Rockreation Sport Climbing Center

Rockreation closed its doors last month. No longer in operation.

I hesitate to review this gym simply because I don’t want it to become more crowded…
Disclosure: Been climbing regularly for 3+ years, and have been to gyms on the East Coast, in NC, CA, and all 3 local gyms in SLC.
Facilities: Smaller than Momentum, but adequate. Small weights area. Not much of value with regards to cardio equipement. No yoga or other perks. Small sitting area, but not really a place to hang out in so much as climb. Sport area gets a bit crowded at times.
Routes: In my opinion, the best quality routes in the area. Momentum and The Front both suffer from making predictable, ladder-​like routes for the easier climbs and then throwing in harder moves or smaller holds for the harder ones. Rockreation has interesting, technically pleasing routes for all levels of climbing, both on TR, lead, and bouldering. Another bonus for this place is that the lead and bouldering are updated rather regularly and keep you busy with projects. The TR is infrequently changed (it’s June and there are still routes there from last August) and is one of two or three down sides to the place that keeps me from giving it 5 stars.
Atmosphere: Generally a nice, regular group of people. Rarely too crowded, though it gets busy in the bouldering and sport areas on week nights (M-​Th). TR is more neglected, both by the climbers and route setters. Down side #2 is the poor ventilation and dense, chalk-​filled air that will accumulate with crowds. Staff is friendly, relaxed. Atmosphere is casual, community climbing gym, not nearly as corporate and polished feeling as Momentum and not as show-​offy as The Front.
Summary: No frills. Not the best gym out there, but the best option for the area, especially if you’re looking to have a well-​rounded and relaxed climbing experience.

My daughter attended a birthday party here. She had so much fun! The employees pretty much run the whole party which is perfect! There is not much work left over for the parents. That’s why we pay to have the party somewhere other than our houses right?!
They allow 12 children per party with a 2 hour time period. It was just enough time to wear them out!

The routes, holds and features of this gym are more of what I expect of a climbing gym. Closer to natural rock than some other gyms and they have some complete overhanging traverse routes as well. They have other gyms in Costa Mesa and LA and the Costa Mesa one is the same as far as that goes.
The SLC gym is a bit small but they have enough wall to climb and usually aren’t super crowded. Great for when I visit SLC as I can climb for free with my Costa Mesa membership.
Have never tried the top rope section but the lead climbing is pretty fun as is the bouldering.

Visiting Salt lake area on a snowboard trip and this was a perfect break between Snowbird and Park City. We climbed here for about 2 hours and we noticed a lot of cool set ups. Some underclings and some easy pitches. A couple of good cracks (I don’t see many good cracks at gyms). The tallest part of the gym is lead climb only and we didn’t want to bother with getting certified so we stayed in the TR area. It still had some challenging stuff. It was all rated accurately from what I could tell. There was also a good amount of bouldering — some cool routes there, too.
There was also some Nautilus type equipment in a side area but no one used it and I noticed this in most climbing gyms — not sure why they do that. Also, This gym is close to a Black Diamond store (we didn’t have time to go there). This gym uses ATCs.
The staff was really friendly and helpful. The other climbers were cool.
My complaint for the gym is that they don’t have an effective climate control system. It was cold down on the floor during belaying and hot up on the wall during climbing. The heating ducts were on the ceiling and there were no fans to circulate this heat to the floor.

First of all it is a very big climbing gym with sections for bouldering, top roping, and lead climbing. The bouldering area of the gym offers something for everyone. Varying in difficulty and creativity with lots of routes you can choose to follow, or not. Next the top roping area of the gym is amazing no matter your skill level, with 10 or more pre-​roped climbs to chose from. Finally you have an amazing lead climbing area that seems to climb all the way to the sky. They also have a small area filled with weights and other equipment. Rockreation has great programs which you are able to join, along with great programs for kids. The staff is very friendly and always willing to help with anything you may need. They also have very nice equipment you are able to rent or you can bring your own gear. It provides you with a great time, a good experience, and a nice work out that brings you back for more.

This gym had a really cool set up, but it was a little cramped for having a lot of people climbing. I have never seen another gym with the style of their walls though, they were like intersecting slabs. Crazy.
I give them 4 because I appreciated the ingenuity of the set up, but I only climbed there once, so I maybe the one good experience swayed my star granting?! :o)