Went for my granddaughter's birthday party invitation. Didn't have to climb myself but just the setting of the place made me excited and I can't imagine how my granddaughter's feelings were when she went up there. Ambience was inviting and energetic with colorful walls and ropes hanging from the ceiling saying "come on let's see what you got!". Staff warm and friendly. Good service overall. Place have merchandise for sale like shoes, socks, sorts gears but no food or drink. read more

See all

I had a blast rock climbing with a friend and the hubby. The last time I remember rock climbing was when I was a kid. We did the 1 hour private staff belay which is a good option if you haven't done it before. The prices are reasonable. It includes shoes and a harness. Our instructor Ben was very nice and gave us some techniques when we tried the different courses. It was busy with Birthday parties and others but it didn't feel too crowded. This was a great rainy day activity and workout. I was sore the next day but it was worth it. We did a good amount of courses and we had time to go back to a couple of them. I found Gravity Vault through work and I'm glad I did! I'll be back again! read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

The lesson was so fun, great service, and it was super beginner friendly! Highly recommend. read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Staff teaching us strategies. - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

We took a couple of 3rd graders for an introductory hour with a belay, and they had a blast! That gym is extensive with so many climbing options for all different levels, and the staff were super friendly. We will return! read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

The experience was super fun! I am a 12 year old and this was my first time coming to gravity vault. The staff were really helpful because I lost my bag and they found it immediately after I called them about it. It overall felt safe and would recommend. read more

We had such a great experience at The Gravity Vault in San Rafael! My daughter really wanted to go climbing, but they were sold out for the day. Luckily, Aiden went above and beyond to make a last-minute accommodation and got her a spot for the last hour. She had an amazing time -- Aiden was patient, encouraging, and made the whole session fun. The facility itself is beautiful -- super clean, well organized, and everyone we interacted with was incredibly friendly. We'll definitely be coming back. Huge thanks again to Aiden and the team! read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

See all

This is a great climbing gym for newbies (like myself) and I have a few friends that are legit boulder people, and they love Gravity Vault as well. The staff is super patient, kind, and knowledgeable. read more

The Gravity Vault is my new home away from home. Super nice and professional staff, clean facility, and great programs for kids and adults. They have yoga, climbing teams for the young people, climbing technique classes, and more. We took our belaying class from Tucker and I can't rave about him enough. We learned the skills necessary to tie the appropriate knots and belay another person. Tucker made learning the fundamentals of climbing fun and easy. The Gravity Vault is more than a gym, it is a community and I am so happy to have it in Marin. I love seeing it packed every day with kids and adults climbing, bouldering, working out in the gym, and doing yoga instead of being buried in their phones. The Gravity Vault is one of the best things to happen to Marin. read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

See all

We celebrated our 10-year-old kid's birthday there yesterday. We were all beyond pleased with the whole experience. This is a newer place, and it is so clean and spacious. The staff was incredibly nice and patient. They provide a very comprehensive party package which includes paper plates, (no utensils for the cake, bring your own), napkins, tablecloth, drinks, even balloons!! And a happy birthday banner. The room size is comfortable and comprise a large fridge, and a sink. This is the only place I could find in the whole Bay area which hosts birthday parties. It is safe, as the fun is roped. All the boys had an amazing time! And our child already stated that he wanted to go back. Some constructive criticism: The climbing part was 1h30 which was too long for most of the kids who were exhausted. I think it would be better to have a 1h for the climb, 45 minutes for the party (vs. 30), and the team gets 15 minutes to clean. The quality of the pizza brought was bad. It was so thin and tasted like carboard. But it was warm and delivered on time. There must be better options out there. I think the final payment should be charged before the party day, so that it is not being brought up in front of guests. This is all minor, I completely recommend that place! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

See all

This is my personal favorite climbing gym in the bay this is also my gym really nice activity's such as teams

