First Ascent is a great climbing community for beginners as well as seasoned enthusiasts! A membership at FA allows entry to any of the Chicago locations, which gives access to different setting styles and a variety of boulder/top rope routes. The Arlington Heights locations is one of two (soon to be three) that has top rope routes. If you don't have a belay partner, there are a good number of autobelay routes! Depending on the time, the walls can get a little crowded and there always seems to be youth teams and classes going on. For early risers, they have been holding member only hours on Saturdays from 8-10am. In addition to the walls, there's an extensive weights and cardio area, as well as yoga, HIIT, and Pilates classes. Also, they plan various community building activities, including meetups, craft nights, member appreciation nights, injury prevention workshops, and more! For me, First Ascent provides a well-rounded and fun exercise routine with a great community! read more

This climbing gyms is enormous! Upon inquiring from the staff, it's a converted water park, and the size of the facility certainly shows it. Staff are extremely helpful even in the midst of super busy seasons (like winter holidays when kids are out of school). I really appreciate how you can get a set of free equipment rentals with a membership, especially since I had to rent a pregnancy harness a few times. There's everything you need to top rope, boulder, or lead. For top rope and lead, make sure you go through the proper certifications and/or classes through the gym. As this gym is in the suburbs, the size of the parking lot is generous as well. Even during peak times, there's usually a spot available. I love that they have a little compost and community garden out front as well. The locker rooms are equipped with plenty of lockable storage, showers, and bathrooms. They also provide towels should you forget! There are yoga studios to the side with plenty of opportunities for classes --just check the calendar they update. It's an excellent facility for all ages. Honestly, some of the youngest lead climbers I've seen have been at this gym. It's really cool to see how supportive this place is for the community. read more

Really nice gym, high walls for lead, friendly staff, plenty of seating an spaces to stretch

Great climbing gym In the suburbs of Chicago. Not too far from the north suburbs, worth a drive as they have a lot of great climbing routes and boulders and a spacious weightlifting space! They have lockers in the restrooms so you can be rest assured your belongings are in a safe place and showers too! Staff is helpful! The routes are long and you can definitely feel the pump if your body's not trained enough haha. If you're lead climbing a 35 m rope is long enough for the straight routes, not sure about the overhanging routes so I would recommend a 40m rope if you're lead climbing. They also have a seating area if you're waiting around and not climbing. read more

See all

Arlington Heights is the newest addition to the First Ascent family, and it's a solid gym! There is something for everyone, including yoga, a fitness area, bouldering, top rope, auto belays, and lead climbing! Overall, there is more lead than there is top rope, so make sure you bring your rope to pass the lead safety test. As I was only in Chicago for a few hours during my layover, I didn't plan to travel with a rope. No rope checkouts or rentals available at this time. As far as I could tell, the route-setters do a great job. Grades seemed consistent, and the routes were fun! There is currently a fun 12 with slopers and pinches that I thoroughly enjoyed, even though it pumped me out! I do wish there was more slab climbing here, though. It's also a shame that I couldn't try some of the lead-only routes, as they looked sweet! There were other climbers there, using the auto belays, and it made me think of how useful those would be in my home gym. Sometimes, it's hard to find a belay partner, and I'd love to keep training. All top ropes in this gym are set up with a grigri, so you won't need your own belay device. The safety test for top rope is on point. Although Janay knew I was an experienced climber, she tested me thoroughly. It's important to keep all your climbers safe! If you are a teacher, student, or military, then you are eligible for a discounted day pass! Cubbies are placed around the gym, and there are also locker rooms. Come check out First Ascent Arlington Heights while it's still shiny and clean! It's attached to an apartment building, so you might have to walk around to find it like I did. Some dude told me this place used to be a water park! read more

See all

Clean gym, friendly staff. My daughter asks to stay after her class to continue climbing. She is actually going again today because she loves it so much. Every single staff member I have met has been accommodating and helpful. I actually find the general vibe of the clientele to be friendly and helpful too, giving community vibes. Highly recommend, it is well maintained and they take safety seriously. read more

I used to indoor rock climb years ago, and its so nice to have seen it come into popularity in recent years with dedicated facilities being built for it. First Ascent is a great place! Roughly $34 for day pass includes shoes and harness rental. Friendly staff get you familiar with a tour, some rules, and safety guidance along with helping you with your harness. Its a great facility with autobelays, bouldering areas, and a strength training gym to use. Family friendly as I saw a few young kids there climbing as well. Its so close to home, I definitely plan on coming back. read more

