FAQs

Yes, you need a waiver! Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport. We go to great lengths to make our facilities as safe as possible to ensure that patrons of the facility encounter as little risk as possible. That being said, we require a waiver from every visitor to the gym in order to stay in operation and for insurance purposes.

All customers under the age of 18 MUST have a waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian. Grandparents, siblings, and teachers do not count.

Fill out a waiver HERE

You have a number of options!

1. You can take a beginner Top Rope Belay class, to learn all the safety requirements for using the facility. This class typically takes a little over 1 hour and you can sign up online. Once completed you’ll have full access to the gym and have skills to allow you to belay anywhere in the country!
2. You can use the auto belays! Our Auto Belay systems will make getting up the climbing walls hassle-free! Designed to lower children and adults at a slow, controlled rate, these devices are easy to use. Get a 5-minute orientation on how to use the Auto-Belays properly, and away you go!
3. Visit any of our bouldering facilities to climb! Bouldering does not require ropes, instead, it focuses on shorter walls (10 – 14 feet tall) with significantly more padding on the ground. No classes or partners are required for this style of climbing. The closest CRG gyms that offer bouldering are Harvard Sq., Fenway, Waltham, and Watertown.

We have top rope climbing, lead climbing, and auto belays at our facilities.

• Top-rope climbing requires that climbers know how to belay and tie proper knots. It involves climbing while wearing a harness, attached to a rope that is wrapped around an anchor at the top of the wall, with someone attached on the other end who is managing the rope, in a way that does not permit you to fall to the ground. The person on the ground is known as the belayer.
• Anyone who is belaying needs to take a belay test or a belay class. If you need to take a belay test come up to the front desk with a partner and ask a staff member. For the belay test, you must be able to show competency in making the proper climbing knot and belay procedure without assistance from the staff. If you need to take a top rope belay class, please sign up on our website or at the front desk.
• Lead climbing is a more advanced style of climbing that involves clipping your rope into gear on the wall, and in essence, placing your own protection as you climb up the wall. This type of climbing requires more advanced knowledge of the sport and that each climber be certified by the facility staff. Climbers who are new to leading must take the lead climbing course.

Belaying is the process of managing the rope so that the person climbing does not fall to the ground when coming off the climbing wall. Belayers are also responsible for lowering the climber safely to the ground. We provide an approximately 1-hour instructional class on belaying during the week. For more information on this program please check our Top Rope Class section.  Please be aware that you must be 13 years of age or older to belay at CRG facilities.

Yes, we do! We have auto belay climbs suited for adults and kids. Our Auto-Belay systems will make getting up the taller climbing walls hassle-free! Designed to lower children and adults at a slow, controlled rate, these devices are easy to use. In order to use them, you will have to fill out an auto belay form and complete an orientation with a staff member upon arrival to the facility. All customers under the age of 18 MUST have the auto belay orientation signed by a parent or legal guardian. Grandparents, siblings, and teachers do not count.

If you are an experienced climber and know the PBUS belay method then we have a simple test you can do upon arrival to the facility to show you are competent with the process. If you do not know how to belay you will need to take a class at another CRG location. Please keep in mind that watching a YouTube video about belaying is an extremely unsafe substitute for taking a class and will likely result in failing the belay test. If you only want to use the auto belays you don’t need to take a class, but you will have to do an orientation with a staff member at the facility.

There are several options for you to choose from and each one has a different price. Please visit our rates section or the gym you are visiting for more information. More information on membership rates can be found HERE

All Central Rock Gym facilities offer monthly memberships to the gym and are priced such that 4 or more trips to the gym on a monthly basis makes it beneficial to sign up.  Our membership policies are the best in the business too! There are no start-up fees, the only commitment is pro-rated dues for the remainder of the month plus 1 full month of dues. And there are no cancellation fees.

Check out the membership page under “Pricing” to see everything our memberships have to offer.

Yes, we do! We run Kids Clip & Climb sessions every weekend! This a drop-off kids-only 1-hour auto belay climbing session supervised by a staff member. This weekend program is exclusively offered at our location. Sign up for a slot ahead of time or the day of, but hurry as spots are limited and will sell out fast!

We have a dedicated kids’ section in the back of the gym with top rope climbs and auto belays. These walls are shorter in height, making it easier to communicate between the climber and belayer, and making the climber feel more comfortable in a unique environment.

We don’t have competitive or non-competitive youth team programs. The Watertown location does but spots are limited, please visit their website for more information.

The short answer is they are never too young!  However, it is a case-by-case basis as to whether they are physically mature enough to climb, but there are many visitors who frequently climb at our facilities as early as 3 years old. If they can fit in our smallest full-body harnesses then we’d be happy to get them climbing!

We have an entire series of classes geared toward both novice and experienced climbers, including technique classes, instructional clinics, and fitness classes. For more information please visit Watertown, Stoneham, or Randolph’s websites.

There are plenty of parking spots but make sure to park in the right one!

You can park in the Red Garage, located right in front of the gym– in any of the spots that have a green light, other colors are reserved for tenants and Roche Bros customers.

Another option is the second floor in the Purple Garage, located in front of Marshalls. If for some reason you can’t find a spot in those garages, you can park in any of the 60 or 90-minute uncovered parking spots around the property, just make sure to check the signage, the property’s management is constantly checking that customers don’t go over the time limit.

Wear something that you are comfortable moving around in. We suggest flexible pants and something that is not too baggy. It is recommended that you wear shorts or pants that do not need a belt. Think: Phys. Ed Class. We have all of the gear you need for climbing, so no need to worry about that part! Just make sure you bring socks to wear with our rental shoes.

You can find us at Arsenal Yards! Our gym is next to City Works and the Majestic 7 movie theater. Ben & Jerry’s is conveniently located across from us 🙂

We have FREE WiFi at our facility, please ask a staff member for the password.

We don’t have lockers but feel free to use any of the cubbies we have!