Looking Down from the Climbing Wall

Metro Vancouver is home to a number of indoor climbing wall venues including Clip ‘n Climb, the Hive, Climb Base5 and Cliffhanger Climbing Gym.

There are climbing centres in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford. There are also climbing walls at numerous swimming pools and recreation centres throughout the region.

Lower Mainland Climbing Gyms

This article showcases some of the best climbing facilities in the Greater Vancouver area. All are fun, exceptional places for exercise and different in their own ways. All offer indoor climbing walls and other cliff-like structures to play on, but some are more traditional and others more unique.

Some facilities offer rock climbing (with ropes and belay devices). Others offer bouldering (on lower structures typically and without ropes), and some offer a mix of both.

Below is a list of the climbing centres featured in this article. Click the facility’s name to jump to its information, or continue reading to learn about every place.

The Hive – facilities in Vancouver and North Vancouver. A serious and fairly traditional rock climbing venue that doesn’t use ropes or belay systems.
Cliffhanger Vancouver – a serious and fairly traditional rock climbing facility that uses ropes.
Clip ‘n Climb – a unique and colourful climbing facility in Richmond with multiple different elements that use an automated belay system and are especially fun for children and youth.
Richmond Oval – a traditional climbing structure that’s fairly large, but both smaller and less expensive (depending on your age) than most other places.
Coastal Climbing Centre – a facility with both bouldering and rock climbing structures in Surrey.
Project Climbing – a climbing company with facilities in both Cloverdale (Surrey) and Abbotsford.
Climb Base5 (North Vancouver) – a large and traditional-style rock climbing facility in North Vancouver.
Climb Base5 (Coquitlam) – located in Coquitlam, it claims to be the largest climbing centre in the Lower Mainland.
The Rock Wall – a climbing gym in Maple Ridge.

Vancouver Climbing Centres

There are several wall-climbing venues in the City of Vancouver including the Hive Bouldering Gym and Cliffhanger Climbing.

Note: Rates and details described below are subject to change. See each facility’s website for exact details.

Hive Bouldering Gym

The Hive has a facility in Vancouver as well as a second in North Vancouver. The Vancouver location is at 520 Industrial Avenue which is a 10-minute or 1-km walk from the Main Street SkyTrain Station near Science World.

Vancouver’s Hive location is a gym and, as the name suggests, it’s all about “bouldering” and climbing on rocks. It’s in a large 10,000-square-foot facility and features showers, weights and other general fitness equipment. It hosts competitions and special events, and offers climbing courses and even yoga. The place is for both youth and adults, and is popular with serious climbers.

What makes both the Vancouver and North Shore locations of the Hive unique is that climbing at the Hive doesn’t involve ropes, harnesses, belay systems or even a partner. It’s all about bouldering. The Hive is also one of the few places that offers both rock climbing and yoga.

The Hive offers drop-in climbing opportunities and both monthly and annual memberships. As of the spring of 2024, drop-in sessions cost about $30 per visit for adults, which is about average compared to other places. A month costs around $180 and an annual membership is around $1225.

Click Hive Bouldering Gym for more information about the Vancouver location. For details about the Hive in North Vancouver, see further below.

COUPONS TIP

The Lower Mainland edition of the Entertainment Coupon App usually has coupons for The Hive Bouldering and Edge Climbing Centre. As of the last time we checked in 2013, the coupons for these places were good for one free day pass when a second was purchased of equal or greater value.

If you don’t already have a coupon book, click Entertainment Coupons to buy one today. They are full of hundreds of valuable 2-for-1 deals in both the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

Cliffhanger Vancouver (now Hive Heights)

Cliffhanger was a climbing centre located at 670 Industrial Avenue. Cliffhanger opened in 1993 and was a fairly serious rock climbing gym run by certified and professional climbers.

In the summer of 2021, CliffHanger was sold to Hive, which now runs the centre. It’s just down the street from the Hive Bouldering location.

The venue features more than 15,000 square feet of climbing terrain, over 50 top ropes, crack climbing elements, professional route setting and a bouldering area. It’s big!

At the new Hive location, people wear harnesses, use belay systems and have partners holding their ropes. The walls look like cliffs and they go up high.

The Hive offers climbing opportunities for all levels. There are courses on offer for children, beginners, experienced climbers and for people wanting to climb real rocks outdoors in nature.

