We go often as a family, I take my 9 yr old who does use her gym shoes. Great workout for her and we always supervise our kid. Love the variety of walls they have.. Mask are wore, as you know you can’t make people keep them on. Bottle of sanitizer and towel paper available to wipe equipment down. Definitely recommend it to anyone for a great family night out. Great workout, calm environment, and faculty is very clean.
Great location with reasonable pricing. The complaints surrounding add on items are unreasonable, considering this is a standard pricing model for climbing gyms. They paid for the shoes, the chalk, and the harnesses. A $5 rental is more than reasonable for any of these items if you dont want to spend the $70+ on them yourself. This gym is massive, if they dont charge for rentals the same cost will transfer to memberships and day passes.Other reviews address valid points... Some rules at this facility are not universally enforced, children are allowed in areas that are designated otherwise, and a lot of the staff stays at the front counter.I have not had a bad experience with any staff member. They are welcoming, respectful, and enthusiastic.
This rock climbing gym is the best! They have many programs and are very accommodating of nearly everyone. With a magnificent community, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll come back!
We had a GREAT TIME!! Clean, w/ Covid protocols. Good instructors. Sturdy equipment and challenging climbs.
Great facility that offers a lot of bouldering options at all levels. Staff is friendly and overall great place to climb
Not only was the staff friendly and helpful but so were all the other people there climbing. Its like a community. Took my 8 year old daughter. We knew nothing about climbing but were both able to climb within about 20 minutes thanks to the auto belays (sp). I usually try to give good and bad stuff so for the bad, Ill say it would really be great if they had a vending machine that took cards. And it was a little warm for my comfort. But overall, great place.
Very fun experience! I cant wait to go back.
Awesome climbing gym! Challenging myself on new walls never gets old!
VE Bloomington was the first ever climbing gym I went to, and I was so happy when I discovered I had my own VE in my backyard. I cant recommend this gym enough. Their instructional classes and route setting skills are top notch and keep me in shape for climbing outside.
Fun place to climb top rope, lead, or boulder. The staff is pretty friendly and chill. My regular climbing gym.
The girl at the front desk was not nice and I am now hearing my first time time there was supposed to be free. I paid full price. I would not recommend this gym.
GO JUST GO!! I cannot hype enough, this place is the bees knees for climbing in the Chicago land area and the amount of walls, absolutely supreme indoors climbing, great staff, amazing setters. Never had a complaint ever. JUST GO!
Brought a group of 20 Boy Scouts here for an outing. The staff was nothing short of stellar and the office kept a good line of communication before the event. The gym was clean and well cared for and the boys had an outstanding time. Definitely will be planning another trip in the future.
Usually fine, but recently got some kind of note on my file for helping a friend trying a top rope route with a trail rope to also practice clipping the quick draws for lead climbing. We stopped when they said to stop and thought nothing of it.Next time I went they said nothing to me but decided to wag their fingers about this incident at my friend, who is much smaller than me, telling her she has this note on her file. Ridiculous.
I took the whole family here a couple of months ago and can not wait until they reopen!!! We had such a great time and everyone working there was so helpful. I never thought I’d enjoy climbing indoors so much and what a workout!
I liked to see that VE was taking measures to keep the gym safe, but I still see people pulling off their masks both on and off the wall. We do hear the occasional reminder over the speakers to keep masks on properly over the mouth and nose, but it doesn’t seem to be enough.Unfortunately, it seems that there aren’t enough staff members to walk the area and make sure that people are following the rules that are meant to keep everyone safe. Today, little kids were running around the workout areas upstairs, playing on the treadmills, and jumping on the ellipticals while their parents were focused on their bouldering problem. I was worried that one of the little ones would fall off the speeding treadmill or get caught in the other machines. No one was wiping down the equipment after the kids were climbing over it, so I was a more concerned about preventable spread of germs than I was when I first walked in.
Great place to climb! The classes, the teachers explain everything well and are there if you need them. Ive never had any bad experiences here all the rope are in great shape and well maintained, ive been climbing here for a couple years now and highly recommend you check them out!
