Bouldering has been booming. According to data from CBJ’s 2023 Gyms & Trends report, 96% of the 218 bouldering gyms in the United States at year’s end opened in just the past 14 years. Bouldering gym builds—as opposed to climbing gym builds where roped climbing is the focus—have been on an upward trajectory since practically the start of the century, but especially of late. In 2023, 68% of the new climbing gyms stateside were bouldering gyms—an all-time high for a calendar year.
Last year, Bouldering Project opened the largest new U.S. bouldering gym, out west in Arizona. But where in the country are the largest bouldering gyms of all-time that are still in operation today? We checked with the gym operators to determine which U.S. bouldering gyms are offering the most climbing, compiling a list of the top ten. Below are the ten largest bouldering gyms in America, based on total square feet of climbing wall surface.
In tandem with this article, be sure to check out the Largest Climbing Gyms in America.
10. Movement RiNo
- Wall Size: 13,000 sqft
- Open Year: 2018
- Location: Denver, Colorado
- Walls: EP Climbing
- Flooring: Flashed
- CRM/POS Software: Rock Gym Pro
Movement RiNo is the 10th-largest bouldering gym in the U.S., with 13,000 square feet of climbing wall surface. Built in a former tin factory in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood in 2018, the bouldering gym—Movement’s largest and the largest in Colorado, based on square feet of climbing—features over 200 boulders on a variety of climbing terrain designed by EP Climbing. The 40,000-square-foot gym also provides yoga and fitness classes and shares a roof with Improper City, a taproom and coffee bar with an open patio and food trucks.
9. Arizona Bouldering Project
- Wall Size: 14,744 sqft
- Open Year: 2023
- Location: Tempe, Arizona
- Walls: Owner/contractor
- Flooring: Owner/contractor
- CRM/POS Software: Approach
The 9th-largest bouldering gym in the U.S. is Arizona Bouldering Project, Bouldering Project’s first location in Arizona. Opened in 2023 in the Phoenix area, the Tempe gym—the largest bouldering gym in the state—features 14,744 square feet of climbing on walls reaching 17 feet in a 49,000-square-foot facility, with the walls and flooring built in-house by Bouldering Projects Environments. The Largest New Bouldering Gym of 2023, BP’s Tempe location also has yoga and fitness classes, youth programming, private instruction, competitions and other events.
8. Minneapolis Bouldering Project
- Wall Size: 16,370 sqft
- Open Year: 2017
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Walls: Owner/contractor
- Flooring: Owner/contractor
- CRM/POS Software: Approach
Minneapolis Bouldering Project is the 8th-largest bouldering gym in the U.S., with 16,370 square feet of climbing. Opened in 2017, the Minneapolis facility—Bouldering Project’s lone Minnesota build—features 17-foot bouldering walls in a 39,700-square-foot space. Amenities include fitness and yoga studios, co-working spaces, a sauna, a gear shop and a weight room, and programming ranges from climbing and fitness classes to competitions and after-school programs. The gym also shares a complex with a local brewery, Pryes Brewing.
7. Austin Bouldering Project – Springdale
- Wall Size: 17,458 sqft
- Open Year: 2015
- Location: Austin, Texas
- Walls: Owner/contractor
- Flooring: Owner/contractor
- CRM/POS Software: Approach
Austin Bouldering Project – Springdale, which opened in 2015, is the 7th-largest bouldering gym in the U.S. The 45,000-square-foot facility features 17,458 square feet of climbing surface, with over 250 problems on walls reaching 17 feet. Originally operating in the Seattle area, as Seattle Bouldering Project, Bouldering Project’s first gym to open outside the state of Washington was the Springdale location. In addition to climbing, the gym offers a range of yoga and fitness amenities and classes, after-school youth programs, a bouldering league and more.
5. Vertical Endeavors – Twin Cities Bouldering
- Wall Size: 18,000 sqft
- Open Year: 2018
- Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
- Walls: Nicros
- Flooring: Habit
- CRM/POS Software: Rock Gym Pro
Vertical Endeavors – Twin Cities Bouldering is tied for the 5th-largest bouldering gym in the U.S., with 18,000 square feet of climbing. Vertical Endeavors is no stranger to large gyms, having opened its Glendale Heights location—runner-up for the largest climbing gym in the U.S.—in 2014. The Twin Cities Bouldering gym is Vertical Endeavors sole bouldering-focused location and fourth gym in the Minneapolis area. The 30,000-square-foot facility boasts 21-foot climbing walls built by Nicros—its parent company—plus a mix of yoga and fitness classes.
