Earth Treks Crystal City is one of the best climbing gyms I've ever been to. First of all, it's absolutely massive with a huge array of rope routes and boulder problems. Even when the gym gets really crowded on weeknights, there's plenty of space to work on your projects. Plus, the routesetters do a fantastic job of updating huge I go 2-3 times a week and there is never a shortage of new problems read more

Came here on a Monday morning and it was pretty quiet. There's also parking validation which is a big plus! The staff were super friendly. It's a decent sized gym and is very unassuming on the outside. I would definitely come here again if I was ever in the area again! read more

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Decided to visit Movement with a friend of mine after looking at some climbing gyms in the area. TLDR, this is a solid climbing gym. Nice people and very clean. Plenty of boulder routes and a nice top rope area as well. Bouldering: All the boulder walls are fairly graded by the route setters and there are plenty of route to choose from. There is also small top out area as well, which is pretty cool. And, its all pretty spacious so while resting you don't feel cramped and in peoples way. Top Rope: Plenty of top rope routes that I saw, but didn't spend too much time there to comment. Gym: Very nice and spacious weighting area. Clean and people are very aware with re racking weights. Quality equipment as well for any type of fitness activity. *Front desk can validate your parking* Overall, a 5/5. Very solid climbing gym. read more

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First time coming to this Movement location after only having been at the NYC locations. Definitely much much bigger of course with more climbing space. The staff and front desk were super helpful and nice. Their rope climbing walls didn't disappoint as there were plenty of routes to climb and it didn't feel crowded at all. Will definitely stop by next time if I'm in the area again! read more

Movement Crystal City - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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I tried to put together a group climb and Movement never replies to their email. I called in and they said email Brady. Well Brady rarely answers his email. We never got a response, but luckily we had people in the group who could belay. This isn't the first time this happened. This was me giving Movement a second chance. When I first started climbing, I was exploring different gyms in the area and, Movement is the only one that made up different excuses for not answering the emails about the gym or about hiring a personal trainer. I'm glad I never signed up with them. People in the business seem to also dislike them, especially their safety practices, going as far back as when they were Earth Treks. The other gyms talk well about each other, but no one talks well of Movement. Even a few other customers at Movement were talking of how it would be better to go else where. Better is Sportrock or DC Bouldering. I'd recommend them instead. read more

My daughter and I had a fantastic day at Movement gym. We went on a Saturday morning. The instructors are very patient and well practiced in teaching beginners (thanks Ari!) I learned how to belay, passed my safety check and we had a great time climbing. Lots of different levels and large area to explore. Highly recommend! read more

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Love checking out the local Movement gyms when I'm in a different city. I belong to the Colorado gyms and love that my Movement membership works at all their locations. This one had friendly staff and lots of room to climb without it getting crowded. PS the parking garage in the building says $11 for 2 hours but you can get parking validated at the front desk. read more

Movement Crystal City - Top rope and sport rope area - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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the yoga is not what it used to ne. i downgraded a star. also the vibe is too corporate. read more

ETCC is my favorite climbing gym in the DMV area. They have well around 100 different bouldering routes in slabs, overhang, cave, globe, etc., and their toprope/lead routes are quite numerous as well. They also upload climbs and maps to the KAYA app, where you can view various betas uploaded by other users at the gym for the same climbs. It can be helpful when in a rut or just wanting to learn new techniques in approaching different climbs. I like ETCC better than SportRock because they grade their routes directly (SR does circuit grading), and the routes here are more technical than dynamic, which is my preference. The belay test here is quite simple, and you don't need your own belay device-- you just need a harness, which you can rent for $5. I can't say for lead, but toprope here is quite simple in this regard. read more

For bouldering and commute time from the city, I like this gym better than DC Bouldering Project and the Rockville Movement. I've never used the roped climbing areas or cardio/weight or yoga spaces. 1. Bouldering - There is plenty of wall space and a small top out area. I come at busy times of day, but often though it looks crowded there are just groups of people hanging out on the mat and it's not too complicated to work in on a wall. Sometimes, however, people are not looking out for turn taking, and I've gotten crowded out of climbs. Routes are fine. As a shorter person, so far I haven't felt forgotten on a route. The style is a bit muscle-y, and I would like if there were more slab options (a personal preference). 2. Carless commuting - It's very close to the Crystal City Metro and Mt Vernon bike trail. The garage has some bike racks (sometimes overflowing). If you're willing to flag down staff at the desk (sometimes they get inundated), they'll give you the key for the bike cage. 3. Lockers - Plenty of good-sized lockers. Clean restrooms. Showers look fine. A foot wash, which is kept clean. Would love it if there was a bottle of hand lotion for post-climb moisturizing! read more

