Climbing Gyms Open
Vertical Endeavors - Bloomington
4.3(228)4.3 out of 5 stars, 228 reviews Minneapolis, MN
About Vertical Endeavors - Bloomington
Vertical Endeavors - Bloomington offers a comprehensive climbing experience with a wide variety of auto belay, top rope, and lead climbing routes ranging from 25 to 55 feet, catering to all skill levels from beginners to experienced climbers. It also features bouldering walls. The facility is praised for its diverse route setting, helpful instructors, and spacious environment, making it a potentially fun and active outing for families.
What parents should know
Summarized from real visitor reviews.
Best for: Active families seeking a fun and challenging physical activity.Children and teens interested in learning or practicing rock climbing.Experienced climbers looking for diverse routes and bouldering options.A fun weekend outing or a regular fitness activity.Accessible for children, with auto belays and varied difficulty walls suitable for various ages.
Why families love it
- Extensive variety of climbing walls and routes, including auto belay, top rope, and lead climbing, with difficulties suitable for all levels.
- Auto belay routes are fun and challenging, with varying wall heights (25' to 55').
- Availability of bouldering walls for those interested in that style of climbing.
- Climbing instructors are described as helpful and caring about safety.
- The facility is generally spacious, clean, and safe (though cleanliness is disputed in one review).
- Positive atmosphere and friendly staff, making it easy to connect with other climbers.
Insider tips
- If bringing young children who cannot operate auto belays alone, parents MUST remain actively present and supervise them for safety and to ensure fair turns on walls.
- Be considerate of other climbers; ensure children take turns on auto belay walls and don't monopolize them.
- If you plan to top rope or lead belay, be prepared to take the required certification tests.
- Consider visiting during off-peak hours if concerned about potential crowding or issues with unattended children.
- If cleanliness is a major concern for your family, be aware of conflicting reports on facility hygiene.
Good to know before you go
- If you are uncomfortable with the possibility of unattended children or staff inaction regarding safety issues.
- If cleanliness and hygiene are top priorities for your family (due to conflicting reviews).
- If you expect a high level of staff supervision for children on the climbing walls.
- Significant and ongoing problem with parents leaving young children unattended, especially those too small to hook themselves in/out of auto belays.
- Unattended children have been observed fooling around unsafely on walls (e.g., trying to flip upside down).
- Crowds
- Can get busy, leading to waits for auto belay walls, especially if children are left tethered for long periods.
- Value
- Pricing details are not mentioned in the provided reviews. The value appears high for the variety of climbing options and routes available, assuming the safety and cleanliness concerns are not a factor for the individual.
- Accessibility
- No specific accessibility accommodations mentioned in the reviews.
- Safety
- Climbing instructors are helpful and care about safety.
What parents say
"An amazing experience! There were many walls for both auto belay and other forms of climbing. The walls varied in difficulty, allowing people from all levels to have fun. In my opinion, this is the best location. You could easily spend an hour and a half there. The climbing instructors are helpful and care about your safety. It is very fun and accessible for children as well. The facility was spacious, clean, and safe. I highly recommend Vertical Endeavors for a fun weekend!"
a month ago
"I love climbing at this location! They have super fun and challenging auto belays, top rope and lead routes. You must take a certification test to be able to top rope belay and a more intensive one for lead belaying and climbing. I love the variety of routes for all three rope climbing types. They have routes that vary from 25' to 55'. This location also has some bouldering walls as well if you are into that sort of thing. There is a huge parking lot that wraps around the building so I never have issues finding a spot."
5 months ago
"Giving a 1 star rating so maybe this problem will actually be addressed finally. This VE location in particular has a horrible problem with parents leaving their kids unattended, even the ones who are too small to hook themselves in/out on their own. Not only is this unsafe (I’ve seen kids fooling around and trying to flip upside down and whatnot while on the wall because their parents aren’t watching), but parents are leaving their kids tethered to walls for 15+ minutes while other people are waiting for the wall. Just like the rest of us, we need to be considerate of other climbers and take"
2 weeks ago
Reviews sourced from public Google data.
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