The Stronghold Climbing Gym - Los Angeles, California

Lauren D.

I came for my first time and the staff were so helpful. They explained the equipment, safety, and gave us a strategy to have a great first experience. I also appreciated the staff who were climbing throughout the facility who were ready to offer help and suggestions as we tackled our first routes. The area was labeled very well for level of difficulty and I didn’t have to wait for hardly any of the areas I wanted to try. I also appreciated the nearby brewery for a post workout beer.

Jo C.

Awesome gym! Awesome staff. Super friendly, helpful and informative.
The place is so clean and chill. A lot of room to do your thing.
This place is super kid friendly. Awesome stuff. Nice chill gym up top with a yoga area.
They also have a snack area. This place was just awesome. Can't wait to go again.

Rio E. (.

Cool place to hang out. Lots of very challenging climbs, with auto belays, rope or plain old bouldering.

Facility is very clean and the crew are very helpful and friendly. There is a weight room and the restrooms are very clean. They a small snack area where they sell some good cookies.

They do offer daypasses and it is perfect for people that want to try climbing.

Chris S.

Don’t be fooled by the pitiful reviews left by other visitors, I have been climbing for years at many different gyms around the South West and I can easily say this is the worst climbing gym I’ve ever been too. Immediately the staff came off as incredibly passive aggressive with no enthusiasm for climbing, no concern for safety, and seemingly no thought for the customer experience. We wanted to top rope yet the process to become certified was completely inexplicable and we were offered no help from the staff on how to use the ATC belay equipment, which is outdated since most gyms use a Gri-Gri, and were told to watch a YouTube video because teaching us would “take too much time”. To me this was absurd, any other gym I’ve ever been too always runs you through a guide on how to belay no matter how much experience you have and would never send you up a wall with equipment you don’t know how to use. As I said safety is not a concern here, the boulder walls are dangerously close to the concrete floor, the padding is very hard so it makes falling from a boulder feel a bit sketchy, and since safety is not prioritized the climbers here have developed bad habits such as walking under you while you’re bouldering, climbing within too close of a proximity to you and children were running wildly all along the place. There are much better gyms to climb at than this one, it isn’t worth your money or your time. Would not recommend anyone to go here.

Ying L.

Good bouldering location with plenty of interesting problems to solve. Not much in the way of top rope or belay. A day pass is pretty pricey, the monthly membership is much more worth it if you're going frequently. Gets very crowded during peak hours. The Google maps location is bit confusing, parking it on the street but you have to walk through a entry area to get to the gym. Just follow the people with the chalk bags!

Jacqueline T.

I love Stronghold. It's small, cozy, and has the friendliest staff around. I learned how to belay here, and I appreciate that they take testing seriously. There are several auto belay options as well.

I do feel like some of the climbs are graded lower than they should actually be, but I enjoy the challenge and variety of hangs in the bouldering section. Another point of contention is that a day pass is $36 which is kinda crazy.

Overall, Stronghold is definitely a great spot to meet people, take classes, see what's going on via their bulletin board, and be in a chill environment without crazy climbing bros. You can tell it's a great community because people bring their dogs and several groups like Climb the Gap and Lagartijas host meetups here.

Abe S.

As of Jan 2019 - Nice gym, good variety of bouldering and top rope/lead climbs. Also good workout area and amenities. Daily pass is $25. Monthly fee is $80+, and there's normally a $75 initiation fee. Seems a bit high for a single local gym, but it's a good climbing community.

Adam

Manager Sam was incredibly kind and helpful with a membership issue. I really appreciated the understanding and thoughtfulness. I really enjoy being a member here for reasons like these!

Also, great dogs.