Sportrock Climbing Center

Sport Rock is great! I would give it a 5 if parking wasn’t such a hassle. They also offer yoga and Zumba. I have taken a few yoga classes there and while I think the teachers are great, its hard to get the full yoga experience because the room is noisy. Anyways as far as climbing goes, there are plenty of routes for top roping and bouldering that are regularly changed so you are always challenged. I really feel like there’s is a sense of community here too. There are some climber cliques that I have to roll my eyes to but overall I feel like people are so nice there and willing to work out a bouldering problem with you even if they are complete strangers.
Try to aim for weekends or mornings if you can. Weeknights are really rough and you may wait in a line to top rope a specific route.

Okay, but extremely crowded.
It’s tough-​I love this place, but every time I go it’s packed. They have very limited parking, having to share with several businesses in the same lot; one issue is that the prime time for post work climbing falls during the same times as the volleyball club next store (lots of parents crowding the lot).
Sportrock aggressively pushes memberships with the beginner’s climbing class so it seems like they are continuing to compound the crowding. They also do competitive and recreational climbing groups with kids, with regularly scheduled practices that add to the crowding. Forget going during a typical public holiday as they schedule kids camps during this time and again the place is crawling with kids.
Om the other hand, the staff is warm and friendly, the facility has good routes and equipment, (but the heating/​cooling are uneven). It’s either blistering hot or freezing cold. I wish they would do more to control their numbers, but it’s not in their interest. I would be hesitant to commit to an ongoing membership.

This is a pretty solid indoor gym, new routes are being set on a regular basis, and there’s plenty of space to work on bouldering, top rope, or lead climbing routes to your heart’s content. As it gets colder, the gym seems to be getting more crowded as folks flee Carderock/​Great Falls, and depending on the time/​day you may have tons of scout troops, parents, and climbing team folks all over the place, but even then there are usually enough routes available so there is minimal downtime if you’re waiting for a particular route.
The staff is friendly, attentive, and focused on participant safety.
Sure, a gym is never as cool as climbing actual rock in nature’s splendor, but it’s a great place to find some warmth during the cold months, work on your endurance, and have an opportunity to meet new folks or belay buddy when you have the itch to get vertical.

I hadn’t been climbing in ages so I wasn’t sure how this would turn out when my friend told me to meet her here one Tuesday evening. First, I’ve never been past the Old Town stop on the blue line and was nervous how far I’d have to walk in the dark of an area of the DMV — spoiler: it’s a 5 min walk from the Van Dorm metro. The check-​in and new person registration was quick, painless, and tech-​savvy process. The number of levels available at different heights was great. Such a fan — I can’t wait to return!

Got a deal from LivingSocial for beginner climbing lesson for two. The first hour of the lesson consist of safety, ropes and belaying. You will actually climb on the second hour and it was so much fun. Just wear something comfortable. The harness, helmet and carabiners are all included with the lesson. They also have bouldering walls. Our instructor was great and informative, if only he would stick around longer while we did our open climb.

I always enjoy switching up my workout regimen, therefore bouldering seemed like a really fun way to sneak in some exercise! At around $ 24 for a drop in, it’s not an every day exercise, yet I doubt I would be able to subject my hands to such pain two days in a row!
Despite leaving with blistered and sore hands, I had an awesome time here! I didn’t think twice about chalking up my hands and climbing up the boulder walls — and I made it to the top quite a few times! While climbing, I definitely worked up a sweat and enjoyed the «mental workout» just as much as the physical challenge. It’s always fun to surprise yourself by conquering the top of the mountain (or fake Boulder, in this case, but who’s keeping track? :))
I’d visit again for sure, but I would love an instructor to help me out with some of the angled and more difficult climbs! Always more to learn, but that’s what makes it fun :)

Great place to do something active and fun for the day, they have quite a few walls with various level of difficult for rock climbing and a small bouldering area. They have locker rooms, parking, and are somewhat close to the Van Dorn metro stop (10 min walk). It’s convenient if you don’t feel like driving too far from Arlington or DC. I took the test to be able to belay so that you can go with friends at any time to belay them, otherwise you have to go when they belay for you during certain times throughout the week.

Sportrock is a great place if you are someone who is new to climbing. I came in a few months ago as a complete novice but because of the facilities, the staff and the classes, I’ve been able to progress to more advanced routes and problems. A different section of the each wall is changed every 6 weeks or so to keep things new and challenging. The staff consists of climbers and everyone is knowledgeable to help the newest or most experienced visitors. Sportrock has a pretty small parking lot but luckily, the Van Dorn Metro is nearby.
Even if you’re not an avid climber, the atmosphere of the gym is great. Everyone there, staff and members, can be so helpful and welcoming.
Climbing is dangerous but climbing here should ease your fears!