We called this place one morning last week to see if they could by chance fit us in that day for the introduction class for climbing and belaying basics. Their classes were full but there was an instructor who happened to be standing right there and she quickly spoke up and agreed to give us our own class. Wow! Awesome! Everyone was so knowledgeable and helpful throughout the entire process. Our instructor, Bethany, was amazing. She's moving soon though so she unfortunately won't be available for future classes. No worries though! They have plenty of other extremely helpful and knowledgeable instructors available! The walls were awesome (not that I'm an expert yet). We had such a great time and we are so excited to go back! I highly recommend visiting this spot. They also have numerous gyms across the US and if you are a member, you can visit any of them! read more

Movement Crystal City - Gotta learn that lingo! - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Solid gym! Movement gets crazy busy in the evenings (maybe too busy for safety reasons?), but the routes are phenomenal, and you'll enjoy climbing with everyone there. I prefer Movement to DC's Bouldering Project/Brooklyn Boulders since there seems to be more bouldering routes with greater levels of difficulty. Entering/exiting the gym is super confusing. The hallways are weird to navigate depending on where you're coming from, and although there are signs, if you miss one, you may find yourself at a loading dock. read more

Very fun and great workout. The place is huge. My friend and I went on a Sunday and it was absolutely packed. He said he went earlier that week on a Tuesday and there were 20 people max. I recommend to all. read more

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As a climber from NYC, I feel like the day passes are a bit expensive from the standpoint of it's $36-40 ($20 if you're a student) for a day pass at gyms like BKB or the Cliffs. $20 is more than I pay when I climb in California. That being said, the facility is huge. It's one of the biggest I've been in on the east coast. However in my opinion, the membership is very affordable in comparison to NYC ($80-90/month in the DMV area and $119+ in NYC) not to mention you get guest passes which is unheard of in NYC. For the beginner climber they have "Vintro" climbs instead of V0, which I've seen here and there but I can appreciate it. However, the climbs here are longer as the walls (even for bouldering) are taller than facilities in NYC. I enjoyed how varied the wall angles were and that there were a bunch of different climbs however there were definitely routes that were misleveled or as my friend would say "just rude" if you were remotely short (and we're the average height for women so that's short for a climber). The ropes area looked like it was mostly grigri and I saw a girl learning how to belay from the staff leveraging a grigri. The staff is nice and helpful. There is a one way route to enter/exit. I did feel like it was annoying that the staff told me I couldn't have my water bottle on the mat due to "fall zones" despite my water bottle being in a spot away from all the walls (if you could land on it then you had to throw yourself off the wall) but I saw multiple guys carrying much larger water bottles on the mat and they weren't lectured at all. If you're going to enforce that be consistent at the very least. read more

LOVE this gym. It is spacious, has new facilities, and plenty of climbing routes for all levels of climbers. There is also a sizeable gym and spacious bouldering area. Keep in mind, it does get crowded between 5:30-7:30 pm on weekdays. read more

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Out of the three Earth Treks gyms I've been to, this one is my favorite. It has a nice facility with lots of top rope, bouldering, and a huge gym section, and a room for workout/yoga classes. I will say, though, I took a yoga class once and the walls were not sound proof, so you could hear everything going on outside even though the doors were closed. As you could imagine, noisy yoga probably isn't what you're going for. I've never taken a workout class, so I can't really say much about that. I mainly go for climbing and split my time between this gym and the Rockville one. They have lots of top rope options and seem to change their routes enough so that you won't always be doing the same climbs. The facility is huge, but there are so many members. It's kind of hard to even get a rope on weeknights from around 5-8 pm because it's so busy. The one thing I like about this gym though is that it's mainly young professionals. There aren't as many kids and teams as the one in Rockville. I feel like the gradings are a little harder than the Rockville gym, but that could just be me and the people I know. read more

