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January 2024 by Ev Delen
Had a really good time. Some good Boulder problems, decent sized walls. Lots of routes with auto-belay machines, and plenty more top rope routes. Staffer was friendly and knowledgeable. Had a great visit!
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December 2023 by Karen Wendt WendtWorks: Stories 'N Flight!
The teen girls had a great time. I climbed a few times, too. My husband just watched. We were tired after 1.5hrs. It’s too expensive for us to do monthly. Wish there was a sliding scale fee for how long you stay. $25 is great for all day but too much for an hour.
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December 2023 by Michaela Porth
3.5 stars. I personally didn't climb but my daughter did. They went over some safety instructions but didn't really go over "how to" or strategy for younger kids, so my daughter was kinda clueless on how to get a good hand/foot grip on the hand/foot holds. She got very nervous and ended up hurting herself on the way down because she banged into the wall (no instruction on how to safely get down). Overall, I think she had a good time and had fun but I'm not sure she wants to come back.
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November 2023 by Nicholas Buzzell
Poorly executed climbing gym and the workers enjoy enforcing arbitrary masking requirements too much. Shouldn’t be surprised since it’s in Madison. They claim that Kevin Baker is the top route setter in the country. There is a climbing gym in Green Bay of all places that has MUCH better routes. Maybe Kevin Baker was entered in a contest that most people don't care about?!?! FOLLOW UP 11/12/23 Boulders has such horrible record keeping that they cannot find my visit to the gym and are trying to insinuate my review is made up. Additionally, my wife and I took our nephew to this gym as a birthday celebration and they scolded us for keeping a water bottle close to us instead of the designated water bottle area while other adults were not scolded for the same issue. This gym represents all that was wrong with COVID policies. They were worried too much about appearing to care about public health instead of actually using logic and proven approaches. If that isn't enough, the routes suck at this gym. I've been to gyms all over the country and this was BY FAR THE WORST. For the record, the visit in question was on March 5, 2022 and its crazy your records are that terrible you cannot find my visit.
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October 2023 by Whitney Beadle
Fun place to hang out but their prices are too high for the amount of routes and frequency of new routes you get at this gym. I've climbed in world class gyms for cheaper monthy payments.This place used to be much more reasonably priced for the facilities.
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September 2023 by chris maxwell
Great place to spend the afternoon.We went on a Saturday with two 5 year olds and a 6 1/2 year old and we had an awesome time.Even though it was a little busy the staff did a great job making sure everyone was helped in a timely manner. They were very friendly and helpful as well!
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September 2023 by Huilin Chen
Madison really needs a proper top rope gym. This is the only one in Madison. Because they have a monopoly, they charge as much as other much better gyms around the country. The walls are super short and they are only slightly taller than bouldering walls.
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September 2023 by Jonathan Wood
Used to work here and the improvements are very noticeable. Friendly staff. Good deal for kids under 10.
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August 2023 by Steven Uhrich
Great place. Woody was super nice and helped us get set up since we were in from Chicago. Routes weren't too easy either!
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May 2023 by Amrithakiran Ck
Great place to have fun with friends. Good and safety equipments. Highly recommend for students who would like to do something different on weekends
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May 2023 by Leigha Fullerton
One star for the fact that a bouldering gym exists in Madison, another star for the fantastic employees and community. My criticism is strictly for management.I frequent Boulders because I love to climb and have no other choice but to climb here because this place has no competition. I sacrifice a significant part of my budget to shell out a student "discount" at a hefty $80/month and am giving a low review because I do not feel like the facilities justify such a crazy price. As others have mentioned, most gyms around the country offer at least 3x as much wall space, a -nice- gym, and maybe a yoga studio, with memberships rarely exceeding $50.Oftentimes when I go to Boulders East, it smells like feet. Climbing here anytime after 4pm on a weekday wants me to rip my ovaries out. Packs of kids are running around with no self awareness or respect of other climber's space or safety (I cannot tell you how many times I've been bouldering on a wall only to find a kid lying on the floor or climbing below me); it genuinely feels like a daycare. Since I am paying a "discount" membership of $80/month, I really do not feel bad complaining about this. I understand that kids want to climb, but to have them congregate in the weightlifting room and sprinting around the walls screaming is dangerous and extremely disrespectful to other members who may sacrifice a lot to be there. The entire gym becomes nearly unusable. And yes, I know there are two locations, but some of us cannot make it to the other location for whatever reason and, I'll say it again, for $80 a month I should not have to plan so hard to not have packs of kids ruining my climbing session. PLEASE take better care of disciplining these groups of kids.Again, I adore the community and lovely workers at Boulders, but it's ridiculous for Boulders to charge so much money for what they offer. I understand that renting the downtown location raises the prices, but that is not making this gym more inclusive. Sure, some people without a car can get there easier, but the Madison buses don't just go to capitol square (the most expensive place to rent along a bus route)! These prices are pushing away people who cannot afford these prices and there is really no good excuse for that. Please consider all of the marginalized communities who wish to climb but cannot afford these prices. If prices continue to rise, many people, including me, will simply not be able to afford this. It seems like Boulders values inclusivity only if you can pay for it (i.e. ignoring socioeconomic privilege as a whole). If there are cheaper options for membership, they are not advertised.
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May 2023 by Rikki Klassy
Took a group of 4 teens, including first time climbers. Staff was very patient explaining everything and not rushing them. Love this place!
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May 2023 by Kevin Olson
It seems like there's one person working and about 100 people here. Also, it seems like 3 or 4 of the autobelays are down, which really limits the climbing for younger and inexperienced climbers. I feel bad for the one guy working.
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April 2023 by Elijah Q.
Too many unsupervised children running around in a small gym. Staff was helpful and friendly and talked with parents to try to get them under control but still really not a place for serious climbers.
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April 2023 by Nick M.
Great routes. Great staff. Everyone is friendly. We had a blast visiting and climbing here