This gym is ok. They rotate their routes pretty regularly, and the setting is decent.
I’m not a fan of the textured walls, other than creating fixed features they tear up your shoes and can lead to minor scratches.
I also cannot understand why they have so few mats in the bouldering area. I for one never would want to take mats away from the higher, overhanging features, but the slab walls and 90 degree walls should still have mats — especially because inexperienced and weak climbers use those walls and they are more likely to do something that could lead to injury or take the mats out from under the taller walls.

Awesome first time rock climbing experience!!! Super friendly staff members. I can’t wait to do it again. They have kids birthday parties.

This was a very fun place if you are looking for something different to do. Be warned though that there are limited parking spots out in front so it might take a while to even get parking on the weekends.
I have gone once on a Saturday and another time on a Tuesday. Both times, even at busy rushes, there was always enough room to climb on the walls. I did bouldering both times and with a college discount it came out to be 14 $ for the entrance fee and another $ 5 for shoe rental. There are additional fees you can get such as $ 2 chalk bag or harness for the rock climbing.
The walls were pretty fun and a little more challenging than other places I have been to. In the corner area there is a section where there are treadmills, other cardio machines, rope to climb, dead lift and lat pull down machine, and more gym equipment. In the climbing area there are cubby boxes where you can put your things. There are also lockers in the bathroom where you can put your stuff if you do not want to put them in the cubby boxes but you need to supply your own lock.
Have a fun time climbing and would definitily go again.

WARNING!!! THIS PLACE IS DIRTY!!! (AND LEAKY). I don’t think the employees or owners ever vacuum the mats and crash pads. I had black pants on, and afterwards I literally had green and yellow moldy bits and pieces of old crash pad spongeyness stuck on my pants. That’s disgusting. The weight area in the back also had leaks so the floors were slippery. Hand-​made signs were posted to warn people, but I think maybe they want to get sued haha. Bad business practice. Otherwise, I left 2 stars because the actual routes and bouldering problems set are great. I do love the fact that they have a large overhang area, which works my abs more. They do also play good music here. I hope eventually they take a few days to close and do some basic repairs & maintenance on the floors and ceilings. It’s a shame I had to leave a bad review.

SportRock Alex offers great classes for adults and kids. Friendly staff makes the experience even better. Molly Donelan recently helped me with my daughters bday party which we had to make lots of changes to. She was helpful and accommodating and made it work for me. Paul Large was the instructor for the small group we needed up having. The kids loved him. He was great with them.
Thank you to everyone at SportRock Alex. Exceptional facility and employees.

I’ve been going to Sportrock for a few years now and still love it as much as I did when I first joined, if not more! They have multiple bouldering sections, dozens of top rope routes of two different heights, and some terrific lead climbing. I’ve also taken a ton of yoga classes there and make regular use of the cardio/​weight area. For me, it provides everything I need within my workout regimen and some great bouldering with the best community of climbers.
A particular shout-​out to my new favorite monthly event: Girl Beta. Usually scheduled for the last Friday of every month, Girl Beta is a female focused bouldering night. It’s awesome for all levels and these nights always have some newbies who have never climbed a day in their life, top ropers who are looking to venture into the bouldering world, and seasoned boulders looking to climb and learn from other amazing strong women.
Definitely take the time to visit Sportrock and ask for help if needed, the staff are always more than willing to assist. And don’t be afraid to ask your fellow climbers around you for beta (climber speak for help/​advice) as the SR camaraderie is unsurpassed.

There is very limited signage to indicate you’re near the SportRock facility, but if you see the Covanta Incinerator (aka smoke stack) you’re very close. Parking is more limited than the facility signage. There are signs indicating that towing is enforced upon entry into the facility, so be sure to park in an approved spot. Also, from what we could discern, there is one way in and one way out of the parking lot.
I attended their Basic Skills course as I am completely new to the sport of climbing. I found the instruction to be memorable in that there were kinesthetic, audio and visual queues throughout. The instructor (Sarah) did a great job at explaining knot tying be relating it to a fictional boss named «Bob». Our group was just the correct size with 8 – 9 people, I can’t imagine a class with more people as the kinesthetic portion around safety would be difficult for an instructor to give the necessary 1:1 feedback. The course itself is scheduled for 2hrs and we finished around 2:05 minutes. I am happy to report I used my «come back» pass the very next day and got my belay card «pink card» which allows you to belay a climber. I was impressed as 4 of us who attempted to achieve our belay «pink card» at the same time, only ²⁄₄ passed. It seems simple enough and it would have been easy for SportRock to just take money, but I’m glad they adhere to a strong safety policy (without seeming overbearing).
The facility does have a locker room as well as cubes for stashing stuff throughout the facility. I was surprised to see a yoga, cardio and weights area as well. The bouldering area was packed on a Friday night, but everyone was taking turns and giving encouragement to those whose turn it was to climb. The climbing walls had a steady flow of climbers. All staff and fellow patrons were pleasant.
There is strong odor of feet, but almost all gyms I’ve been to with tumbling mats tend to smell the same. After 10 minutes, I’d forgotten the smell, so not a show stopper.

