FAQs

We do not.

Any group of 6 or more climbers must email the gym (manhattan@centralrockgym.com) providing us with at least 72 hours notice of your intent to come into the gym. Our leadership team will work with you to ensure payment and all the necessary documentation such as participation waivers are handled appropriately.

Large groups of climbers who show up to the gym unannounced may be turned away at the discretion of our staff, based on current occupancy and traffic through the facility.

Groups involving children under the age of 13 must come with at least 1 adult (18+) chaperone for every 3 children ages 12 or younger and ensure that each child’s Legal Parent signs the Waiver and Orientation form for that child either in the gym or ahead of time online. Please see the “Are kids allowed?” FAQ below for additional stipulations on youth climbing.

Yes! Our facility is dog friendly before 2:00 PM on weekdays. Our dog policy is as follows:

• Dogs must be leashed to the wheels of one of our cubbies.
• Dogs are not allowed on the pads.
• We ask that all dogs be walked and given the opportunity to use the restroom.
• If a dog becomes disruptive to our other clientele, the dog and owner may be asked to leave the facility by our staff.

Yes! We love having kids in the gym but to make sure everyone stays safe was have limited hours for children under the age of 13. Adult (18+) supervision required.

Mondays – Friday: Kids age 12 and under are welcome until 6pm.
Saturday & Sunday: Kids age 12 and under are welcome until 4pm.

Groups involving children 12 years old or younger must include at least 1 adult (18+) chaperone for every 3 children.

Please note that children under the age of 8yrs. are not permitted to Boulder. They are limited to climbing the rope area via the Auto Belays, or on Top Rope if someone in your party is belay certified.

When trying to determine the appropriate number of chaperones for a group of children, we strongly recommend considering how many of the children are 8+, and how many are 7-, and allocating the appropriate number of chaperones for each group separately. Because children must always be supervised by an adult, and because it is impossible to supervise children in both the bouldering and rope area at the same time, allocating the appropriate number of chaperones per age group will allow every child to climb supervised continuously. For example, if a 6-year old and an 8-year old are supervised by only one chaperone – they can both climb in the rope area, but if the 8 year old wishes to participate in bouldering then the entire party must move to the bouldering area. The 6 year old must sit on the sidelines in the bouldering area while the 8 year boulders, and can only climb again when the entire party returns to the rope area. If they are supervised by two chaperones, both children can climb without interruption even if they are in different areas of the gym.

Children under the age of 8 may Boulder if they meet one of the following criteria:

• They are part of a family membership,  climbing with the adult member, and have been given permission from the management team.
• They are participating in a youth program (after school kids class, staff belay, etc)
• They are taking a private lesson with a CRG Staff Instructor

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.

You have a number of options!

1. You can climb on our bouldering walls. Bouldering does not require ropes, instead it focuses on shorter walls (10 – 14 feet tall) with significantly more padding on the ground. Partners are not required for this style of climbing. Check out our First Time Boulderer video for more information. A short bouldering orientation from a CRG staff member is required for this type of climbing.
2. You can try out our Auto-Belays, which will allow you to climb to the top of our 40 foot tall wall. Use of these also requires an orientation from one of our staff, which is included in your purchase of a Day Pass.
3. If you decide to become a member, we have FREE introductory courses that can teach you basic climbing techniques and how to belay on our top rope walls.

We have bouldering and top-rope climbing at our facility.

• Bouldering is climbing on a low wall (10-14 feet) that uses large mats to fall on for protection instead of ropes and a belay system. A short bouldering orientation from a CRG staff member is required for this type of climbing.
• 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 which is wrapped around an anchor at the rope of the wall, with someone attached on the other end who is managing the rope correctly, 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. For the belay test you must be able to show competency in tying the proper climbing knot and performing the belay procedure without assistance from staff. Belay classes are offered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and are free for members.

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 members a 1-hour instructional class on belaying throughout the week. For more information on this program see our belay class schedule.  Please be aware that you must be 13 years of age or older to belay at CRG facilities.

We have a limited number of auto-belays. An auto-belay orientation from a CRG staff member is required before using an auto-belay. Though they are convenient when climbers do not have a rope partner for the evening, we believe in the need for partnered climbing. This ensures two sets off eyes for all safety checks and helps maintain a very socially engaging environment.

Anyone under the age of 13 MUST be accompanied and clipped in by an adult.

If you are an experienced climber and know the PLUS belay method than we have a simple test you can do to show you are competent with the process. If you do not know how to belay you will need to take a class. And please keep in mind that watching a YouTube video about belaying is an extremely unsafe substitute to taking a class and will likely result in failing the belay test. If you only want to boulder then no class is required.

There are several options for you to choose from and each one has a different price. Please visit our rates section for the gym you are visiting for more information, and look for our daily specials and memberships!

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.

Absolutely! We have a section of our gym dedicated to child friendly climbing. 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. HOWEVER, use of this area require someone who is belay certified. If you do not know how to belay, you will need to make a reservation with an instructor in order to make use of these walls, or take our belay class.

Kids Climbing (12 years old or younger) is restricted to before 6pm on Weekdays and before 4 pm on Weekends.

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 young harnesses then we’d be happy to get them climbing!

Our facility is primarily Bouldering, which does not require a “class” to participate in, as much as a safety orientation. All first time climbers will receive a full safety orientation as part of their visit. All that being said, we do offer classes that teach climbing technique as well as belay skills to enable someone to ascend the 40 foot rope wall without staff assistance. Check out the Climbing Instruction page under the Climbing tab!

We offer our members an entire series of classes geared toward both novice and experienced climbers, including technique classes, instructional clinics, and fitness classes. For more information about our classes click on the “Climbing” section on the navigation menu.

Private sessions can be scheduled must be scheduled directly with one of our instructors.  You can find a list of our instructors, as well as their contact information and availability HERE.

The main focus of CRG Manhattan is climbing. We do have some additional fitness equipment including a Rogue Cage and free weights available.

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.

CRG Manhattan is located at 21 West End Avenue, on the corner of West End Avenue and 60th street. There is no street parking available in the immediate vicinity of the gym, so we strongly recommend arriving via public transportation. The closest subway station is Columbus Circle, accessible by the A,C,B,D, and 1 train lines. Click on our address as it appears anywhere on our website to be redirected to Google Maps.

We have FREE WiFi at our facility!

We provide lockers at our facility for your convenience. Our lockers are equipped with combination locks that users may modify themselves, so no need to bring a lock! We take no liability for lost/stolen items so it is recommended that all valuables (wallets/keys/computers) are locked up. Lockers are for day use only.