This is my local gym and I love that we have one here in Marin County! Yes it's not the ultimate in climbing gyms but it's a great family and training environment. I can drop in on my way home from work, climb well set routes, have an experienced yoga teacher (love Janet). About 5 auto-belay routes, only some of which I can usually climb. Can get a bit crowded especially when birthday parties are going strong on weekends but it's always fun to listen to the camp counselors and guys/gals running the parties as they talk with the young kids about climbing and encourage them to try new things. Plenty of routes on walls about 40+'. Pricey ($29 for a day pass late 2022) when compared to other gyms in the east bay and further north. Seniors are now starting at 70yo. Many who come here are novice climbers so etiquette can get a bit wonky but it'll keep improving. Snacks need up-leveling as all are highly sugared, yoga room is like a small classroom and workout area is small but there aren't many using it. A bit annoying to have to re-sign my waiver every time I come in. Many EV charging stations outside. Not the ultimate place but I enjoy being here - my second year just began! read more

Gravity Vault Marin is one of the best indoor family-friendly places in Marin. Overall, I'm very grateful this exists and is so accessible. There are lots of varied climbs for all abilities - top rope, lead climbing, and bouldering. They change the challenging climbs around quite a bit, and they also have some consistent easier climbs available on the "party wall." The staff is awesome! Zach and Brynn really make us feel super duper welcome whenever we come in. They are also super warm and helpful with my kiddo. So patient, too, given the number of birthday parties and youth classes there every weekend / most days. Jordan and Bodhi have given really specific and helping climbing guidance. There are plenty of snacks available for purchase if you work up an appetite. Even if you aren't climbing, there's yoga, cardio equipment, and weights and TRX available. There are plenty of cubbies to keep your stuff, and a water bottle refilling station, too. There are plenty of climbing classes for beginners through advanced, kid to adult, and some that are affinity-based. That said, if you take a youth climbing "class," the level of teaching varies widely by instructor and group. I like that equipment rentals are included in the class price. I don't like that the kids are grouped by age. My kid is an amazing climber who happens to be very young, and I just haven't found a great option for her. I'm hoping the manager takes the feedback I and others have provided so that these classes become a meaningful option for strong climbers who happen to be young. read more

