Mesa Rim Climbing & Fitness Center

I’m sure that my first visit to Mesa Rim was an anomaly (given that it was Christmas eve), but the joint was stunningly empty for most of the time we were there (late morning). My sister pretty much had her pick of any of the toprope routes and I had nearly uncontested bouldering problem options (not that the bouldering walls are that extensive…).
I was impressed enough with the facility to spring for a ten-​pack pass. It was slightly more economical, now that my parents are retiring to La Jolla. Considering they never expire and I’m sure to be back out this way to visit the family in the coming years, I figure I’ll eventually make use of them. Plus, we were allowed to convert our day passes into the 10-​pack and just deduct the day’s visits from the number of punches remaining. Good deal!
On my second visit to Mesa Rim, the day after Christmas, I had an opportunity to experience the tall wall climbing, and damn are the routes –tall-​! Compared to my home gym in NYC (The Cliffs), all of the climbs here are about twice the height of the ones I’m used to. Which means they’re both extra fun and doubly exhausting.
Additionally, I’m used to much more straightforward route-​setting, where I don’t spend much time contemplating the specific beta required to climb .10s and .11s. I love that the setters here put in much more technical moves. While it slows down my climbing, the problem-​solving required offers much more entertainment value than the pump-​fest I’m accustomed to.
Now, I just need to come back with a sport leading partner so I can explore some of the overhanging cave routes. They looked incredibly fun, and I love a good roof/​overhang to fall into space from!
If I were a local, I could totally see making this my home gym. And if it’s always as devoid of clientele as what I’ve seen so far… I might be tempted to move in!

I get the feeling that the message coming from the mira mesa location is «Go to Mission Valley, because we are a lame duck.» This gym has terminated their free fitness classes and added a training center next door at an added rate, both of those i can get at mission valley with my membership. I got the feeling once they stopped advertising the classes that they were going to get cut, and then shortly after folks stopped coming and today I discovered theyre done. Seriously sad day, I made most of my gym friends at those classes and was a great way to meet new people, now that theyre gone, I work out alone and cling to the last few friends I made that still visit the mira mesa location. When the autobelays went down it was no problem, people at the fitness classes shared the same problem of being partnerless and we would climb together. If only they put in as much effort into fitness as they do into yoga thered be something great there, but sadly that is not the case. I hope something changes soon that brings my faith back in this location.

Been climbing indoors in the Bay Area for a few years. Showed up here for a day while on vacation. Staff was friendly and helpful. Equipment was in great shape — seems like they probably change the ropes a little more often than my home gym. Grading on the routes was a little tougher than I’m used to, which is a great thing for everybody who calls this gym home, and a humbling experience for me. There are some very long and negative routes here that are not even graded 5.10. Awesome place to visit if you’re a serious climber. Even better place to be a regular!

So I was a member with Mesa Rim for about a year. Out of all the gyms I have ever climbed at over my 5 years of being involved with the sport, this gym is filled with the rudest, snobbiest climbers I’ve been around. Regarding the gym equipment itself– they removed Half of their workout equipment in the weight lifting area PLUS removed all auto belay machines claiming them dangerous yet the gym membership is still $ 75 a month? Not too ethical. If leg press and all leg workout machines were so dangerous how is it that 100% of regular gyms all over the world have them, lol. Makes no sense. I gladly took my membership to a gym half the price with the same equipment mesa rim has and a much friendlier atmosphere.

Big place. Plenty of space work out and relax. Cool bouldering area and high belaying. A little pricey. Bring someone to enjoy this place.

I’m new to rock climbing… and usually go to Solid Rock because that’s more for beginners. The walls here are high!!! My first wall — about half way — i got super scared and started shaking, but soon got over it. All fun here :)
The entrance is very grand… almost like a hotel lobby! Really pretty and you can tell they put a lot of effort into making it feel that way.
All of the employees are super cool and friendly!

Awesome gym! It’s the biggest one I’ve been to. Possibly the biggest in San Diego. Lounge, weight room, sauna, bouldering and ropes. It’s a little pricey $ 20 a day pass plus equipment but for what you get its decent. You need to know how to put the belays together so you either get a lesson or take a test so I suggest getting there early and be prepared for a 20 min set up. I prefer the ropes the be ready to go like other gyms but I understand what they’re trying to teach you. Ill be back!

