Adventure Rock MKE — Local services in Milwaukee

Me and my best friend decided to do something "out of the norm" and rock climbing was on our list of THINGS TO DO. We had never been before and thought we would try it out. Called first to make sure of the weight limit because I'm a pretty healthy girl lol. Customer service is always important to me so that first interaction had to be perfection. Sure enough they were extremely nice and helpful over the phone (1 Star). We finally arrived at the location and low and behold parking was easy as pie (2 Stars). Get the front door and was greeted RIGHT AWAY (3 Stars). Listen guys. How you are greeted when you walk into any company is going to set the pace for how they treat you moving forward. I was amazed at how big and colorful the place was. I got a little bit of butterflies in my stomach seeing people what looked to be 50ft in the air ( not really) lol. I'm afraid of heights so this placed seemed like it could help me conquer my fears. We were told right away to sign a form. You know they just want to make sure if I crack my skull they are not responsible :) no big deal right? RIGHT! We then were told to look around and come back when we were ready for the small classes to help us new comers. I walked around a bit and I was greeted with smiles from the members of the gym. A guy even asked me if it looks fun. (he was sooo cute) I told him yes and then he asked me If I was single. HAHA ..okay I'm kidding.. he asked if it was my first time there. I told him yes and he wished me luck. Me and my friend then proceeded to take our small class on safety and all that good stuff. When done Lauren showed us how to put the harness on. The first one she gave me didn't fit so she brought me another one. She told us that if we had any other questions to stop by the desk and she would be more the willing to help. We got to the wall and I had my best friend go first lol. She did pretty good. I went next and I actually did pretty good. Neither one of us made it to the top lol. We had like 5 different people encouraging us on how to slid down and to not be afraid. The fact that they were members of the gym was mind blowing to me. This one guy spent most of our time there helping us and using the belay (I think that's what its called). A gym that EVERYONE is helpful at is a plus for me(4 Stars). We called it quits after a little over an hour. Talk about a sore body gesshh! I love the gym and wanted to invest in a membership but was told to go on Groupon to get it 50% off for the first 6 weeks. They didn't have to tell us that part but they did and I appreciate it. I will for sure be back which bring me to the reason I give this...

Adventure Rock is the go-to rock climbing gym in Milwaukee.

I may be biased because it’s my home gym, but here are some reasons why I love it:

Ad Rock offers top-rope climbing and bouldering. They have auto belays too, which are great for anyone and everyone, especially new climbers, kids and for warming up.

You can get belay certified here (in fact you’ll be required to in order to move past auto belays for top-rope climbing) and you can get certified for lead climbing, too.

they reset routes pretty regularly (about a month or so at a time) but they do so interchangeably and not all at once. This is great because you get a good amount of time to project a route before it’s gone.

memberships are very reasonably priced, plus now they include free classes like yoga and other events. Memberships also include a free guest pass each month and monthly gear sales.

its a pretty large gym, open atmosphere and you won’t feel cramped inside

the staff is always friendly and willing to help/answer any questions you might have

you feel a sense of community when you go there

Cons:

know the peak hours: typically after work around it can get really busy and you’ll be waiting to jump on a wall

kids team practices: this gym offers teams and practices which is great! But just know that they practice during these peak hours throughout the year so the groups will be in the weight lifting area and on walls running drills for extended lengths of time. Not a big deal, but frustrating if you’re waiting for a wall/workout space, etc.

Tips:

if you looking to start climbing and you don’t want to be there during busy hours, a Friday evening or Sunday afternoon/evening are a great bet for less people...

We recently hosted my son's 9th birthday party at Adventure Rock MKE and it was absolutely fabulous! Having 2 kiddos with winter birthdays, it can difficult to find fun, reasonable places to celebrate with their friends. $225 for up to 12 kids and 2 hours was such a deal for us compared to some other popular birthday spots! My son and his friends had a blast. I wondered if 2 hours would be enough time for them to climb, as well as utilize the party room for a snack and presents, but it was the perfect amount of time. We had 10 kids and 3 of our own chaperones to help with the harnesses. They climbed for about an hour, then we had gatorade and ordered 2 pizzas from a nearby Toppers, then while the kids ate their sweet treat, my son opened gifts. The kids still had another 15-20 minutes to climb before our time was up. They loved it and I received messages from parents about how much their child enjoyed it. Even kiddos who were apprehensive in the beginning were surprised by what they were able to do. They had free range of the walls, but the only thing I would recommend to Adventure Rock MKE is to try not to schedule classes and birthday parties at the same time. The lowest difficulty level climb was blocked off for a class for about 45 minutes, but then a worker allowed our kiddos to climb that area, which they loved because they felt more confident and comfortable, but then the class started so they kids couldn't utilize that area. Overall, a GREAT day and we HIGHLY recommend this for a fun birthday party that tires out...