Welcome to Beaches Rock Gym

We are a bouldering gym in Atlantic Beach, Florida. Bouldering is rock climbing in its most pure form. It is a sport that is fun for the whole family. Come by and give it a try!

Welcome to Beaches Rock Gym! Located in Atlantic Beach, we are excited to offer a new rock climbing experience that is conveniently situated in the first coast beach community.

What is Bouldering?
Bouldering is climbing stripped down to its raw, pure state. The sport offers a harness/rope-free climbing experience above thick safety mats. The only equipment you need is a pair of climbing shoes and chalk. Although the distance above the ground is shorter than belay (harness style) climbing walls, the sport tests you physically and mentally.

Climbers are challenged to solve multiple problems (different routes or a sequence of moves), each marked by a certain color of holds. With a variety of marked routes, all levels of climbers will find problems suitable to their ability.

New to Climbing?
First-time visitors to the gym are provided with a safety orientation that covers safe falling practices and gym rules.

Climbing is fun for all family members. We ask that parents provide direct supervision to young children as well as older children who may need extra support.

Climbing shoes are required. You may bring your own or rent a pair for $3. We can also order you a pair of shoes.

Our beginner’s wall is a great place to start. With simpler routes and lower overall height, many new climbers gain confidence learning the sport here.

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Climbing the walls is sporting fun for all

We have to face the facts, folks: Northeast Florida is flat. I found one website that declares there are 10 named mountains in Duval County! OK, we’ll admit Saint Johns Bluff, at 62 feet above sea level, maybe a skooch higher than, say, Sherry Drive, but none of those 10 ‘mountains’ is any good for bouldering.

And what, you ask, is bouldering? It’s rock climbing! And where can we do that in Flat Florida? At Beaches Rock Gym, the place with the zany wall décor on West Third. Those protrusions of every shape and color are the rocks you climb. And folks from all over are climbing the walls every week, learning the ups and downs of rock-climbing. (There’s no way we can write this intro without making terrible puns and word plays about rocks and boulders. Just deal with it.) The shapes and colors indicate certain routes or move sequences; the climbers solve problems presented by these random-looking crags and cliffs, set by the pros at BRG on a rotating schedule.

What’s especially cool about Beaches Rock Gym is that almost everyone can climb the walls there — Facebook photos show little kids scurrying up high, and adults carefully choosing their next move.

Summer camp for ages 6 to 12 is 8:30 a.m. to noon, July 11-15 and July 25-29, with Instructor Mary McCool, who’s also the gym manager. The camp fee is $250 a week. The supervision is tight; not quite Helicopter-Mom level, but with a high regard for safety and fun. In fact, every newcomer gets a safety orientation. All you need to bring is a pair of climbing shoes or rent a pair at the gym.

Owners Dean Grant and Mac Kelly have a firm grip on the rock-climbing business and urge us all to drop in — gracefully — and learn new skills or heighten your mastery on their walls.

Writer Marlene Dryden

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