The Oaks Climbing
Overview
Expert Summary
Detailed Insights
A bouldering-focused gym located in a former movie theater, offering a unique two-floor layout, a workout area, and a sauna. It fosters a good community among climbers but has mixed feedback regarding route quality, rental equipment, and parent-child supervision.
Key Highlights
- ✓Unique gym design with two floors of tall bouldering walls, housed in a former movie theater.
- ✓Includes a dedicated workout area and a sauna for post-climb relaxation or fitness.
- ✓Staff at the front desk are consistently described as friendly and great.
- ✓Fosters a good community among nearby climbers.
- ✓Hosts well-regarded bouldering competition events.
- ✓Recently perfected down-climb handles, which benefit kids' confidence and save the backs of older climbers.
Standout Features
- ⭐Unique two-story layout with tall bouldering walls in a distinctive venue.
- ⭐Additional amenities including a workout area and sauna.
- ⭐Highly rated bouldering competition events.
- ⭐Improved down-climb handles, specifically beneficial for children's confidence.
- ⭐Strong sense of community among climbers.
Perfect For
Ideal For
💡Pro Tips from Reviews
- →Bring your own chalk if you require it, as it is not provided and must be purchased from the gym's shop.
- →If you are a non-climber parent supervising children, be prepared to educate yourself thoroughly on climbing gym safety and etiquette, including fall zones and right-of-way, as the gym does not provide this training.
- →If your children are still developing climbing confidence, the recently perfected down-climb handles may be beneficial for them.
- →Experienced climbers seeking challenging V5+ routes should adjust expectations, as routes may feel easier than in other gyms.
- →Avoid relying on rental gear due to reported poor quality.
Things to Consider
- ⚠The gym does not provide chalk, expecting visitors to purchase it from their shop, which is viewed by one reviewer as a 'scummy business practice' for a basic necessity.
- ⚠Route setting is criticized for being 'bad' and 'average'; V5 routes are perceived as easier (questionably V4s) compared to other gyms.
- ⚠Rental gear and equipment are rated as 'some of the worst in the bay area'.
- ⚠A significant safety concern is the lack of proper education for non-climber parents on how to safely supervise children in the climbing area. Parents are observed allowing children to start routes intersecting with other climbers, stand in fall zones, and stroll along walls without understanding etiquette.
Price & Value
The basic entry fee does not include chalk, which must be purchased separately from their shop, a practice described by one reviewer as 'scummy'. Rental gear is considered poor value ('worst in the bay area'). For experienced climbers, the routes may feel easier than expected, potentially diminishing value for advanced sessions. The overall value might be better for those who appreciate the facility's unique amenities (workout, sauna) and community, rather than purely the climbing experience or gear quality.
♿Accessibility & Special Needs
- •No accommodations mentioned.
🍎Food & Drink Policy
- •Not mentioned in reviews.
🚗Parking Info
- •Not mentioned in reviews.
👥Crowd Levels
- •The gym's atmosphere is described as 'a little underused for the size', suggesting it generally has good capacity and may not often feel overly crowded.
🛡️Safety Features
- •Recently improved down-climb handles for kids' confidence and safety. However, a significant gap in safety is the reported lack of gym-provided education for non-climber parents on how to supervise children safely in bouldering fall zones and active climbing areas.
⏰When to Avoid
- • If you are a parent new to climbing and expect the gym to train you on how to safely supervise your children around bouldering walls.
- • If you are an advanced climber seeking highly challenging and varied route setting (especially V5 and above) and expect top-tier rental equipment.
- • If you expect basic climbing necessities like chalk to be provided without extra cost.
Pricing/Package/Events
🛡️Safety Policy
- • Climbing is inherently dangerous and requires personal responsibility.
- • All participants must sign a liability release waiver.
- • Participants under the age of 18 must have a waiver filled out by their legal guardian.
Photos
What People Say
What's Great
- Safe environment for children (mentioned in 3 reviews)
- Spacious play areas (mentioned in 4 reviews)
Recent Reviews
Dane Best
5 months agoWhat an amazing concept... but... How unfortunate to not have chalk and to have bad routes. They advertise all these routes, amount of walls to climb, but don't even provide the bare necessities. This means you have to pay for their shop, which is a scummy business practice. Then you go to climb, and it's not this mecca of bouldering but just an average gym that looks cool. Pacific Pipe has SO MUCH more to climb, has chalk, better equipment, and better everything... just avoid here and go there if you're visiting. This place will leave you wanting more. What this gym has going for it is a good community of nearby climbers. The routes are not that great, for an all bouldering gym ~ my expectations on route setting are high. The V5s are questionably V4s, and things feel just easier here than other gyms... even without Chalk. Route Setting: 2/5 Atmosphere: 4/5 (a little underused for the size) Staff: 2/5 (friendly, but unequipped) Gear/Rentals: 1/5 (some of the worst in the bay area) Overall, major let down. Mission Cliffs and Oaks are the biggest losers in the Touchstone portfolio.
Keshav Sahoo
4 months agoI love The Oaks! It's a great facility -- bouldering, workout area, and, of course, the sauna!!! The staff at the front desk are the friendliest folks. A gem of a gym in North Berkeley! I have been with touchstone climbing since they started, and I love this new addition.
Yuxi Liu
2 months agoThis is overall a great climbing gym. I’m giving a one-star regarding how children are supervised here. I think the gym has a responsibility to train non-climber parents how to safely supervise their children. But what I see here (and other touchstone locations as well) is that a lot of parents don’t understand the climbing etiquette and safety. They’ll let their children start a route intersecting with a climber on the wall. They’ll stand in the fall zone of another climbing with their children. They’ll stroll with their kids along the wall. I don’t think this is the parents’ fault. I think the gym never properly educate the them how to supervise. Parents should pass an exam like a belayer’s exam in order to qualify to supervise minors.
Ren Ng
7 months agoLove this gym. Great space, great bouldering routes, great staff, great events. The recent bouldering competition event was terrific. If staff see this, generally request more down-climb handles extending further down for kids’ confidence and to save the backs of older climbers! Correction:this has recently been perfected already! Hope to see a Kilter board and yoga classes in the future.
Michael Kawamoto
11 months agoNew gym! Part of the Touchstone climbing gyms. The unique design used a former movie theater so there are two floors of tall walls. They currently still setting more climbs and it looks like they are still building the back wall. Looking forward to climbing here more often!