Oh boy, where do I begin? I guess I'll start from least atrocious to worst offenses. The "Good" Pricing is decent, $31 for a day pass. Decent being the keyword. That's the highest I'll speak of Gravity Vault, as I had to really dig deep to even scrounge up that little nugget of Goodwill. The Bad They have EV charging stations, which work 1/5th of the time. Sometimes they have events where they allow free charging as an incentive to come, only for the stations to not work. When they do work, it's by far the slowest charge I've ever seen, barely gaining back a 10 mile charge after 3 hours of being plugged in. They have three showers in total, one in men's, women's, and a room in the center that I have noticed the staff cone off towards the end of the night. They have their gym staff cleaning instead of having a crew come in at night. The showers don't have a splash guard at the feet so it's hard not to get water all over, which is not only difficult to get used to, but also makes you feel a bit guilty for taking a shower. They do not provide towels, unlike any other gym I've been to, even though they clearly have a space that was at one point dedicated for towels. There is no sauna, and the gym equipment is very minimal and lackluster. When you check in, you have to sign a waiver EVERY SINGLE TIME, I've never had to at any other gym besides the initial waiver. I saw this on another post, didn't really bother me but was going to just confirm that I've seen this happen on a nightly basis: "Another note about their staff cleaning; two hours before close, they were vacuuming the mats while people were working on some boulder problems. Even if there was a chalk a spill, which there wasn't, leave it for after hours! I've never seen this at a gym before. The same night a guy was cleaning the stairs and was told to be careful going down because they were wet. Really?" The only slightly annoying part about that is the staff clearly wanted to leave as soon as possible, I've hung out outside past close and seen staff leaving maybe 10 minutes or less after doors closing. The cleaning is obviously done during hours so they don't have to stay later, so they push the inconvenience on you. The Ugly The route setting is mediocre. The brands of holds they use are the most standard you'll see in any gym. Where the climbs really take a downfall is on their grading system. Almost every single climb I've tried (and I've tried everything consistently up until 12B's and v6's, attending 3 to 6 times a week), has been classified the wrong grade. V0's here could be a V0, but they could also be a V3. V4's are usually V2's, with the rare occasion that it's a V5. I've lost count of how many times my friends and I, or even the staff here have said "There's no way this is a (insert grading rank here)." Very casual climber unfriendly, and very confusing for more consistent, intermediate, and experienced climbers all around. Next up, all of the most important information is updated on Instagram exclusively. Schedule, frequent time change, events, etc. If you don't have Instagram, or don't follow them, you're updated last, and that's a fact. There's also many unprofessional inconsistencies, for instance this summer (2024), the hours were posted in multiple places, each with different times on each notice (Instagram, website, posted on the doors, posted on the walls). They ultimately sent out a mass email, settling in opening even later and closing even earlier, stating it was due to demand. Eventually, they pushed the hours back to normal, likely after so many complaints. I've also taken the time to attempt to climb multiple times where they have closed early, or were not open due to private parties, or staff parties and such, with absolutely no notice. I took it up with management before and got maybe an "oops we're sorry" from the staff as compensation. Speaking of staff, the gym is run almost exclusively by teenagers. Which is exactly what you get when you think about how would a climbing gym be if it was run by teenagers. You have some staff who are excellent (Kai is a superstar), but most are young, inexperienced with customer service, unknowledgeable, and some instances just plain rude. There's been instances where we've been verbally harassed unprovoked. We've voiced our complaints about said staff members, with other staff agreeing and acknowledging their own disdain for some fellow employees, yet taking no action or bothering to escalate the issue to the proper management. In summary, there's a lot of firsts at Gravity Vault, and none in a good way. It's convenient to not go to the east bay or to the city to climb at the far superior gyms, as well as to avoid the toll. As for me, I'd HIGHLY recommend any of my friends to steer clear of this place by all means. Take the extra 5 minutes and $8 toll, and go to a much better facility. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE! read more

A big shoutout to Aidan and Sarah who helped with our daughter's bday. They had such great energy, and our 6yo and her friends (10 excited little 6-7yo girls) were so happy and comfortable with them. After climbing for an hour and a half, we had to go have cake and the girls ran over to give them big hugs, which was so sweet. Aidan and Sarah were also so helpful in setting up the bday room and cleaning up. The staff energy at these events is so important, and I just wanted to say, thank you Aidan and Sarah for being so positive and accomodating! read more

This place is amazing!! Staff is kind, friendly, and always greeting us when we walk through the doors. They keep the place as clean as possible, staff cleans and vacuums throughout the day. Can get busy during team practice hours, but there is always something to climb. They change the routes often enough so you get new routes in and new challenges. Join LCC if your a person who enjoys meeting new climbing friends. read more

I love Gravity Vault! It's clean, the staff is friendly and helpful. The auto belays are what attracted me to this gym in the 1st place. Positive vibes and good music in this gym always!! I started with a 10 visit pass and now I have a 3 month membership as I have another membership at another climbing gym in the city. I always feel good after I climb here. read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Fun routes!! - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

See all

Gravity Vault is a new gym with a clean and spacious interior plus good natural lighting during the day. That said, the route setting isn't very fun and the clientele is probably 70% children, which can make it a little awkward as an adult. Bouldering is especially awkward since it's usually 100% children and the evenings turn into a high school mixer. We live in San Rafael and were very excited for this gym, but unless we are low on time, we usually drive the extra 20 minutes to Pac Pipe or Movement to climb with the grown-ups. If we are low on time, we do come here but usually regret it. read more

