What a fabulous experience! Brought a group of 6 women - all first time climbers - to take a lesson at Custer State Park and we had a wonderful time. Our guides Chris and Amanda were so encouraging, patient, and knowledgeable, we felt totally safe learning to climb with them. Everything from the booking to the experience itself was easy sailing. Definitely recommend Sylvan for any of your climbing adventures! read more

Amazing adventure climbing at Sylvan Lake and on Devil Tower. Ben was the guide for my boyfriend, Jim. Jim wants you guys to know that Ben was outstanding. He had great patience with me. Would highly recommend Sylvan Rock Climbing School!! Was a highlight of our vacation!! read more

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My sister and I had such a wonderful time our first experience rock climbing. Bears was an amazing guide and I 100% would have quit twice if it wasn't for her. Shes very easy going encouraging and knowledgeable about how and where to climb We loved it and can't wait to go again read more

Sylvan Rocks Climbing School & Guide Service - Rock Climbing Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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Came here with my family for the 4th, and it did not disappoint. Our guides Matt and Amanda were great instructors. We did the beginner class, so it was top rope on an outdoor slab, with 5 climbs for us to try out, and that felt like the perfect amount. Lots of fun, and the whole family really enjoyed. Definitely recommend, coming from a group that has only been climbing indoors for a few years, this was a great experience and introduction to outdoor. read more

Sylvan Rocks Climbing School & Guide Service - Climbing - Rock Climbing Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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Brandon & Chris are phenomenal guides! Their philosophy on guiding and instructing made the entire climbing experience positive and productive for the whole family. I trust these guides with my life read more

Sylvan Rocks Climbing School & Guide Service - Cathedral Spire - Rock Climbing Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

What a great excision in Custer. My daughters (12, 14 and 16) were given the choice between biking, ATVIng, and horseback riding. They unanimously chose climbing and I'm so happy that we chose Sylvan Rocks as out outfitter. Chris, Ryan and Bears were able to meet you at your level and provide you with the safe knowledge and comfort to start small and climb BIG! at the end of 4 hours. *CLIMBING EXPERIENCE IS NOT NEEDED! They will meet you where you're at. At the end of the 4 hours we easily climbed 6-7 different paths up the spires. I can't speak highly enough of this outfitter. They were A-amazing! You can't go wrong with them. read more

Sylvan Rocks Climbing School & Guide Service - Going BIG with different difficulty routes in no time. - Rock Climbing Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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We had a great time learning how to climb safely. My boys are 12 and 14 so we chose to do a group setting with four others. Matt was extremely patient with these younger children and also helped my boys at their level. We appreciated his ability to instruct to each age, patience, support when needed and praises when they hit their goals. Tons of positive things to say about him as an instructor and this company! We will be back for one on one lessons to help them advance their climbing. THANK YOU MATT! read more

Sylvan Rocks Climbing School & Guide Service - Rock Climbing Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

Had a fantastic 2 day devils tower climbing experience with our family of 4. Our two guides, Doug and Zane were incredibly knowledgeable, supportive and made the experience exactly what we had hoped for. They allowed us flexibility to have different experiences and were successful in getting my husband and son to the summit of devils tower and my daughter and I to become more experienced crack climbers without feeling like we missed out by not summiting. Would highly recommend this climbing company and grateful to have found them!! read more

Amazing two days of climbing with Chris and Cheyenne, in the Spires in Custer (highly recommend!) and then up Devil's Tower. We felt like we were in great hands - flexible and great expertise. Thanks, Sylvan team! read more

We can't say enough good about this company. Bears and Ryan were incredible, this was our favorite part of our trip. read more

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Truly a fantastic experience climbing in Custer State Park near Sylvan Lake. Communication was timely and professional, attention to safety was top-notch, the guides were easygoing and encouraging, the gear was top-notch (we used their climbing shoes and helmets), and the location was beautiful. The park has anchors drilled into the rock already, so everything was top-roped with maximum safety. I'm a bit sorry we didn't go longer. One small criticism: they could have asked a bit more about our climbing skills before they chose a location, but it was still relatively challenging for all of us (two adults age 50 and 52, two young adults ages 18 and 21). Highly recommend! read more

I reached out to Sylvan Rocks about attempting an ascent of Devil's Tower - and they were amazing! I fully recommend them to anyone interested in the Tower, in climbing at Custer State Park, or climbing on Mt. Rushmore itself. My guide for the week was Doug, and I can't recommend him enough. I have significant experience as a climber, and Doug was both respectful of my experience, and informative about how and why he was doing everything. We had a great three days of climbing - two days of warm-up and prep, and then a full-day of climbing on Devil's Tower itself. I got a ton of climbing in, and had an amazing time! I absolutely hope to come back again soon! read more

Sylvan Rocks is an outstanding climbing school and guide servce! Their guides are certified and highly knowledgeable. The experience was great from our initial phone call, to the email communications, and right through our 2 days of climbing. Our guide, Doug, was fantastic!!! He put a lot of emphasis on safety, but kept it fun. We are primarily gym climbers, but like to climb outdoors, with a guide, when we vacation. Our goal was to summit Devils Tower. We chose the 2 day adventure. The first day we learned some new skills and had some fun climbs and rappels. At the end of the day, Doug went over how we did and we discussed the Devils Tower climb. Doug told us his assessment was that we were ready to attempt it He also let us know that, if we decided not to try it, there were plenty of other climbs in the area that we could do instead. In the end, we went for the Tower climb. It was an Epic Day!! This was due, in large part, to Doug. He was professional and encouraging and we felt safe and well cared for the whole time! We cannot say enough about the great folks at Sylvan Rock Climbing! Highly recommend this company!!! read more

