Royal Gorge Rock Steady
Cañon City, Colorado
Specs: Royal Gorge Rock Steady is planned to open in 2027 in Cañon City, a Colorado town located just outside of the sport climbing destination Shelf Road. Benjamin Black, Rock Steady Founder and Owner, has lived in Cañon City his whole life and discovered climbing in 2012 while working at Royal Gorge Zipline Tours. “I met some adventurous people, and two weeks into that job, we decided to go climbing at Shelf Road, which blew my mind away that people were climbing on that, and it was so close,” Black explained. According to Black, one of the primary motivations for opening the gym is the disconnect he’s seen between the nearby climbing and local participation. He believes that, despite living so close to Shelf Road, Oak Creek Grade and Bighorn Sheep Canyon, many locals are unaware of climbing. At Rock Steady, Black wants to create a pathway for young climbers and help develop local athletes.
Black’s first climbing experience convinced him that there was a major opportunity for a climbing gym in the city. He noted that many climbers in the area currently drive an hour or more to train indoors, many of whom “do that two to three times a week.” While the gym is intended to serve the existing climbing community, Black also hopes to introduce new participants to the sport. Rock Steady will be located near the northeast entrance to Cañon City, so it can be one of the first things visitors see when entering the town. “The city and county have been talking about the Cañon City tagline being ‘The Gateway to Adventure,’” Black said, which is in line with his vision for the gym. Additionally, the city has “a lot of people traveling in from Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo to climb at Shelf Road” who could use the gym, he said.
The gym will be a 7,000-square-foot ground-up build, which was chosen in part because the existing buildings in town lacked the height required for roped climbing, and “it didn’t make sense to put a bouldering gym in with the style of climbing we have in our region,” Black said. Rock Steady will feature about 60% roped climbing on 40-foot walls and 40% bouldering, reflecting the outdoor climbing available in the area. The gym will also feature a MoonBoard, hangboards, a strength training area and a yoga room. While initial funds have been secured, the gym is looking to fundraise over a three-month period before construction begins. The goal is to begin construction in 2026, with an anticipated opening in 2027. At the time of this interview, 50 founding memberships had already been sold in anticipation of the gym’s arrival.
Walls: Eldorado Climbing
Flooring: Eldorado Climbing
CRM Software: Rock Gym Pro
Website: www.rocksteadyclimbing.com
Instagram: @RoyalGorgeClimbing
In Their Words: “Creating a rock climbing gym just makes sense since we have Shelf Road, Oak Creek Grade and Bighorn Sheep Canyon. We have all this world-class rock climbing right here in our backyard. But no youth are getting into it, and so there are no serious athletes coming out of our area. But I think there could be.” – Benjamin Black, Founder and Owner of Royal Gorge Rock Steady