As a longtime climber and local I was very excited for a climbing gym to open in Marin county but as others have mentioned the main problem here is that this is less of a gym and more of a full on kids day care / after school center. Don't get me wrong: I like kids and they love to climb and are inherently great at it, but it's simply out of control here, and I have climbed in gyms all over the country for almost 15 years. Parents should know: climbing gyms are dangerous, bouldering areas in particular. A few incidents finally got me to cancel my membership: 1) children running around in the weights area swinging kettle bells and playing on the machines, even passing right under me as I'm lifting weights! Worse, they were accompanied by a teenager who when I asked if she worked there replied in a smug way "yeah" and just walked away even though there are signs posted everywhere that say kids are not allowed in the weights area. 2) I have seen kids belaying unaccompanied here who cannot be much more than ~6 years old? That's extremely young for belaying even on a gri gri and was blowing my mind to see them not have a staff member immediately present. 3) Kids running all over the place in bouldering area, including underneath me. Note: I am basically a 185 lb. anvil teetering 15ft off the ground on fingertips and tiptoes when bouldering. It's not a pretty situation. It's no wonder the waiver needs to be signed each and every time you visit which I have never seen before. This place is so geared towards kids it's basically a Chuck e Cheeses but with some pretty high stakes. Of course it won't take long for Marin parents to discover all this and do what they do best, so I get the intense waivering, especially if the gym is not being carefully managed. It's a shame because honestly the music was generally good (stuff that climbers actually listen to as opposed to random pop!), the route setting is actually solid and stout for the grades, and most of all I liked the amount of auto-belays which allowed me to climb routes. Unfortunately the place just kind of rattles my nerves with all the chaotic energy of kids running around everywhere and it made me tense and worried. I thought it might just be during certain hours but there are *a lot* of kids enrolled and their teams will commandeer whole areas of the gym even during evening prime times. Again, I think it's fine to have a gym dedicated to kids but this feels sketchy and I think most adult climbers should be notified when joining that they are deeply in the minority here. It would work much better if there were posted hours for kids to take over areas but I was unable to ever predict it, it seemed constant and went later into the eve than I would have expected. read more

Great gym! I live near by and this gym is great for a quick climbing session. Staff is friendly and also the rope walls are huge. For my fellow boulderers out there, slightly less than half of the gym is bouldering (2 floors) which is great for a quick bouldering session. The routes are also good. Also this place hosts parties, so great for kids! It's also never to busy where you can't get on the wall Some negatives: -I personally wish there was more bouldering :( but that's just me -since this place tends to host kid parties on the weekends, there have been about 2 occasions (of my 10+ times going here) where kids would walk directly under me while I was on the wall, so I always felt like I had to be on my guard when on the wall, also makes me hesitant to do tougher climbs when it is busy -Price is a bit more than the closest gyms (Session, Touchstone gyms, etc). Other gyms provide some things that this gym doesn't and it's unfortunate the price is not the same/similar than other gyms. I'm sure there are other factors that justify the costs but that is stopping my from getting a membership here -no toilet seat covers! (The bathroom is quite clean however All and all a pretty good gym! I read more

I feel like this gym is just okay. The routes are pretty good and they change stuff up at a good enough rate so you can work on projects but still have variety. I've lived/climbed in three cities around the US and this is by far the one with the ickiest vibes. The climbers here lack basic climbing etiquette. Several times I've been working on a V0 or V1, and someone will just hop on a more advanced overlapping route as if they are more important because they are climbing a more difficult route. There are also a lot of sloppy teens who leave their cell phones/water bottles strewn all over the mats making it really dangerous both in terms of tripping, and potentially landing on it when you fall. Overall, it's great to have a climbing gym conveniently located in Marin, but the vibes just really aren't the greatest so I don't see myself renewing my punch card. read more

