longer offer a day pass that is just for bouldering. I think it was $8. Now you have to pay the full $15 even if you're just dropping in by yourself for a quick workout. I think this is totally nuts. Maybe if they had the most amazing walls and problems ever... but the walls are wood. I heard the new facility will have nicer walls, though still not the kind I like best. Let's hope they come to their senses about bouldering day passes too. read more

Fun place to climb! They should get some air conditioning because it gets brutally hot in there in the summer. Also, they should just pay the $3/month for Pandora, so that the whole gym doesn't have to keep listening to radio ads all the time. read more

A gym with pros and cons, but overall a fun place to be and also the only place to climb in town, which might contribute to the cons, tbh. The current gym is older and badly lit, with wood walls (most textured, some not) and holds that need some serious cleaning between routes. They're building a new gym at a different location which will hopefully address most of those problems, though at this point I don't know when it will open. The community is very friendly, and there are a lot of routes. They have a great bouldering room and some fun chimneys in the top rope room. Route setting can be hit or miss - they tend to have people rotating in and out kind of often (it's a college town, after all) which can be sad when your favorite setters leave, but keeps things fresh. I do wish they consistently had more women doing route setting in both the bouldering and ropes rooms; a lot of the routes tends towards being burly rather than technical, which can be frustrating. They had a Women Rock event last year that was a ton of fun and I hope they do more like it! read more

Great gym, decent setting, and great heart. Seriously, the people in this climbing community are great, employees and patrons alike. Only complaint is how crowded it gets and some of the safety-related concerns, but there is a new facility on the horizon. Some discussion of keeping the old place open, and I sincerely hope they do. read more

Great deal, of $45 per month for an automatic payment membership. If you go more than once per week you're saving money over the day pass. Also, the staff are all very help, knowledgable as well as just fun. read more

Great climbs, love the new location and the staff are fantastic people! I don't live in Bloomington anymore, but this is my number one stop any time I visit. read more

The staff are very friendly and helpful! However, I feel like the current location is dated, dark, and feels dirty. Having to walk through the boulder room to get to the bathrooms and drinking fountains is a bit annoying. The routes are ok, I tend to like Rich's route setting the best. Anytime there is a climbing club practice going on it's very crowded and full of loud kids. I'm really hoping the new location will have a better layout, be more inspiring, and stay cleaner. read more

I took my kids to the Youth Climbing Club one day over Fall Break. They are 8, 6 and 5 years old. The staff did and excellent job coaching and encouraging my kids, and the program was well organized. Though the kids keep begging to go back, we have not been because the gym is far from home. For a drop-in, occasional, out of the house activity, it was great! read more

Hoosier Heights is a great gym. Reasonably priced, knowledgable and friendly staff, wide variety of routes that get changed pretty frequently. And the yoga classes are fun, too :] I definitely recommend! read more

It's an OK gym, a bit small and run down but its the only gym in the area, unless you want drive to Indy. The routes are good and they have a large variety of difficulties. My biggest complaint is that they have a kids group that is there most evenings that is supposed to be watched by someone who I assume is an employee. However, this group is reckless and annoying. They constantly run underneath other climbers, I've seen several almost get hit by another climber and several will just start climbing a route that interferes with yours, without waiting or asking. I'm fine with kids climbing, but they need to be taught etiquette and safety. Otherwise is dangerous and annoying to climb when they're around. read more