I love the features and setting in this gym.Almost all of my time is spent bouldering, and to have such a huge overhanging section is awesome for training and challenging yourself.The setters are killer here too; lots of super hard, burly climbing with big dynamic moves and a lot of athleticism and precision required.I usually climb at First Ascent in Chicago and its an absolute treat to get out here and spend the whole time trying hard on these problems.This place is awesome, wish I lived closer.
Very happy with the intro and belay class, enjoy this gym and the huge variety of routes. Great for beginners. 30 walls arent the tallest around but route variety is huge. You wont be bored for sure. Cant speak about bouldering - have only worked the walls. Pricing seems very reasonable.
This is a great place to learn to climb but it also provides a challenge for more experienced climbers!
No sneakers on the wall please
My details are of my nightmare when I got a phone call that my son was involved in a fall. My kid is tough so I wasnt to concern until I got to the hospital. I learned he climbed to the top of the 30 foot wall and when he went to repel down he free fell straight down to the ground. He could have been killed. Nobody checks your equipment and because you are force to sign a waiver you cant get any of your medical bills paid. Parents please dont take your kids to this place, its a death trap. As I said he wasnt hooked up properly and went straight down landing on his feet and falling on his back. Had he died or been paralyzed they would have said, sorry he signed a waver By the grace of God our son only suffered a bruised kidney and a sprained ankle. It took him about 7 weeks to feel normal. I gave them 1Star because 0 wasnt an option.
I love this place so much. It’s really fun and if u love climbing or rock climbing, I recommend this place to u! The service was really good. And I felt like if you needed help there was always help when u needed it.
I had no idea a place like this existed anywhere around here. I think I found my new hobby!
Went to surprise my 7y old for his bday. Read the first time climbers info and made a reservation for the kids. Upon arrival i found out I had to pay for myself to be in the building to watch the kids climb, and then we all had to rent their shoes.Because of covid. (Not at all clearly stated on their site) Thats a huge chunk of extra $ I hadnt planned to spend. Things were confusing as to where we wait and where the orientation was for first timers. We finally got on the wall and staff had approached us a few times about the kids masks slipping down past their nose. (These are not athletic masks) They are 7. They are climbing and being active kids and trying to have fun. I tried to keep reminding them gently to cover their noses, but they would come off on the wall, and when the got off the staff would come say something. After about and hour the kids asked if we could leave and go to a park. They seemed to be anxious about the masks and didnt seem to be enjoying themselves as much. This was not a crowded day by any means and we were social distanced from people the whole time.I myself was extremely frustrated but kept a good face for my kids big day and said nothing negative. This place was NOT a good fit for our family and I was so very frustrated and felt i was completely mislead about the services and pricing. I also felt like they were being nit-picky about the kids masks unnecessary and caused anxiety for them on what was supposedto be a fun special day. Just our experience, I wont return with my kids till their covid restrictions are removed in the future.
Fantastic place to go climbing! Highly recommend this place! I was amazed the first time walking through the door and taking a first look around, and then by the time I walked out the door I was already sold on becoming a member. The staff is very helpful and polite, and also offers group/private lessons for all ages. Cannot say enough good things about this place!
Great facility with excellent climbing available. Employees were frustrating to communicate with. As first time visitors of the gym, we wish the orientations happened more frequently. we waited half an hour for an orientation that took less than 5 minutes, and it seemed the orientation was not even happening any time soon until we went and spoke to some employees about it, even though a large group was waiting for the orientation.
Great, clean facility. Prices (entrance and gear rental) are on par with just about every other gym Ive been to in the country, but their monthly membership fees are definitely cheaper than most. Staff is approachable and helpful, cant really ask for more. My only real complaint is that they allow climbers to to climb in street shoes vs requiring climbing shoes. I understand, though, everyone needs to start somewhere and not requiring someone new to the sport to pay for shoe rental is really a service to those individuals.
Really well set gym! The boulder problems are super interesting and you can tell the setters put thought into each.
Good facility. The prices are fair enough, but not as good as First Ascent. Autobelay routes are fun, but the bouldering is somewhat hit or miss (granted, they hit more than miss, but I felt like the routes were more fun at First Ascents locations.)Gear shop is nice, and the discount on gear with a membership is pretty nice. This is my primary gym not because I prefer it, but merely because its the most convenient for me.