See all

Just opened not long ago, this climbing gym is so new and state-of-art. Lots of coworking space, tables and seatings, lots of cubby shelves everywhere. Also shelves of books but at the moment it's not accessible. There are also party rooms that are enclosed. Bathroom has lots of shower space, keypad lockers, and nice benches. I really like their aesthetic choices in their furnitures and interior choices. They have tampons available for emergency use (yay!). Their keypad was a bit tricky to get used to. My suggestion is to press the "clear" key many times before typing in the numbers. I would also take a picture of the locker number since I tend to forget where my locker is lol. They have two classrooms that offer yoga classes in the mornings. Pretty hidden away but decent space inside the classrooms/dance studio rooms. A lot of top-rope routes but also a good amount of bouldering. I love that the crash pads are really thick/firm/bouncy, as opposed to VE's chips that can get everywhere and in your shoes, but do watch out if you back up not to fall off the edge. They vacuum the crash pads everyday, supposedly, so it looked super clean and new when I went in the morning. You should sign waiver at home before you come in, it's easier. And get a quick mandatory orientation on what to do and not to do. But you don't need to get autobelay certified though they do teach you how to. They have a decent amount of autobelays, though I'd wish they had more. Lol. The autobelay are pretty easy to pull down compared to what I was used to at VE, so it's good for kids who don't have a lot of strength to hold it down by one arm, but the flip side is when you kick off, you descend pretty fast initially but it does stabilize at a certain speed--I heard that's because it works by magnetic and can support up to 300 lb. Took my 9 year old here to climb after 4 year hiatus because of pandemic, and she immediately fell in love and didn't want to leave, she just kept going and going, with endless amount of energy. I might consider taking her here more often or maybe sign her up for lessons! read more

First Ascent - Yoga Near Me - Arlington Heights, Illinois

See all

As far as climbing gyms go, First Ascent has to be at the, ahem, top of the mountain. The facility is impressive, the amenities are top notch, and the staff is friendly. We came for a day of climbing and, after a short intro video, we were harnessed up and ready to roll. Being out first time we stuck to the auto-belays. In fact, I'm not sure you can use the other ropes if not trained in them? Nonetheless, they have more than a few courses to occupy people of our level. They also have a lot of other courses for the more advanced, covering a broad swath of people. The climbs are challenging but really fun! The facility itself is impressive as well. This place is BIG with lots of climbing and bouldering options. They have yoga rooms, a free weights area (that is stocked with the best: Rogue), and a cardio room. Not to mention locker rooms. They left nothing out in the planning of this place and it shows. Plus, it's kept up well and is clean! Given the amount of fun we had we already want to come back, and will! In fact, I've already started to look at membership options... read more

I didn't have a good time. The bouldering routs were much harder than any of the locations I've been to. For example: the V3s felt like V4s and they all felt like that. read more

This is an amazing gym! My 10 year old son was invited with a friend and has wanted to come back everyday since. The facility is spotlessly clean. The amenities are state of the art. The most impressive part however, is the staff. Wow. I want to shout out to Cara at the front desk for helping me navigate a reservation issue. Thank you First Ascent for making my families introduction to climbing an amazing experience. read more

My son and I were able to bond while exploring this together. It was a great playground for all ages we both had a blast.

This location just opened up. I've been to both Avondale and Humbolt Park locations, so I'm using those as a comparison. Arlington Heights I believe is the biggest by square footage. It is a huge open space. Despite the huge open space, there is about as many walls as Avondale, maybe a little less, both top rope and bouldering. I feel like there is a little wasted space, but there is also more space which is nice. I felt a little too cramped at times during peak hours at the other locations, and there's a lot of space to relax, lots of chairs and tables, even a ping pong table. The gym is about the same as other locations, maybe a bit bigger than the others. Each gym seems to have its own unique tools that the others don't have. This location has a machine called a "Jacob's Ladder" which is like a stair climber, but with a ladder. Pretty exhausting, I barely can last two minutes on it. Same amenities as other locations, Yoga Studios, full locker rooms (THEY PROVIDE TOWELS), and a very small climbing store. They have a few spaces which looks like they are still under construction so there might be even more in the future. In the end, a few small things like more walls would be nice, I don't think they warrant losing a star; and they at least seem like a great place to climb! Hope they open one up close to midway airport next so I don't have to drive do far. Maybe in Lagrange? LTHS has a rock climbing gym class so they would have a steady stream of news clients lol. read more

See all

First class gym and classes. Problems are redone often and facilities are clean. Staff is very helpful. I am a happy member

This gym is great! Came here with a group who had never bouldered before and we all had a fun time. Plenty of easier routes for beginner climbers. Atmosphere was good and fun to watch a lot of the more experienced climbers! Looks like most people here like to bounder instead of rope climbing, but maybe it's different depending on what time you go. Will be back! read more

Staff are so helpful. Clean environment. Well run. Super kid friendly for all ages. Money well spent.

i know it's not fa fault but holy this saturday was so bad in the bouldering area. Everyone lacks the common sense that is bouldering ettiquete and parents with kids are even worse they don't care. I had to wait almost 30 minutes to climb one boulder because it was a dyno across a couple other boulders. Even if you try to just go you can't because some little kid cuts you off or 5 ppl with rental shoes project the exact same problem right after eachother. Within an hour i was able to climb this route like 3 times. It also doesn't help that the day pass is almost $20 just to get fucked over in bouldering area read more