5. North Mass Boulder
- Wall Size: 18,000 sqft
- Open Year: 2021
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Walls: Vertical Solutions
- Flooring: Flashed; Habit
- CRM/POS Software: Rock Gym Pro
Also tied for the 5th-largest bouldering gym in the U.S. is North Mass Boulder, an Indianapolis facility that opened in 2021. Built in a historically preserved factory, Indiana’s largest bouldering gym features 18,000 square feet of climbing in a 47,000-square-foot space, with walls by Vertical Solutions reaching 17 feet. One of the newest gyms on this list, North Mass also has yoga and fitness studios, a training area—with Kilter, Tension, Treadwall and Moon boards—social and work spaces, youth and family lounge areas, a café and bar, and other amenities.
4. Momentum Indoor Climbing Silver Street
- Wall Size: 18,340 sqft
- Open Year: 2017
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Walls: Walltopia
- Flooring: ClimbMat; Strati Climbing
- CRM/POS Software: Rock Gym Pro
Momentum Indoor Climbing Silver Street, the 4th largest bouldering gym in the U.S., is a 43,000-square-foot facility with 18,340 square feet of climbing. Originally a Utah-based gym operator, Momentum expanded into Texas in 2017, opening a roped gym (Katy) and the Silver Street location in the Houston area. The latter features over 280 problems on Walltopia walls reaching 15 feet. Other offerings include a spray wall, Lattice and Moon boards; youth programs for all ages; climbing, yoga and fitness classes; a bouldering league and competitions.
3. Vital Climbing Gym – Brooklyn
- Wall Size: 18,633 sqft
- Open Year: 2021
- Location: Brooklyn, New York
- Walls: EP Climbing; Vertical Solutions
- Flooring: Habit
- CRM/POS Software: MindBody
Vital Climbing Gym – Brooklyn is the 3rd-largest bouldering gym in the country and largest in New York, with 18,633 square feet of climbing in a 46,000-square-foot space. When it opened in 2021, the Brooklyn gym—the Largest New Bouldering Gym of 2021—was VITAL’s first outside of California, before VITAL acquired two bouldering gyms in Manhattan later that year. VITAL Brooklyn features indoor and rooftop bouldering on walls reaching 13 feet; Tension, Treadwall and Kilter boards; aerial silks, cycling, yoga, fitness and climbing classes; and a slackline.
2. Seattle Bouldering Project – Poplar
- Wall Size: 19,941 sqft
- Open Year: 2011
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Walls: Owner/contractor
- Flooring: Owner/contractor
- CRM/POS Software: Approach
The 2nd-largest bouldering gym in the U.S. is the Seattle Bouldering Project – Poplar location, with 19,941 square feet of climbing. Bouldering Project—which operates 13 open or planned climbing gyms across eight states/districts—stormed onto the bouldering scene in 2011 with its Poplar build in Seattle, the largest bouldering gym in the country at the time. The three-story, 39,700-square-foot facility has two floors of bouldering on BP-built walls reaching 17 feet, a new training center with five training boards—two Kilter Boards, two MoonBoards, a Tension Board 2—a bar and restaurant downstairs, a gear shop, saunas, a range of youth programs, and competitions.
1. Dogpatch Boulders
- Wall Size: 20,500 sqft
- Open Year: 2013
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Walls: Walltopia
- Flooring: Flashed
- CRM/POS Software: Rock Gym Pro
In 1st place for the largest bouldering gym in the U.S. is Dogpatch Boulders, with an impressive 20,500 square feet of climbing. Touchstone—the second-largest gym developer on this list, with 18 open or planned climbing gyms throughout California—opened Dogpatch Boulders in 2013, complementing Touchstone’s roped gyms in the San Francisco area. Dogpatch Boulders took a sizable leap on this list after adding 6,000 square feet of climbing in 2016. In addition to over 300 problems on Walltopia walls reaching 17 feet, the 30,000-square-foot facility has a Kilter Board, cardio machines and weights, climbing and fitness classes, youth programs and more.
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