My 8 year old daughter and I are both basically first-time climbers. We took a 4-hour climbing lesson with Sylvan Rocks Climbing School while visiting the Black Hills and had a great experience. The total group was about 8 people with quite varying levels of experience and skill, and two guides. The guides were very friendly, competent, and safety-conscious. I especially appreciated their encouragement when I got nervous--a few times I said something like "OK, I'm ready to come down now" and they gently encouraged me to take a break and keep going. I did not feel pressured and knew I could have bailed out if I had decided to, but their encouragement was enough to make me keep going, and I was glad when I made it to the top. Highly recommend this company! read more

We had a fantastic experience climbing with Brandon from Sylvan Rocks. His expertise in safety while having fun gave us the thrill of a lifetime! read more

I had the best experience climbing with Sylvan Rocks Climbing school. Daryl is extremely friendly and helpful when I was deciding which class to choose. And my guide-Taylor is awesome!! He is really experienced and you can trust him 100% for belaying and guiding you climbing! Def ask for Taylor if you are coming to SD to climb with Sylvan Rocks Climbing School! read more

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Great experience and great guide. He made sure my son was comfortable with everything we did and got us up our first multipitch route.

Absolutely amazing!!! We spent the day climbing as a family. There were climbers of different skills and Brandon and Chris made sure we all were challenged without getting overwhelmed!! I highly recommend a day of climbing in the Black Hills with Sylvan Rocks!!!!! read more

We had a very educated guide who made the trip fun and interesting. When we spoke on the phone we were recommended to their discover climbing course which was probably not a great idea as we had both been climbing for a while. The routes were all slab and very easy, too easy. It was however the only available spot they had open and they were able to get us in last minute so I appreciate that. However in the future I'll know to not humble my abilities so much. Also the area we climbed in was one of the lesser scenic areas of the park. So if they were going to have short easy climbs it would have been nice to at least have some great scenery around. Maybe something to work on in future planning. Also have to add that you will need a Custer State Park pass which was $20. I didn't know nor was told that until the morning I went to get in. Not a big deal if you're staying in the area as Custer Park is beautiful and it's a week pass. However we were passing through and only going to be there for the day which made it a bit ridiculous. read more

Did the six-hour package with my two adult sons last summer and had a great time. Our guide, Chris, was patient, knowledgeable and accommodating. Very fun memory. read more

We had a great day climbing with Sylvan Rocks Climbing School. Our group of 6 was paired with guides Shankar and Zane, who were funny and friendly and helped us pick routes appropriate for everyone's abilities. Many in our group had never climbed outside the climbing gym and despite differences in skill the guides helped us all challenge ourselves and summit together. I only regret that we were not able to get more routes in, but it was a fun first outing nonetheless. Brandon, the owner, was also very friendly and extremely helpful during the booking process and patiently answered my questions and provided valuable suggestions for our climbs. read more

Very grateful for Amazing guide (Cheyenne) that helped us feel comfortable and confident even with zero climbing experience. Absolutely coming back next year and will use Sylvan Rocks again. This team is great ! read more

Our group signed up for the 6-hour guided session with 4 people participating ages 19-13. Taylor was our guide and did a great job with our group. He was very professional and personable and helped our group reach their goals. We live in Custer and would recommend this to anyone wanting to climb in the hills! Thank you!!! read more

My son and I had been climbing indoors for nearly a year and were looking to climb real rock. We'd heard about Sylvan Rocks on earlier visits to the Black Hills and signed up with them for two 6-hour guided sessions. The first day we climbed a few single-pitch routes and one multi-pitch and learned a lot about protection and safe climbing practices during the process. The second day we climbed several, longer, single pitches. The climbs were challenging but still perfectly matched to our ability levels. These were two of the most fun father-son days we've ever had, memories to last a lifetime. Our guides Chris and Taylor were awesome, very personable and professional. Sylvan Rocks is a top notch outfit and we will certainly be joining them again next year for more outdoor adventure! read more

We had a great 6+ hour experience with Daryl and Shankar and our family of 6! We highly recommend it for any families considering it. It was a great 1st experience into climbing. Thanks! read more

We had a great time with these guys, thanks so much for a GREAT activity in the Black Hills. The whole family had a blast, we can't wait to come back. Thanks!!!!! read more

We had a great time!! Our guide, Chase, was fantastic and very easy to learn from. It was the perfect set-up for a beginner like me. I had never climbed indoor or out and was very nervous. I climbed all 6 routes and had a blast! I would definitely recommend this to anyone!! read more

I spent a day, one on one, with a Sylvan Rocks guide. It was magical. The guides are professionals, trained by the American Mountain Guide Association, AMGA. So your day will be as safe as practical. The area has beautiful fins of rock with huge feldspar crystals, which make great foot and hand holds too. Unlike most climbing areas, this one has easy routes of high quality. (There are also plenty of hard routes of hard quality.) I will return soon to do one of the spires. read more