Overall: Helpful staff from what I've experienced and a good variety of climbs. It's a meh on the facility. Vibe: Chill for the most part. A lot of serious climbers with a sprinkle of novices the times I've been. Space: Grungy. The air circulation in there is either very poor and/or the mats and place doesn't get deep cleaned enough. It smells like feet moreso than other gyms I've been to. The place is compact for the amount of climbs it has. Climbs: Nice variety of climbs that are fun and challenging. I like the natural wall in the back. Holds could be cleaner (i.e. some holds are so dirty you might mistake it for another color, feels extra greasy). The climbing tape markings are not well maintained (i.e. missing start tape so you're not sure what's considered the intended start). read more

I was visiting from out of town and my family and I wanted to do some climbing. We climb multiple times a week at home and have been climbing for 4+ years now. I think this gym is highly underrated. It is mostly a bouldering gym and features a more compy style as well as tough out door feely boulders. The gym features crack climbing as well. The lead wall was temporarily shut down, but was used as another bouldering/crack climbing wall. The setting is 9/10 easily. I would definitely recommend this gym to anyone who is interested or new to climbing. The staff was friendly, helpful, and interacted with us! Overall I'd say the gym was 9.5/10. Only reason it isn't 10/10 is that the gym was pretty warm. I'm there than that, one of the best gyms I've been to! read more

The Spot Bouldering Gym - Bouldering Wall - Climbing Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

See all

The Spot is great. The location in Boulder is the original, i.e. oldest, location and it shows but it's still great. Unlike BRC, The Spot Boulder is bouldering-specific. Other Spot locations have rope climbing and auto-belays but this location does not. There's a gym area upstairs which is a little dingy but it has a rack, weights and overall super solid. Compared to BRC I found the crowd steered younger. Whether that's a positive or negative depends on the vibe you want. No complaints. I've had a membership for over a year and plan on continuing to have one. read more

My girlfriend was very interested in bouldering, so I booked her the Intro to Bouldering class. She was pumped! Showed up for the class 15 minutes early, eager to get started. 15 minutes go by, time to start! Only, no instructor. "That's okay, must just be running late." Talked to some staff members who said they would message the instructor. Wait another 30 minutes. Nothing. Never shows up, never responds to the message. The staff member then remarked "Oh, this happens more often than we'd like to admit..." Well, that's lovely. We were going to apply for the annual membership, but we walked away with a refund and will not be returning. read more

Trying to cancel my account via their website was met with absolutely no response. I ended up losing my wallet and debit card, and had to cancel my card. Throughout this time, I was receiving numerous emails from The Spot telling me my account was going to be closed and charged extra for having a pending charge. I eventually got a new debit card, and did not know that Visa processed the monthly recurring payments again on a new card. I recently just checked my bank account and that for the past 2 months I have been unknowingly paying for a membership at this gym, and they did not mention anything to me at all. This place does not deserve your money. A friend of mine also had a bad experience trying to close his monthly recurring payment just before me and it should have been a sign that they are not helpful in this regard. read more

Became a member (great discount for teachers) and took a free bouldering class that comes with it. Everyone there is gracious and kind and the class was a great experience - I'm not an experienced climber by any means, but it's such a good workout, and it's a way of challenging myself that works for me. I like the membership just because you can go in for 20 minutes if you feel like it and not feel like you have to spend your whole day there. I go on my own, and always have a quick, friendly conversation with someone or other there. Bonus that you can grab a cheap beer when you're done climbing! It's a great place, and I look forward to going regularly. read more

Out of all the climbing gyms in boulder the spot is by far the one I'd recommend most. The community is great, the music is fun, amazing route setting, and overall just a great spot. If you haven't checked this place out I 100% recommend it. Everyone is super friendly and the community is super open. It's very easy to meet other climbers and just other genuinely cool people. 10/10 read more

As others have mentioned the ratings here are non-standard, with a 5 dot system. I'm pretty much a trad climber and maybe boulder V2 in the Bishop Tablelands but I was able to finish a couple 4 dot problems and a bunch of 3+/4- ones. To me that seems a bit soft given that I suck at bouldering. I didn't try and 5 dot ones so I can't judge the upper range. Otherwise the walls are well designed, with painstakingly sculpted features to supplement the usual bolt-on holds. The holds are the most diverse I've seen at any gym. The staff is friendly and it didn't seem overly crowded at 8pm on a wintery Friday (not a student discount night mind you). read more

See all

Kind of disappointing...day rates are now $25. As a Boulder climber who's outside most of the year I love supporting local places if my belay partner is out of town. All about that for a $10-12 session but $25 is too much....I'll just pull the crash pad out. read more