This place is AWESOME! Really great exercise and always a fun experience with friends. Can be a bit pricey in the aspect of a workout so I usually go here in the winter as an indoor workout option. Its hard to find great places to workout in the winter. Would recommend to anyone any time of year though.
Ive been back here a couple of times now and enjoy coming back once a month with a group of friends and co workers. Very laid back, good environment to get a great workout!I got a couple of my friends and co-workers hooked as well to come back with me on a regular base. I hope you guys keep the laid back vibe going as it is!
Good place to climb. Be careful to cancel your membership by 1st of month. I moved and forgot to cancel on time and was charged and denied a refund despite not using the facility:(
The place looks nice, however, they charge extra for everything else like harness, chalk, shoes (cant just wear your own tennis shoes, have to rent theirs), all in all, not worth it.
This is a great place to go for climbers of all ages and experience levels. Ive seen kids, families, college students, parents and grandparents here, all having a great time!At your first visit, you get a short orientation and can get any questions you have answered, and then youre free to climb! They rent shoes and harnesses, or you can bring your own gear. It is $18 for a day pass (if you bring your own shoes and harness), and if you decide you love it as much as I do, you can get a month pass for $65/month. :)This location has auto-belay devices for about a quarter to a third of its routes, meaning you can show up by yourself (or with a group that isnt belay certified) and still get a great climb in. If you want to belay a friend, you do need to take a belay test through this facility. I think it is free.There are so many routes here. The facility is the biggest Ive ever been to (to be fair, Ive been to only 3 or 4 rock gyms...). They offer belay climbing, auto belay climbing, and lead climbing (with certification tests for belaying and lead climbing). They also have 2 bouldering walls. In my opinion, much of the bouldering is too difficult for beginners, but there are several belay and auto-belay climbing routes that beginners could complete. Also, the routes are very clearly marked and color-coded.This gym always seems to have upcoming special events and classes. It seems like a great community to get involved in!I would totally recommend this place to anyone who likes to climb, or anyone who wants to try climbing for the first time in a beginner-friendly environment.
This is the largest Indoor Rock Climbing Gym Ive ever been to. Friendly, knowledgeable staff and great routes! The lighting and cleanliness of the place gets 5 stars too. Tons of space so itll never be crowded, lots of auto belays, and 3 different areas for bouldering. If you havent been here yet, do yourself a favor and check it out.
HUGE place with loads of auto-belays, massive bouldering walls, friendly atmosphere and some cool extras - slack line, weights area, climbing ropes, treadmills. Its decently priced for an entire day of free reign on the place! Definitely returning.
Our family has been climbing here regularly (at least once a week) for over a year. This is the largest indoor climbing facility in the US, and it has an excellent variety of climbing routes for all abilities and styles (top-rope, bouldering, and sport lead). The route setters do a decent job of clearing old and setting new routes, so if you climb regularly, you can usually find something new in your target difficulty.
I love this place. Its very big, with plenty of walls for varying skill levels. There are lots of auto-belay machines so you can climb by yourself or without a belay-certified friend, and treadmills/exercise-bikes in different locations so you can get a full workout if you choose. Prices are reasonable and competitive, though that doesnt mean theyre cheap. I bought a 10-visit package and climb here about once a month.
Great staff, awesome routes—its my favorite gym. A good place to go for those who have never climbed before and experienced climbers alike. Somewhat pricey day passes but they offer memberships and punch cards.
Great place to have a good time with friends. Rachel was warm and welcoming in showing us around. Could reduce the intro tour waiting times though or have the slots timed. Wil
Took the top rope course after 10 years of not climbing. Eric was a great instructor, went slow enough to help every skill level in the class get the hang of it, but kept it moving so we all had plenty of time to practice. Very reasonable at $30 bucks with all equipment included. Cant wait to go back!
Amazing gym. Wish it wasnt 45 minutes from me, but totally worth the drive. Would love one in Tinley or Orland Park!!