Let’s start from getting here. It’s walking distance from the Van Dorn metro station. You can also drive here but parking is always a hassle. Beware of parking at spots belonging to East Coast Transmission before 6PM on weekdays (you can park there at all times of weekends) and don’t park at Evolution Volleyball. You may also park at the parking lot further down the street but it doesn’t have many spaces either.
When you walk into Sportrock, you will smell feet. Once you get over it, proceed to check-​in with the staff. Daily rates are $ 18 and $ 14 with student ID. You can rent shoes and harness for $ 5, carabiner and ATC for $ 3, and chalk bag (yes even a chalk bag) for $ 2.
This place has several very tall walls, mostly average height walls for top rope and lead climbing. There are mainly walls to the back that you see when you first walk in. These are a mix of tall and short walls, all varying in difficulty from 5.6 (beginner) to 5.13 (super difficult). Most of the top roping walls are also lead climb available while there are several lead climbing-​only walls.
Immediately to the right when walking in, you’ll encounter the cave, which has a mix of steep overhangs and upright walls.
Around the corner is a continuation of the cave that straightens out to a short, straight wall that eventually becomes the 45, which is a wall jutting out at a 45-​degree angle that is a forearm and ab challenge, but there is a mix of V0 (intermediate) to V-​super difficult (I’ve seen it go up to 9 before).
Immediately behind the 45 (if you’re facing it head on) are shorter top roping walls, and to the back left is the prow, another mix of steep overhangs.
Not a very big place but they try to keep things fresh by frequently changing the routes. I think it’s a good place for beginners to learn and their staff were friendly when I first began. There are many beginner classes, from intro to climbing, where you learn the basics of top roping (tying knots, putting on the harness, belaying) to learning more techniques to climbing, to lead climbing courses. It should be noted that you must have a top and lead climbing cert to be able to do either activity. Bouldering does not require any prerequisites.
This place is great for groups, but can get packed quickly. Avoid Tuesdays and Thursdays as that’s junior climbing league day, and can get really crowded on those days.
There’s also areas for kids to have a party and they will ramp up staff to offer enough belayers for them.
Going before 6 on a weekday will guarantee some crowd-​free climbing, but that ends pretty quick. Friday afternoons and late morning and early afternoon on the weekends are generally a lot calmer.
All in all a great place that’s in not too bad of a location. With routes that are usually underrated (especially the bouldering), it makes for a challenge, but also a fun experience.

The concrete /​plastic rocks walls are great. Although
The people that worked and gave me instructions were very rude. They would ignore any question I asked them when I was climbing. Other wise great place with 2 warehouses

So I’ve been here a few times and really enjoy it. But when I walked in this time, I was immediately hit with the smell of a high school boys locker room. It was pretty intense and disgusting, but luckily I got used to the smell in about 10 minutes and didn’t notice it the rest of my time there.
I went around 4pm on a Thursday and it wasn’t very crowded which was nice. I feel like the people at the front desk kind of act like you’re bothering them when you walk in and need to pay or check in. I mean, one would think that since it’s their job and they are getting paid that they would act a little friendly, but they seem to hate their jobs and maybe their lives.
I like that this place not only has rock climbing walls, but also workout equipment and yoga classes. After my friend and I climbed, we decided to do the yoga class which was intense, but a great workout.
I’d come back here because there aren’t many other alternatives, but I would suggest they do something about the smell and their front desk workers because first impressions really do mean something.

I haven’t been to many rock climbing locations so I don’t have much to compare to. When walking in, expect a huge BO smell. You get used to it fairly quickly but it was definitely a shock to my system when I first entered.
The staff isn’t very helpful here and they’re not too friendly either. Might not be a good place for newcomers.
The rentals seem super expensive here. When renting a harness it doesn’t come with carabiners, you have to pay separately for that which I thought was a little annoying.
There’s a variety of walls with different levels of difficulty. Bathrooms were clean.
Not sure if I would return again bc of the prices and the lack of initiative taken by the staff.

Sportrock, while a bit of a hike from Baltimore, is a great change of pace from my usual climbing spots. We have friends who live right down the street, though, so once in a while, we’ll venture down!
Every time I walk in, I wish I knew how to lead climb so I could try out that amazing arch they have…*sigh* …one day! Their routes always seem well set and I like their system of asking the climbers what to rate new routes. Their bouldering is extensive which also makes me want to boulder more! I’m not a huge fan of how the 5.8’s and below generally have «Any Feet» as I think beginner climbers lose a lot of technical development by not having to adjust to the climb.
Anyway, the staff seems friendly and so do the resident climbers. Always fun! This would definitely be a great place to bring newcomers to climbing because they have plenty of less challenging routes and walls.