I tried this gym visiting from out of town and had a great session. Friendly and informative from desk service. $10 Friday entry and 10pm $2.50 beer! Diverse walls with various top outs, great setting and excellent flooring. My only complaint was the "dot system" grading they use. 1-5 dots to rate difficulty. My criticism is that there was a huge jump from 4 dots to 5-. I onsighted all the 4 dots easily and got shut down hard on every 5 I tried. The 4s felt like v4 and the 5-'s I tried felt like v7 and up. 5 dots seemed to include a much too large grade range. While I understand the concept of "putting a grade on it holds people back" I'd rather have a better rating scale that includes 6 or seven dots so I can find the climbs that match my level. Otherwise, fantastic gym! Check it out! read more

The Spot has great setting going for it. The are always enough problems set to keep you busy projecting for hours and never get bored or run out of new problems to try. I'm also a fan of the rating system. The customer service isn't stellar, though. I've climbed here many times and am not a beginner climber by any means -- in other words, I'm not exactly a high maintenance customer when I come in. And yet, the people at the front desk have an attitude of superiority and are boring and unwelcoming. They are way more friendly with members they recognize, which proves that they're capable of smiling and putting energy into their job. I work at a rock gym, and it's really not that hard to pretend to be a people person for the couple minutes you interact with someone. read more

The Spot Bouldering Gym is exactly that, a bouldering gym. They offer a wide variety of problems to send. There is a slab wall, plenty of overhanging areas, two freestanding boulders that you can top out on and a tall wall with awesome padding under it. The setters do an awesome job of making problems for all ability levels. If you are new to bouldering, don't get frustrated. Try many different problems because not all problems (that are graded the same) are created equal. You may find 3 dot problems you just can't do and others that are 3 dot that seem easy. They set on a 5 dot system. According to their setting blog the difficulty ratings are as follows... 1-/1/1+ = VB/V0 2-/2 = V0, V0+ 2+/3- = V1 3 = V2 3+ = V3 4- = V4 4 = V5 4+ = V6 5- + V7 5 = V8 5+ = V9-V12 5++ = V13-V16. They do have a small (and short) top rope wall in the back with a few routes on it. Customer service at the front desk can be hit or miss. read more

I love this place. I have been a regular since they opened a few years ago and there have always been great problems and a friendly staff. The Spot's saved me from losing my mind on a regular basis as I go there on my lunch break. It's also a kick to climb in close proximity to some of the country's best climbers on a regular basis. read more

Good routes even for beginners or those who haven't climbed in a while. They are pretty expensive if you are a university student the CU climbing gym is a better deal unless you are a super serious climber. Overall I had a good experience but bring a friend. I was there for an hour and only talked to 1 person briefly so not the most open community of people but it could have been they day I was there on Christmas eve read more

The Spot Bouldering Gym - Climbing Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

Once you come here, you are spoiled stupid and ruined for life. I used to climb here a few times a week for about a year before moving to the Midwest. After the move, I spent 7 years in bouldering gym purgatory. I tried gyms all over and outside of the country when traveling (even one in Seoul, Korea) - though there were some decent top rope gyms, nothing... NOTHING comes close to the Spot. Sure, the layout is appealing - lots of space, lots of different kinds of walls, great lighting, good flooring... But what really, really sets this place apart are the ways the problems are set. Being a short stubby thing of a human, and having most of my power in my legs, I really appreciate that not every problem is set for a 6 foot tall dude who just stretches and campuses through everything with no strategy or skill or grace. So many problems have a great combination of holds (so you don't wreck your hand tendons on a problem with a dozen tiny little shards that really should be foot holds). Many require really lovely triangulation and foot switches and swinging and fun things. Most problems are just as difficult for someone who is 4'11" as someone who is 6'3". I f*cking love this. 9 times out of 10 the staff is super friendly. They even have a bar now?! With microbrews on tap. Crazy. They have some healthful energy snacks and beverages for sale as well - and sometimes small businesses will set up sample tables of juices and granolas and what not. The music can be god awful or it can be pretty great - all depends on who is working. Consider bringing in headphones if you're sensitive to that sort of thing. Student discounts. Full locker rooms. They offer classes. They have a single top rope wall. Slack line for balancing. Fellow climbers range from near-pros to first-timers, from bros to rockers, from 10 year-olds to 50-somethings. Sure it's a little pricey (and the prices keep going up and up every year), but there's really no equal. read more