This was a good place to make new friends when I just moved to town. There are so many features to this gym, membership is cheap too. Its hard to find climbing gyms in the suburbs so Vertical Endeavors is a life saver
3 bouldering areas, huge walls and tons of top rope areas. All levels of climbers will find a challenge with a few cracks and many overhangs. Staff was friendly but busy, rentals are $5 an item. Only thing preventing a 5 star rating is the $18 a day charge. I was in from out of town and had 2 hours to spend and there is no half day or hourly rate😔.
Ive gone here a handful of times and its always great fun. I highly recommend taking the ropes course and getting certified so you can do all the belaying walls (maybe like 20% is auto belaying and the rest is the kind where you have to belay with another person.)
Very happy to be belay certified now. I like all of the variety at Vertical Endeavors. I enjoy coming here. I do wish that Vertical Endeavors kept a log of which walls they are going to reset next. Sometimes, you find a bouldering problem you really want to master and come in the next day or so and its been reset. No fault of VE, but it would be nice to know how long each wall remains up.
Great gym, lots of routes and friendly workers.
My experience here was awful. First of all, it is $18 for a day pass which is reasonable but for every item that you add on such as a chalk bag or a harness is another $5 so it can add up very fast. The walls are only 30 ft so you only have about 20 moves before your done and have to come down and get on another route. I also didn’t like any of the climbs very much. The routes were not planned out very well and the only way they made any of the climbs harder was to either move the holds farther apart or just take away feet. The only reason I didn’t rate it one star was because If you’re a beginner and don’t know any better, this might be a good starter place for you. However, if you are experienced at all, then I wouldn’t recommend this gym.
Been climbing here for several months now and the gym does a fantastic job of keeping the routes diverse and fresh. Plenty of top rope, lead, and bouldering options. Staff is super friendly and attentive. I just wish the workout/training area had some more equipment.edit: The training area has been re-vamped and now has a bunch of new equipment!
Overall: 4/5Pros:Awesome selection of climbs. Friendly, readily-available, and knowledgeable staff. Instruction classes are well run, and staff is well-trained.Cons:First-Aid: Dropped 1 star for the lack of ample first-aid supplies on site (strong negative); friend sliced his hand on a hold (his fault), band-aids were not in their first aid kit, only gauze. This is the second time this has happened to my climbing party where inept first-aid supplies were available at this site.Easy fix, and I am willing to re-evaluate this review with these improvements.
Fun, safe place for family.
Needs to be better staffed. Not equipped for large groups. Although there were a lot of staff behind desk not enough monitoring activities on the floor. This can be dangerous for new climbers
Good adorable place to spend few hours and burn kids energy down😄😄😄
Great place for all ages. Just visited for a birthday party. We all had a blast. Friendly staff and not very crowded.
If you try it once, youll fall in love with this sport!! Everyone there has always been really friendly, i dont know what it is, but every person I asked questions to when I first started, seemed to be the nicest person in the world. Dont be intimidated to try it!! There are tons of routes for beginners and tons of routes for intermediate, and then there are routes for really experienced climbers. You can always challenge yourself because the routes seem to get switched up just enough to where it stays new and fun, but there is enough time to try the route a week later if you dont get it the last time. Just stick with the routes you are comfortable with until you master them. Or at least i found it better for me not to go to my most challenging climb right off the bat and work my way up to it. Unless you want to feel that arm pump for the next 20 climbs. Its great for beginners and there are classes you take for your first time that teach you the basics and get you climbing. If you have questions, the employees seem extremely friendly and helpful. This sport seems to breed nice people though, and I have learned a lot by talking to people and watching others climb. This is a great place to go, regardless of your climbing abilities, and has things for everyone. I brought my son when he was 4 and I think they can go at age 3. Just go one time and if you dont love it, I would be shocked!!
Best indoor rock climbing Ive ever experienced.
Great facility but the employees are rude when they answer the phone and at the gym. It is very very expensive and the people that work here often treat you poorly. The owner should know how entitled the climbers in this flat state can get. They think its their facility and paying customers are mostly just getting in the way..Also their rental gear is really not that safe. I asked if the expensive rental harness is a decent harness to which the employee scoffed at me and said obviously not. its a rental. and then laughed at me. Well if im paying that much, it should be a safe decent harness.