I don’t rock climb. I have tried it in the past, but it was too much for my scared to death of heights self. I have heard that the fear thing happens each time you take a break from rock climbing but calms down after your body gets used to it again, so maybe you just have to work on it.
I do yoga. This place has the best value along with fantastic yoga teachers that I have found around here.
Get a few friends to come with you and you get a deal on the sign-​up fee. The $ 75 a month for climbing, fitness and yoga is half of the rate of most yoga studios in town.
I have taken classes with Meg, Michelle, Kati, Raine, Nellia and Sarah. They are all good. I particularly like Meg’s calming Yin/​Yang class. Michelle’s class can get tough. The yoga can get crowded on the popular times/​classes and on hot days it can be brutally hot if a lot of people are there. They have mats, blocks, straps and bolsters available.
The updated yoga schedule is on their website, here it is…
You will have to fill out a form at a computer terminal, so get there early if you plan on a certain class time. The front desk is to the right as you walk in, the staff are all really friendly.
They also have a fitness area and an area where you can study/​work. They sell a lot of climbing/​yoga items you might need too.
The climbing walls are pretty high and they change the routes frequently. They have bouldering and slack line too.
They have a locker/​restroom/​sauna/​shower area in the back right.
Good private and street parking. It is quite crowded with people after work. Good place for socializing. People that go here are pretty nice.
I am pretty excited about their new location that is opening soon in Mission Valley (at the 163 and the 8.)

First I have never been rock climbing, bouldering, nothing, and I was here because a date wanted to go.
So to impress her with my ridiculous skills I took the belay course before she showed up and Nick was an excellent instructor for me and another person for like an hour on a friday night.
Then the climbing, its alot of fun and can get super busy, but I never felt like I was waiting for someone else to finish. If the wall you want is busy, walk around there is another wall just like it around the corner.
It was an excellent time, and my experienced date says it easily top 3 in the country, so dont hesitate.

If you have ever squeezed my arm, you would know that I’m not a particularly fit person. Usually the thought of a pull up makes me squeamish.
But, rock climbing is fun.
Maybe it’s all the colors, maybe its the cushions beneath you, maybe its because I saw Meru, maybe it’s because of the new terms and new knot I learned to tie, maybe because our instructor Jake made it all easy, maybe it was the fun slack line.
Maybe it is fun in of itself.

My first experience indoor climbing and it was amazing. A playground for adults where you can have a lot of fun. The staff was great and I will definitelly come again!

Came here for my fourth or fifth time yesterday. I normally climb at another gym so this place is a nice to try out different styles of setting. My friend let me use his day pass. Check-​in at the front desk was easy and quick but the staff isn’t super friendly.
First we went to yoga then went climbing. It was the first time I’ve tried yoga here. They have a separate yoga studio. There are plenty of yoga mats to borrow if don’t have one. There are also blocks, straps, and blankets to borrow. Colleen, the yoga instructor was awesome and encouraging. I really enjoyed her music (but then again I’m partial to the reggae she played). The class was challenging yet doable.
The top rope/​sport climb area is huge and there are so many problems to choose from. To me the grades on the problems are easier than the gym I go to, but one could argue the gym I go to sand-​bags their problems… It was way less crowded that on a weekday at night. The only downside is that you have to bring your own ATC belay and carabiner. I had already passed their top-​rope belay test. Pretty basic test, just ask someone at the front to give you the test and then they will give you a laminated green tag that says you are certified.
I also ventured out to the free weights/​machines area. They have a bunch of free weights, a squat rack, campus board, systems board, 2 row machines, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. Whatever your fitness needs are for training or cross-​training. This gym has it.
Definitely recommend this place. The space is huge and there is everything you need.

I love this gym! It is the largest climbing gym I’ve ever been to and the routes change often enough so that there is always a challenge.
I was introduced to climbing a few months after moving to San Diego and have climbed at least twice a week or so for a few months. I’m sure there are things that I cannot comment on such as the lead climbing experience or the advanced bouldering because I am simply not at the level to try it yet.
The top rope routes are generally very good and thought out. Sometimes there are discrepancies where I felt a path was definitely more difficult or more easy than what the difficulty level is displayed, but most of those are judged by the actual gym goers, so it’s not exactly something I can complain about.
The membership is fairly cheap, it is $ 75 a month and includes access to the climbing walls, yoga, training center and gym equipment. I’ve been to a few yoga classes and they have been very good. I haven’t used the training center yet but it looks to be full of good equipment and training walls to get you going. I think the cost of membership is well worth what you get.
They are opening up a new location in Mission Valley so I am looking forward to going more often since it will be about 15 minutes closer. I hope the new location is just as good as this one!