I use to live in Fort Collins but had a membership here, that's how awesome this place is! The setters are great and there's a lot of variety. There's not a lot of Top Roping, but it's a Bouldering Gym. This places is especially great for beginners because there are plenty of easier routes that won't even bore the pros. Plus everyone is really nice and helpful and is more than willing to give you pointers and tips. And don't even worry about not coming with a partner to stop you, (while you shouldn't climb past your comfort level) if someone notices you getting a little shaky they are right there to guide you. There's a lot more difficult problems are well that require a lot of strength and even more technique. There's a lot of champ climbers that hang out around this place. There's also a slackline rigged up, if you are interested in that. All the equipment is up to date, and the staff rocks. They also offer a lot of instructional classes which includes a month long membership. read more

Good bouldering gym with plenty of variety in route difficulty and climbing style. It was fairly crowded when we were there, but that didn't stop us from getting plenty of bouldering done. Landing pads offer plenty of cushion, even dropping from the top of the higher routes. read more

I've been checking out a bunch of climbing gyms in the greater Denver area and decided to give The Spot a try. PROS: welcoming front desk staff, awesome music, climbing treadmill, lots of training equipment, pretty spacious, some cool rock "volumes" that felt like real rock CONS: lots of bros with their shirts off, difficult parking, chalky/dusty/grimy mats, and - by far the worst - really bad route marking. Basically, holds are marked with colored tape, but when you're climbing up a tough or overhung route you can't see which footholds you're allowed to use, so it makes for a pretty frustrating and confusing climb. It's tough to even visualize the route before you start, much leas while climbing; if you're color blind it's basically impossible. Some routes seemed to lead to nowhere with no finish in sight. The gym is spacious enough that they could do fewer routes that are more spaced out and marked according to color of hold. Also, on certain boulders, the downclimb area was super poorly marked and pretty confusing to navigate. This gym has huge potential but needs to be more user-friendly. read more

I really want to give them 4 stars, but the flooring is terrible. I know they plan on changing it this summer, but it would be nice if they had more crash pads in the meantime...or all the time, as there are a few but they are really worn down. my star rating would go up with additional crash pads! I do give the setting 5 stars but am not inclined to push myself in certain areas for fear of shitty flooring. Otherwise, great gym! read more

This is the best bouldering gym I've ever been to. The routes are fantastically planed out, really challenge your mind, and offer a huge variety of techniques to complete. This place is incredibly good for newbies and pros alike. Everyone I've met there is friendly and the music they play really pumps you for climbing. The actual gym aside, I've had quite a bit of trouble dealing with putting my account on hold. The first time I wanted to put my account on hold I was told that I needed to let them know 5 days before the end of the month or else I would get billed anyways. I think this kind of sucks because this isn't written anywhere on their site or any receipts they give you. So you're kind of screwed the first time you try and put your account on hold. Recently, I decided I wanted to either put my account on hold or cancel my account because I wanted to switch to a top-rope gym. I called and they told me about a duel membership they had with BRC, so I said I actually would think about that. The person on the phone told me that as long as I called in before 9am on the 1st of the month, they could cancel my account, put it on hold, or sign me up for a duel membership. But after 9am and billing would have already gone through. So I thought about it for a day or two and then called to cancel my account. They gave me the "5 days before the end of the month" talk again. Would give them 5 stars as a gym if not for this financial stupidness. read more

This gym used to be awesome but in the last 6 months I have seen it go downhill. They are at least 30 minutes late opening every Sunday and the couple of times I have gone at opening during the week they were late opening as well. The upkeep of the facility has also deteriorated. The gym seems dirtier than normal and all the floor mats are coming apart at the seams. I hope the management gets it together soon as this was a great place to climb. read more

This is a great place to climb. I've seen excellent climbers struggling with some of the problems and beginning climbers noticeably progressing. There is so much variety that any climber of any ability will find good problems to work on. Sometimes climbing certain routes requires additional safety mat placement. When it gets crowded, you have the work around other peoples mats. Also, there seem to be a lot of kids under 13 running around on certain days. All in all, this is a great place to Boulder, especially for beginners because of the variety of easier routes. Lastly, they use a dot system and not the V system. Problems go from 1- to 5+ read more

Overall, the Spot is a wonderful Bouldering Gym. It's by far my favourite one so far and the routes are always interesting. Pros: - Great Routes with plenty of variety in difficulty and location - Though unique, the 5-Dot system is extremely consistent - Wonderful staff and support - Most people who climb here are very friendly - Dual membership with BRC - Snacks, drinks, and chalk - Trivia Night every Thursday - Plenty of great work shops - Climbing trade days Cons: - Parking - Cleanliness is sub-par, especially when compared to others - Route colour-taping can be confusing, especially for the colourblind - Weights and bars are horrid. Both bars bend and the set up is rather dingy and beat up. If you are looking for a good place to Boulder, the Spot is the place to go. read more