Great indoor climbing place. Perfect for all ages and birthday parties. My son loved attending a party held there and now we are planning his 10th there.
Best Gym Ever! This is a great place to raise your climbing to the next level! The routes get updated often, so there are plenty of challenges to always look forwards to.
Coolest rock gym ever! A friendly environment where people of all levels can come and enjoy some great climbs. Hours of fun, definitely recommend!
Always a good visit. Avoid peak hours to have, essentially, the run of the place - but even when its busy, Ive always had several free auto-belay routes to choose from. If you have a partner to belay you, you *really* have options. Prices are awesome in comparison to the climbing gyms in the city, especially when they have sales.
Great climbing gym, and the free open house nights once a week are awesome. Only (tiny) gripe is the small number of walls for kids / low level beginners. The place is built for more serious climbers. Still fun regardless.
Great selection of climbs! Once youve gotten your top rope certification, it opens up a lot more options for climbing. The bouldering is quite challenging as well. I really like the auto-belays as an option when I just want to climb alone.Be prepared by bringing/renting the proper gear for tough climbing.Weekends are generally really busy, so plan ahead to come earlier in the day. On weekdays the facility is quite empty, so its much easier to go from climb to climb without a wait.***Update***This facility seems to be struggling, according to the route setters, the budget for route setting has been decreased and the routes are rotating even slower in some areas of the gym. This is very disappointing, but this gym has been going downhill with price hikes and dull climbing in 2018, I can see them going out of business soon in Chicagoland if they dont start focusing on this location or expanding. I highly prefer the First Ascent locations over Vertical Endeavors. They will be hurting for income come 2019 due to the new First Ascent facility in Arlington Heights that is opening, so I can see and almost gurantee them losing near half of their members to that gym!Sucks that I have to leave my hobby due to a company that doesnt have any interest in managing a satellite location better.
One of my favorite places!
I go here 3 days a week, love this gym! Even if its busy theres always space to climb.
Great place for rock climbing lots of different challenging walls to climb
Huge gymnasium. Moderate prices. Strongly recommend for anyone thats new to climbing all the way to advanced climbers.
Fun place, very exciting and excellent atmosphere.
Only reason I climb here is there isnt another place close
Even though it was full there was plenty of walls free. It is HUGE here. +1Reasonably priced. (Especially when you have you own gear like me) +1About 30 Autobelays are good for my beginner friends I didnt have to belay the whole time. +1I had Fun and good work out and will come back. + 1Staff were okay - NeutralNo teaching. I got in trouble teaching my friend how tie the knot so I wouldnt have to tie him in everytime. I understand why but still....- NeutralOnly 35 foot walls. Largest gym in US and such low walls? WHY? :( -1
Love this place! Great staff and very friendly climbers. 10/10 would recommend!
Nice staff and a wonderful option of climbing (bouldering, auto relay, top rope, and lead). Plus Ive forgone my traditional gym membership because theyve got eplipticals, treadmills, and bikes. So worth the membership especially if you get it at a one hour sale.
My favorite climbing gym around. Sometimes it takes a while to get new routes put up but there are so many to choose from its not a big deal. Some difficult bouldering here, I love it.
Great place to climb indoors!
The gym is huge! No shortage of routes, and routes are constantly updated. Classes are great, the staff really knows what theyre teaching and they do a great job at it too.