I had gotten two free day passes from the Roadrunner Adventure Run and when my friend and I found out OTL was indeed canceled due to the rain, we decided to have a rainy day attempting to indoor rock climb!
With a belay class (offered every hour, on the hour — plan accordingly — we didn’t know this after speaking to them on the phone and we had to wait 45 minutes), shoe, and harness rental, it was around $ 16 I think? With the day pass covered (I think that’s $ 20 or so…).
While we were waiting we bouldered a little, explored the small gym area (basic machines, climber-​based grip station whatnots, and weights), played ping pong on the upper «mezzanine» level (nice lounge spot), and, my favorite — attempted to walk on the slackline. (Okay, waiting 45 minutes wasn’t tooooooo bad…)
Our class was with a dad and his two kids. The pace was a bit frustrating because we understood and picked up on everything (safety checks, knots, belaying) faster than they did. There was a lot of repetition (which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing) and lag time which I could have done without. Our instructor let us go before the others after demonstrating our knowledge. We got a day certification badge (you can take the test the next time to show you remember everything to get a legit cert).
Climbing was more work than fun… Not sure if I’ll pick it up as my new hobby. The climbs (runs? Tracks? Lines?) were very tough for beginners like us.
Awesome place, lots of amenities. If I like climbing more than I think I do, I would consider getting a membership here.

Awesome place for a good workout. Family friendly facility. Staffs are friendly and helpful. My kids had tons of fun conquering several climbing walls and other interactive activities they had on hand. Never knew this was just near my place and I’ve been living in the area for a good 6 years now! We’d be back for sure now that we’ve discovered this wonderful facility.
Would definitely recommend the place to friends.

Amazing facility especially for a first timer like me! I would definitely recommend taking a training session if you’ve never climbed before. We had Hunter, and he was very knowledgable and a great teacher.
Really stellar experience and solid workout!
Looking forward to going to the mission valley location once it opens!

This place is fun and everyone is so nice. The whole facility is clean, the equipment is functional, and they have a pro shop so that you can spend your money on dope gear. I’m glad I got a membership here.

Just realized I never wrote a review about this place! This is the best climbing gym ever! It’s top of the line, new equipment, new routes every few weeks, great setters for both bouldering and top roping and friendly staff!
I used to climb here a few times a week until I moved across the country :(when I move back I plan to get a membership there again cause it’s awesome! :)

I climb all the time at my home gym in OC, but a group of us decided to head south for the day and try something new. Mesa Rim is quite impressive, with walls ranging up to 55′ or so, and with the overhang, it is easy to get routes that are over 60′ The gym utilizes color coded holds with tape for additional identification, but the tape is tough to see from above the holds for foot placements. Looking down, there were several times where it was very difficult to determine if a hold was on or not, since there was enough tape and/​or rubber to hide the color and the tape was shadowed by the hold. Still, the routes are generally interesting and there is a lot of variation.
The way the walls are built, there are a lot of opportunities to climb something that feels much more like natural rock. There are chimneys and cracks, and there are lots of routes with overhangs. Some of the walls have autobelay devices, so if you don’t have a partner, you are not reduced to bouldering.
I have my gear and only needed to be tested for belay, so I can’t speak for the gear or the classes. They let me just do the lead certification instead of top rope and lead, which saved a little time. My partner was not leading, but they have a lead belay certification as well as the two climbing ones, so he could belay me even though he was not leading, which was cool.
Routes felt like they were pretty true to the outdoor grades, and there was everything from routes for the absolute first timers to at least 13s.

I’m so happy my boyfriend brought me to this place 2 years ago. I was really hesitant to go because I’ve never climbed before and didn’t really want to make a fool of myself. When I finally came here, I was instantly hooked. Seriously, we got our membership the next week.
I took a belay class here for $ 8 and it was really informative. Basically a sure fire way of passing the belaying test to get belay certified. For newcomers who don’t have gear, you can rent all the equipment for a small fee and also borrow a belay device for free (just give your keys or ID as a placeholder).
The bouldering problems and top rope routes are changed pretty often and it rotates between the different sections of the gym. I haven’t tried many other gyms but I think the rating system here is pretty fair.
I’ve recently started going to yoga classes here and they are awesome! It’s an intimate setting without any mirrors in the room which really helps you focus on the practice rather than how you look.
This is a great place for a date, family outing, birthday party, and as a regular fitness gym. The staff and members are friendly and helpful. It’s just an awesome environment to stay fit and have fun!