A day pass at Hive Heights costs about $30 as of the spring of 2024. A 1-month pass is about $140 and an annual pass around $1055. All prices are plus taxes, and equipment like shoes, harnesses and belay devices can be rented for between $2 and $7 each.

For more information click Hive Heights.

Richmond Climbing Centres

Richmond has a number of climbing facilities. There is Clip ‘n Climb, which is the newest and exceptional for children, located just south of Vancouver. There is also a large climbing wall at the Richmond Oval.

Climbing at Clip 'n Climb — Richmond’s Clip ‘n Climb Vancouver

Clip ‘n Climb Vancouver

Clip ‘n Climb Vancouver is the region’s newest climbing facility. It’s located in Richmond at 1751 Savage Road near the Fraser River just across the water from South Vancouver.

Clip ‘n Climb is an exceptional place for fun. Instead of having a giant grey cliff-like structure to climb on, the place features over 20 different multi-colored elements. There are ladders to scale, steps to climb, walls to race up, a slide to go down, a high-up place you can jump from and even a climbing tunnel in the dark.

If you’re looking for variety or an exceptionally fun and diverse climbing experience, this is a fantastic place to go. It’s arguably the Lower Mainland’s best place for kids (but still great for adults too).

At Clip ‘n Climb you wear a harness but don’t need a partner to hold your ropes. You climb independently and the belay system is completely automated. When you’re ready to come back down, you just lean back and hang on!

Climbing sessions at the facility are at set times for 60 minutes, plus a 15-minute safety orientation and set-up period. As of the spring of 2024, the cost for this is around $24 plus taxes for anyone ages 6 and older, or $20 for younger children.

For more information click Clip ‘n Climb Vancouver.

Climbing the Face to Face — Face to Face Wall at Clip ‘n Climb Vancouver

Richmond Oval

The Richmond Oval is a massive recreation complex and legacy from the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. It has gyms with volleyball and basketball courts, ice rinks and all kinds of other sports and recreational facilities.

New at the Richmond Oval is a massive cliff-like climbing structure. This new setup has a 22-foot beginner area, 33-foot intermediate portion and 44-foot overhanging corner section for advanced climbers.

Similar to traditional climbing facilities like the Hive and Cliffhanger in Vancouver, the structure at the Richmond Oval is designed to resemble a cliff surface and real rock climbing. It offers rope climbing (requiring belay devices like at Cliffhanger) and bouldering (without ropes like at the Hive).

The Richmond facility offers formal programs and drop-in single day passes are also available. As of the spring in 2024, the drop-in price is about $22 during the day and $10 during non-peak hours. Climbing equipment can be rented at around $6 for shoes and $4 for a harness.

Click Olympic Oval Climbing Wall for more information.

Surrey Climbing Facilities

Climbing places in Surrey include the Coastal Climbing Centre and Project Climbing Centre Cloverdale.

Coastal Climbing Centre

Coastal Climbing is a rock-climbing facility located at 7728-128th Street in Central Surrey. It features over 100 full-length climbing routes, close to 100 boulder problems, 7500 square-feet of wall space, a couple of caves, an extensive bouldering area, and a 2-inch padded floor and crash mats. The facility also offers complimentary coffee and tea and sometimes even hot chocolate.

Day rates as of the spring in 2024 are about $20 for climbing or $17 for bouldering. Shoes cost an extra $5.50. A 10-pass climbing card costs $175 and 10-pass bouldering is $150.

Click Coastal Climbing Centre for more information.

Project Climbing Centre Cloverdale

The Project Climbing Centre in Surrey is located at 17828-65A Avenue close to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. The original and slightly larger Project Climbing Centre is located in Abbotsford, and it still exists (see below for details).

Project Climbing Centres offer bouldering on structures up to 13-feet high. From there, climbers can jump or fall onto mats on the floor. This costs about $22, plus an extra $5 or so if you want to rent shoes (which are recommended). The Abbotsford facility also offers belaying sessions and courses which require 2 people working together.

The Cloverdale facility is 8,000 square feet in size. As of the spring of 2024, monthly memberships range between around $95 and $105, while annual passes are about $735 to $816.

Click Project Climbing Centre Coverdale for more information.

Boy on Climbing Wall

North Vancouver Climbing Facilities

The North Shore has a couple of climbing centres including the Hive and the Climb Base5 (North Vancouver).