Update: Changed rating from 3 to 4.Im in my third year of Vertical Endeavors membership. My rating is based on that and my experience with 15+ other gyms. I struggled with 3 or 4 stars, after their recent changes to the grading system, but decided on 4. VE has short walls but MANY routes. Even after work, you can find multiple open routes (at least in top rope and lead, autobelays are busy with mostly newer climbers like any gym). The routesetting if often very creative and require solutions/body positions not often needed in other gyms. Though I do not consider myself an absolute authority on what a given routes grade should be, I can say confidently that VEs routes are harder at a given grade than most other gyms. Perhaps they are compensating for the short walls and this used to annoy me. Now, I just enjoy the fact that I can climb a grade or two higher at other gyms. I dont enjoy the bouldering much at VE. The same grade issue exists and I just have more fun bouldering at other gyms, probably due to differences in routesetting and that other gyms use color coded holds to quickly identify problems at your desired range. VE is very welcoming of children and their are frequent large parties there. While I think its great to encourage children to climb and VE has an understandable financial interest in building a larger climbing community, these groups are often dangerously out of control. When not climbing, kids run through the gym, often in herds, running into hanging ropes, under boulderers, and between belayers and the wall. I think this is a combination of limited adult supervision and/or non-climbing parents who dont realize the danger this behavior causes to everyone. Though I think it should be the parents responsibility to control their children, the staff has to step up when parents dont. I think this may be getting a bit better lately, so hopefully the staff are trying new tactics. The staff, btw, are generally friendly but some can seem aloof/uninterested, compared to other gyms. A consistent, friendly greeting when you enter the gym would go a long way. VE changed their grading system, as I mentioned earlier. First, they no longer include setters names. This is a shame because I liked the style of certain setters, and I can no longer seek them out. I had heard that this is because a setters in VE MN was threatened by a climber because he was so upset with a route. If true, that is disgraceful and I can see VE would have an interest in protecting their employees. Still, they use setter code names, not real names, so I feel like this could be managed (and hostile climbers should be banned). The bigger change is that they went from an a, b, c, or d grading approach (at 5.10 or higher) to a minus (a/b) or plus (c/d). In the past Id given feedback to VE that there grades were inconsistent between setters and I know I wasnt the only one. Perhaps they feel that broadening the grade will lead to more consistency. But, when you get to the top of your abilities, a single grade can make a huge difference. I would much prefer the return to the old schema, but allow climbers to vote (perhaps for a week) on the grade before finalizing it, as some gyms do. I was told by one of the gym managers that they dont want to their rating criteria to be skewed by these votes. While I can partially understand this, I ultimately cant accept this argument. No one says the gym MUST take the average grade from climber input and make it the final grade. Its just an input to make their final decision. Ive spoken with a few routesetters who acknowledge the route grade may not be as intended, especially when the route they set is well below the top end of their climbing abilities. VE seems to be doing a version of community input by not putting a grade on the route initially, so I think there is some feedback being considered. Ive been asked 2-3 times, which I appreciate. But, this doesnt seem to be very scientific or inclusive. An initial setter grade, followed by written votes, would be better in my opinion.
There were so many walls and I have no friends so I was doing self belay and bouldering and I had a blast this place is great.
I wish this business/owners would show more attention to this location and area.. A bouldering only gym would be great to add to west Chicagoland since thats a huge interest right now!There is a lot of focus put into the Minneapolis & St. Paul locations which people boast about who live in that area saying that the climbing is great there. Its sad to see after I havent visited this location in 2 weeks that there was only 1 new boulder and 0 new auto belay climbs. I can only see this location closing in the next few years due to lack of attention, which is really sad since its the closest climbing/bouldering location to me... On a positive note, the climbing is better than North Wall!They also need to help improve community events to get more people to climb, similar to how First Ascent has events going on every week. Bringing the community together would help me revisit more frequently...
Absolutely awesome. Very affordable look into climbing for beginners and advanced climbers alike. You gotta check it out!
Great place! Staff is friendly and so helpful! Great workout and the place is huge - so much wall to climb!
Hands down the best rock wall Ive ever seen - best Ive even heard of. Tough bouldering problems. Endless walls and walls of top rope climbs. I had never seen an autobelay system before I saw it here - and let me tell you, as an antisocial climber, I love autobelay systems. Its exactly what it sounds like - you just clip into the wall, and a counterweight behind the wall does the grunt work of belaying you.I climb til I blow out my grip strength, I sit around chatting, and then I up and I do it again. The price is extortionate, and Im still thinking about getting a yearlong membership. Its that good. Climb here for sure!
Inexpensive place to climb. Lots of walls. Great for beginners and experienced climbers.
Nice staff and a great workout!
This gym offers the outstanding best rock climbing in Chicago suburbs
Staff is always friendly. Love going there
Great expirpence and good staff lots of wall options and two sides of bouldering
Ive been to this gym when they were in Warrenville but their new gym is HUGE! Very nice clean unique and lots of fun!
Super fun, big place with big variety of climbing oprions, very helpful stuff