This is the best bouldering gym I have ever been to. Friendly informative staff, massive selection of routes and features it will be hard to get bored here. I also personally like their problem rating system, I found many different styles of routes to be in my range which was more fun than the typical V system. Seriously considering a membership. read more

Amazing routes, people, and overall vibe. First time I went they were blasting lo-fi hip-hop and jazz, couldn't have been impressed with the music selection. There's a mini bar with beers on draft, as well as tons of perks for being a member. Highly recommended. I've found my new hobby for the next few years. read more

This gym was amazing! It has such a great range in difficulty and size. There were 2 year olds to 60 year olds. Super short people and huge people. They have hundreds of problems for everybody. read more

I only give two stars because of your facility, otherwise you'd get one. Just because you have a good facility does not mean you should treat paying patrons like crap. Your front desk service leaves much to be desired and with service like that, it's amazing people have put up with it for so long. read more

The Spot is the best climbing gym and community in Boulder. Unlike some other climbing places I have been to which give off an elitist or unwelcoming vibe, The Spot is very friendly, open minded, and welcoming to all. The Spot also collaborates with tons of other great businesses to put on amazing events and provide a great experience at their gym. read more

I used to rock climb indoors in California, but this place beats any rock climbing gym I've been to so far! Came here for the first time tonight and didn't want to leave - the staff was super friendly and they try to get to know you, which is always a plus. The gym itself has some great walls, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a slack line inside as well. Also everyone is great about taking turns here (there are some huge wall hogs in CA). I'm a beginner and I found a ton of climbing options in my range. Will be back here for sure! read more

Feels a little cramped but good for focusing on bouldering. Sometimes does not have a lot of beginner routes.

Amazing bouldering facility with friendly and knowledgable staff!

I have been a member here for a long time but there are a number of problems with this gym. They recently installed new floors to replace the dangerously worn out ones that had lingered for far too long. I got a call recently saying they would be raising my monthly rate because of the new flooring expense. I understand raising prices to stay on par with other gyms but I didn't know safe flooring was something I had to pay extra for. It's like saying we replaced the ropes that were breaking and now you have to pay more for the perk of having a safe facility. Isn't this just an expected cost of staying in business and not something extra? The climbing is good here but the non-climbing aspects are not great. They renovated the locker rooms a few years ago and actually ended up making the men's changing area smaller. The changing area is about the size of a closet and it is uncomfortable changing if there is even one other person around. The weight equipment upstairs looks like it was put together by buying random stuff on craigslist. It's fine, just not what you would expect for a place selling itself as a world class facility. On the positive side, the setting, holds, and walls are excellent. Also the front staff has become much more friendly and helpful recently. (It used to be snobby, unhelpful and unfriendly). I may keep my membership here and grudging pay the increased rate, if only because I prefer to boulder. If you don't exclusively boulder I would suggest the BRC or Movement. read more

Great gym. Super fun problems and great variety of features. Friendly staff, friendly climbers.

I love this place! It's definitely not a "pretty" kind of gym (you know with huge changing rooms and immaculate floors). It's got an amazing group of route setters who understand how to create not just beginner and impossible routes. There is a huge spectrum of late beginner, early intermediate, intermediate, etc. types of problems, which is really hard to find at most climbing gyms. The routes are changed frequently and the place is a blast to go to. I have had a membership for the past year and a half and don't plan on quitting anytime soon. read more

I happened to be visiting Boulder on a rare day of constant rain, and I'm glad I had such an awesome gym to hang out in. Good problems, awesome walls and friendly staff. read more

Dirty Raw and Amazing, if you want to get strong this is the place to be.

Great place to train. Clean environment and challenging enough to challenge anyone. Also great for rainy days or winter weather to stay in shape. I recommend this place to all my local clients. read more

The Spot is my favorite climbing in all of the Denver/ Boulder area. I will always be a Paradise loyal, but the Spot comes in a close second. The problems are sweet and varied. They're not just one style- static or dynamic. I think, however, that four spot ratings on the Hueco boulder are tougher, for example, than four spot ratings on the Fountain Bleu boulder. The new addition, the Dojo has really good, hard, pumpy problems. read more

This place is amazing. The routes are diverse and fun, and the rating system made me feel good about myself even though I'm not a great climber! I was apprehensive about coming here because a couple other reviews say that the staff is snobbish and unfriendly, but the people I encountered were nice and helpful. I felt welcome, in my element, and I went to bed that night dreaming of the routes I'd been working on earlier in the day. read more

This is officially the best 'bouldering gym that I've found in Colorado. Rock'N Jam just flat out sucks compared to the options at this gym. They set routes often, and they're always setting something creative and different. I just wish I lived closer, so that I could hang out here all the time. read more