Climber beware: Terrible first-time experience for a parent getting a kid into climbing: expect delays, hassles and a very expensive venture. I walked into Gravity Vault with my very capable 4-year-old on a non-busy Friday afternoon. I filled out the waiver beforehand, and wanted to get them into a harness and on the auto-belay route ASAP, as they were very excited to climb. Was quickly informed that: kids under 5 can't climb at the gym, and I would need to pass a belay test just to use the auto-belay. I would have walked at that very moment save the hour drive to the closest gym, and the imminent meltdown and disappointment at having to load back into the car, defeated. So, I pushed through. After an hour of red-tape, and with the help of an understanding manager (2 stars instead of 0), I was able to get my kid climbing. Mid-way through a route, while my attention was focused on my child, the owner of the gym interrupted to tell me that my harness (that I was wearing but not using) was old and should be replaced - This is a harness I bought several years ago, new, used 3-4 times before an injury took me away from climbing. It was essentially new. Suffice to say, I won't be coming back, and to parents of young kids: look elsewhere. read more

I'm hesitant to write a review since it's a relatively new business but there are some issues that really ruin this place for me. To start off gravity vault is 1 part climbing gym and 4 parts day care center. Don't fool yourself if you think you are going to go and have a relaxing time cruising up the wall, the kids are lounging around everywhere. And I don't mean sitting on a bench I mean laying on the mat at the base of the wall in a group hanging out. I would ask them to move but I'd have to do it constantly and expecting the staff (many of which are also kids) to do anything would be expecting too much. There is a complete absence of climbing etiquette here. I try to commiserate since I was young once but yesterday when I got to the gym I was sitting on a bench getting ready and I felt something on my face, I look up and a child is standing clear across the gym on the top bouldering area shining a high powered green laser pointer in my face......it's like seriously....where are the parents? No where, because dropping the kids and leaving is the main focus of this place. I don't think that it's really the gyms fault and none of that is why I'm rating this place one star, I'm only going to let the facilities themselves weigh into that and at a climbing gym the most important thing to consider is the routes themselves. And that's really where this gym falls flat. The gym caters to absolute beginners and advanced climbers. The intermediate climber isn't going to find as much stuff to work on, especially in the areas with autobelays. Why the autobelays are only geared towards 5.10 and above is beyond me. You have 3-4 routes per autobelay, there should always be a beginner or intermediate climb mixed in with the harder stuff. Of the 8 autobelays there was a single 5.9 and below open on my last visit. And for the routes across the gym...did the founders not buy enough holds and variety of holds for the route setters? There really isn't an excuse to use the exact same hold 20 times up a wall. Add some variety of holds and hold sizes, make it dynamic and fun and volumetric. If you need inspiration go across the bay to Pacific Pipe, the route setting there is amazing. You can never get bored with the variety, at Gravity vault you get bored within an hour and want to escape the chaos. It's a bummer because I bought a membership and regret it, the convenience of being local is outweighed by the substandard route setting. And route setting is entirely in ownerships control hence 1 star. I'd offer the following recommendations: 1) Add variety in the route setting as well as offering way more skill level variation in the autobelay areas. The variation issues are also present in the bouldering areas so it's really the whole gym that needs a work over in this regard 2) Maybe offer late night 21+ age times where adults can go and climb without all the kiddies running around. 3) Get whatever liability lawyer you hired to take a chill pill. I signed the waiver already, why I have to sign it each and every time I enter the building is beyond me. 4) Add a paper towel dispenser in the bathroom, sometimes you need to dry off equipment and an air dryer sucks for that. read more

New-ish facility, clean and vibrant colors. We had our son's 9th birthday here and LOVED it! Staff was so friendly and eager to explain things and help. The staff who helped the birthday party were very attentive and wanted to make sure all the kids had fun and followed them around so they could experience all parts of the gym. Time spent climbing was 1.5 hours then the party room for 30 minutes. Perfect timing for that, kids were happy the whole time. Overall, kids and parents were so excited to have a fun, unique theme to a birthday party. Highly recommend and hope the facility stays so clean and friendly! ***P.S. To the other reviewers who are harsh on the COVID vaccination mandate: COVID is spread through touching surfaces and touching your face for point of entry: exactly what's happening during rock climbing. For a brand new facility to have a COVID outbreak would certainly ruin business. Also, as of October 8th Marin county states that soon the mask mandate may be lifted if a business can assure 100% vaccination. So that would mean no masking requirement for climbers. Hooray! read more

why I like this place: -not packed on weekends or weekdays -open and clean space with bright colors that make me happy -the people that work here are nice -competitive prices with other gyms, affordable -nice strength training corner set up with basic weights and benches The only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars is that I saw other Bay Area rock climbing gyms offer free friend passes if you have monthly membership but for this place you have to purchase an annual pass to bring a friend for free. I like climbing but I would hate to convince a friend to pay 30$ for something they may not enjoy /: Still really excited to come to this place and will recommend to anyone near the area to check it out :) read more