The Hive North Shore

The Hive North Shore is located in North Vancouver at 2270 Dollarton Highway, so not far from the Second Narrows Bridge and North Burnaby.

Similar to its sister location in the City of Vancouver (listed above), the Hive on the North Shore is a serious climbing facility that’s owned and operated by climbers. Its focus is on bouldering, so there’s no need for ropes, harnesses or climbing in partners.

The modern 20,000-square-foot facility is massive and features a number of climbing areas on its ground level at heights of between 3 and 5.5 metres for classes, youth climbing sessions and public drop-ins. The North Van Hive also features great natural lighting, climbing classes, yoga and fitness training.

The drop-in rates at the Hive North Shore are around $30 (plus GST) for adults and $22 for youth as of the spring of 2024. A monthly pass for adults is $180, and around $1225 for the year. Memberships offering access to both the Vancouver and North Shore locations are also available.

For more information click The Hive North Shore.

Climb Base5 (North Vancouver)

Climb Base5 (North Vancouver) (formerly the Edge Climbing Centre) is located at 1485 Welch Street, so in North Vancouver not far from the Lions Gate Bridge. With over 15,000 square feet of climbing area, it claims to be the country’s “most comprehensive climbing gym.” It’s huge!

Climb Base5 offers drop-in day pass climbing opportunities as well as kids’ climbing courses, courses for adults in different age categories and specialty courses like personal training and “Coffee, Climbing and Conditioning” which is sponsored by the Bean Around the World Coffee company.

As of the spring of 2024, day passes range from between about $19 and $29 depending on your age. A 1-month pass with unlimited access is $151 for adults, and an annual membership, as of the writing of this article, costs around $1050. Family passes are also available, and shoes, harnesses and chalk bags can be rented.

Click Climb Base5 (North Vancouver) for more information.

Coquitlam Climbing Facilities

Climb Base5 (Coquitlam)

Located at 98 Brigantine Drive in Coquitlam, Climb Base5 promotes itself as the largest climbing gym in Metro Vancouver and having the most auto belay options in the Lower Mainland.

The place offers more than 16,000 square feet of climbing area, a 1000-square-foot bouldering “Tsunami Wall,” and both climbing and bouldering options.

The rates at the Coquitlam location should be the same (or just about the same) as the North Vancouver location. Of course, it could vary a little bit.

For further details click Climb Base5.

Climbing Wall Fun

Maple Ridge Climbing Facilities

The Rock Wall

The Rock Wall is a family owned climbing gym at 11455 201A Street in Maple Ridge that’s been running since 2003. It features bouldering and rock climbing facilities, so activities both with and without belay-system ropes and harness equipment.

As of the spring of 2024, climbing sessions of up to 2 and a half hours cost $18 for adults and $16 for students. Rentals cost extra.

For more information see the Rock Wall‘s website.

Abbotsford Climbing Facilities

Project Climbing Centre Abbotsford

With over 9,000 square feet of climbing area, the Project Climbing Centre in Abbotsford is the Fraser Valley’s largest climbing gym. It’s the Lower Mainland’s original Project Climbing Centre, with a second and slightly smaller sister facility in Surrey.

Located at 34100 South Fraser Way, not far from where Highway 11 meets the Trans-Canada Highway, Project Climbing Abbotsford offers both bouldering (without the need for special equipment) and belay courses. At the facility you can climb up walls, under overhangs and even along the ceiling. Like most similar kinds-of-places, they offer drop-in opportunities, climbing courses, day-pass rates and both monthly and annual memberships.

The day rate for adults is $22 as of the spring of 2024. A one-year membership costs around $800 and the monthly rate is $105. Harnesses, climbing shoes, chalk and belay devices can be rented separately, or altogether for around $10.

Note: To qualify for a ropes day pass you first need to do sufficiently well on a belay test, have taken the facility’s introductory course, or be accompanied by an experienced belayer.

For further details, click Project Climbing Abbotsford.

Other Information

To jump back to information about a particular climbing venue, click any of the following:

For a list of other things to do in the Lower Mainland, check out any of the following:

Also, for something similar yet very different, check out Extreme Air Park (which has locations in both Richmond and Langley)

If you like rock climbing, places in nature to check out include Stawamus Chief Provincial Park and Murrin Provincial Park (both of which are located near Squamish).