Pat's Portland
Climbing Gym Guide
Last updated 12/26/23
My opinions on the Portland indoor scene that no one asked for!
The gold standard for gyms has to be a Bouldering Project (particularly ABP, I haven't been to MBP or SLBP yet). Spacious, bright, clean, saunas, training boards, good music, great people, stellar setting, and somehow space for large, comfortable lounge areas. The only thing missing is rope climbing!
As for Portland gyms, well... Portland apparently has the highest median pizza rating in the country, and I think it's because most of the pizza is at least pretty good. This also applies to the climbing gyms. They're all pretty good!
In my experience gyms tend to fit one of three categories, and the newer the gym the more likely they blur these lines:
  • Type 1: Large, clean, bright facilities. Yuppie vibes
  • Type 2: Old, slightly damp and crusty. Usually the routes are most faithful to outdoor routes. Caters to outdoor climbers, likely using the gym to get stronger for their outdoor project or stay in shape over the wet PNW winters. Ye olde trad dad hangout
  • Type 3: A bouldering gym, often where students or parents with children hang out. Frequently hosting birthday parties, etc. Usually slightly cheaper.
  • The Portland Gyms
    kirby bouldering
    Movement used to be called Planet Granite until 2022. This gym is conveniently located in the Pearl and is solidly a Type 1 facility.
  • Clean, spacious 3 floors
  • Large, open fitness area with everything you could ever need unless you're a fan of those iso machines you find at Lifetime or other big box gyms. Campus board, tiltable spray wall, Kilter, and all sorts of hangboards and pinch blocks. Could work out here regularly without ever touching a climbing hold and be happy.
  • Sauna. Excellent yoga classes.
  • 30m routes, mostly leadable. Every route can be toproped with a prehung rope and grigri. No auto belays. The routes seem to focus on a particular hold/movement style. Boulder setting is a pretty even mix of comp style, burl, and tech.
  • Vibe: Overall mild corporate gym vibe. Music can be all over the place. Most of the time it's decent. One time they were playing breakup songs once though. I couldn't believe it. Would love to see a lounge area. Super friendly and professional staff.
  • Clientele: 20s-40s yuppies
  • Portland Rock Gym feels solidly outdoor-catered. The founder set my favorite outdoor 5.12a in the entire PNW. Everyone here has outdoor experience and there's a certain cameraderie from that. For example, if the staff can tell you know what you're doing, they won't bother you because you didn't PBUS™️ on the grigri.

    PRG Not-Beaverton: centrally located and easy to get to. Slightly older materials, but still clean. Not quite wide open spacious but plenty of room. I climbed here for a year and didn't realize there was even a fitness area. There is a hangboard but overall not what you come here for :p
  • B.Y.O.Rope TR and lead. There are a few auto-belays and they are fun. Permanent plaster cracks that vary from fingers to hands and are super fun if that's your jam (lol). Setting, both boulders and ropes, is outdoor-esque.
  • Vibe and clientele is typical for a type 2 gym. A lot of outdoor climbers that aren't about the "dating and fitness" feel of Movement.
  • PRG Beaverton: A new, state of the art gym. Bouldering is typically comp-style and the total climbing square footage is already as large as Movement, but will more than double in size when another bouldering and a new ropes area open in late 2024. Clean, brand new holds. Overall, I have high hopes for this gym and expect to make this my home gym, especially if the ropes are executed well.
  • Bright! Lighting-wise feels the most cheerful of any gym in Portland, but they need to put something on the barren, white walls. You feel like you're in that room in the Matrix with the Architect. I don't remember any music playing, this was probably on purpose as sound bounces around a lot off the bare walls.
  • HUGE fitness area, similar to Movement in that it has everything you could want short of iso machines.
  • I haven't tried the yoga classes yet, but have heard they're enjoyable.
  • Staff is a great balance between professional and chill. Could use some music if they can figure out the sound bouncing. Maybe they could borrow a playlist from ABP :)
  • Circuit is the local bouldering-only gym. Locations sprinkled around Portland. Frequent sets and chill vibes. Not uncommon to see lots of kids and/or the after-work crowd of middle aged regulars that work in the surrounding tech companies. Slightly cheaper.

    Circuit Northwest: Large space. Holds are probably the most polished in all of Portland, which is to say maybe 4/10 where 10 is the bad side of a dual-tex hold. My friends frequently say the setting is more enjoyable than SW, and I personally feel it is less compy. Frequently lots of kids during after-school hours.

    Circuit SW: Small workout area. Don't hit your head on the ceiling plumbing! Holds are slightly glassy, maybe 2.5/10. Setting tends to be comp-style. Staff is always super chill. Like possibly unnaturally chill hehehe. Great music. I live a mile away so I'm here all the time but I can't really recommend this one, all else equal, unless you live nearby or are looking for the most recent new set.

    Circuit Tigard: Spacious, bright, and plenty of climbing footage. Spacious, complete workout area on the second floor. They do a good job of fueling vibes with the right playlist. The double-wide, tiltable Kilter is a great attraction. Check out the long climb mode that lights up new holds periodically for a few minutes to simulate a rope route. Staff strikes my personal desired balance between professional and chill.
    Jan. 3, '24: Took a visit to Skyhook yesterday (the new gym opening March 2024 in Ladd's Addition). Here is the sneak preview of that gym.
    Other Show Notes: I've been to Rock Haven, the new Gresham gym, twice but only to judge kid's competitions. Looked fairly spacious and clean. I've also been to Stoneworks to drop something off, and it looked really dark and cramped, like a gym from a bygone era. The Source in Vancouver and Multnomah Athletic Club both seem to have strong kids' teams.
    My wishlist: One thing that I genuinely miss from any of these Portland gyms is a lounge area where one can bang out some boulders in between lines of code or Zoom meetings. Also, would love some of the older gyms to upgrade their lighting! The PNW Winters are dark enough.
    Anyways, I hope this was insightful. Happy climbing! ✌️