The Gravity Vault Marin - Rock Climbing Near Me - San Rafael, California

My kids enjoy climbing here. It can be busy depending on the time and their after school clubs are very popular. We prefer private climbing with a friend or during a day when it's not packed. Climbing opportunities are Great read more

I wanted to love this gym and was so thrilled to have climbing in Marin, but it functions as a play palace for children. Kids are often unsupervised and don't follow the climbing gym rules, making it very difficult to climb comfortably as an adult and rely on this place to function as an actual gym. read more

This place is amazing! I just brought my two kids and will be going back very often. Tons of options to rope climb and Boulder

My son and I have been climbing here recently and we love it. Great vibe, good music, lots of varied climbing, and a bunch of auto belays so we can both get some climbing in on longer routes rather than just bouldering together. read more

this place is awesome ! so much fun ! can't wait to be back . and the Vax card mandate is excellent ! i now feel way!! more comfortable coming w my kids than ever before . Best to keep the antivaxxers far far away from any indoor activities! 5 stars read more

Amazing brand new space! Wish it would have opened when I was living in San Rafael. It offers a lot of comparable rock climbing elements outside of rock climbing such as PG for example weight training cardio, and yoga. I would like to see the auto belays become accessible to less stronger climbers. E.g. I was unable to auto belay myself because the claims were too hard for me. read more

Amazing gym! I have been on the climbing team for two years now and I love it! The routes get changed about once a month so you have time to get a project. It is a really fun experience and has definitely impacted me. Their are really helpful staff and the head of the climbing team, Misha has definitely helped me improve my technique. Go team Gravity Vault! read more

This was my first visit to a climbing gym in years, and we were a group of four, three first time climbers including two small kids plus one climber with 50 + years of experience. I was really impressed by the expertise, kindness and consideration of the staff and the time they took to get us all sorted out, including gear for the kids and checking and swapping out my old, very well preserved climbing harness and assessing my knot tying abilities, etc. They introduced me to their autobelay system which is really awesome. Their attention to climbing safety was impressive. The facility was really airy and open with tons of routes and a very cheerful array of colorful holds. We hired one of their belayers and it really made a difference so we all had a lot of climbing time. We all agreed that it was a great time and that we will do this again soon!!! read more

Parents of children: BEWARE BEFORE JOINING THIS DANGEROUS CLIMBING GYM! My 12 year old son got injured and broke his front tooth very badly, and it will cost around $11,000 because he now needs a root canal and crown. Worst of all of this, his front tooth will never be the same as before. Their Rock climbing gym is very dangerous and they have heavy dumb bells in the middle of the gym floor that nobody picked up and because it was black on black, my son tripped on it while having fun with his friends and hit something that was metal and broke his front tooth. And guess what, the gym owner and insurance company said that is should SUE my Ukrainian friend for letting him and his friends run around in the gym whilst I was working. Meanwhile, they take absolutely no responsibilities for their lack of personnel training. No signs where their to notify people about the 14 year age minimum for the gym. You may take you're children there, but just understand that if something happens, you are on you're and that I WARNED YOU. Lousy location, worst place, in the middle of nowhere, and terrible employees. read more

I've been going here for a few months. It is an awesome gym, friendly people, great routes, solid price. Definitely a great addition to the area. Only issue is that it sometimes smells kind of weird (kind of like feet) so maybe they need to air it out a bit. Hopefully it is only temporary. read more