TLDR: Climbing heaven... get ready for jello arms and calluses for days. Oh man this is climbers' heaven. Boasting one of the largest branches, the Crystal City Earth Treks is a smorgasbord if everything you could want. You want to boulder some crazy V4/5s? Check. You want to lead climb/top rope? Put your name on the list and find a partner. You want to just do some cardio/yoga classes/weights? They got those too. Membership is worth it just to come to this branch alone! Parking: parking is available in the underground parking lot and at a validated pricing through the front desk. Otherwise, pay by phone parking available. read more

Awesome new Earth Treks rockclimbing gym! It just opened up and it's huge and beautiful! Probably the biggest rockclimbing gym in the US. It is a rockclimber's heaven. Plenty of great boulder problems and rope climbs. Since its brand new, the holds are really rough. They also have a normal gym fitness section with a great number of treadmills, ellipticals, hangboards, and weights. Kinda pricey. It's $95, if you want access to all ET gyms. It is $89 for this location only. I guess it's worth it if you're an avid climber and plan on going often. Like all ET gyms, the staff is super cool and helpful. It's not that easy to find. No huge sign out front. It's in an office building. There is street parking and garage parking. Free during the weekends. On weekdays, it's free after 4pm. Before 4, you can get validated. It's also within a short walk from the metro. read more

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The good - numerous roped routes and Boulder problems. The staff - mostly friendly. Restrooms are clean / well maintained. Large, well equipped workout area. The facility in general is clean and well kept. There is a kid area for roped climbing. The so - so: Boulder and roped route setting does not have many competition style problems. For most climbers this is not a big issue - for those competitive climbers (definitely a minority) it's an issue. The bad: Grigri on every top rope - do the belayers actually know how to setup a belay device - probably not. While a Grigri on every route may seem like a good thing, it is actually detrimental to climbing and climbers. Have seen Movement (aka Earth Trek) climbers outdoors with weak belaying. The climbing sport is not advanced by a Grigri fixed to every top rope in the gym. And the top ropes in general are thick and stiff (maybe by design) but again it does not advance the sport. This is a peeve - the gym should to the extent possible prepare climbers for outdoors - thick stiff ropes, fixed Grigri does not prepare climbers for outdoors or for that matter other climbing gyms with supple ropes. The parking - underground parking garage - terrible, small spaces, low overhead (often hitting low hanging pipes and signs). The gym policies - ugh, like most climbing gyms they do not allow youth to lead climb. Ability does not matter, experience does not matter - just age matters. The gym, USA Climbing, and the insurance company are to blame. The gym is also a bit overboard on the water bottle on gym mat policy. The checkin often gets backed up. The gym uses RockGymPro software it's awful! The gym often gets crowded. There would be some benefit to have a customer counter on their website as some gyms do - so that climbers could make an informed decision about coming to the gym. The music is often low (background music) which is great. BUT, other times - ugh - no music would be better than the music that is played and played loudly. This is a personal peeve - as music interferes with communication. Neighborhood - just awful - nothing within walking distance for food, etc. And no above ground parking. Overall - it's overpriced and has a large number of negatives. But there are not many alternatives. read more

Absolutely love this location! Their gear shop is incredible from snacks to shoes! They are fully capable of satisfying any consumers needs in terms of apparel or just a super quick snack! The facility is underground and they have SO MUCH ROOM down there! Highly impressed with their workout area with general fitness equipment and accessibility to people who aren't even big into climbing. This place is extremely climber friendly with the multitude of campus boards they provide to the high variation in hang boards to choose from! Absolutely love how they designed the facility to be separate in the bouldering area, fitness area, and rope climbing area. There is no such thing as a kid running mindlessly underneath you while you boulder or lead climb. Very thoughtful interior and great for people who are just coming to visit since they offer multiple seating areas. Service was outstanding. The staff was knowledgeable, well spoken, and friendly. read more

Movement Crystal City - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Fantastic place to take your kids. My daughter had a birthday party here recently. Staff was excellent and kids had a blast. Place is clean and friendly. Very busy on weekends. Special shout out for the free parking which is rare in Crystal City. read more

I would not recommend going here. I purchased a holiday special and never received any email follow up or any correspondence about it. Only upon remembering it a year later did I call and find out that they intended it to be used in 60 days or expired. I tried to work with management for a solution but was repeatedly told "I'm sorry that you are frustrated, but those are the contract terms." There is something they could do, but they CHOSE to keep my money and provide nothing in return. A single day pass would have been completely appropriate and an opportunity to make a better impression. It would cost them nothing to do that. I wonder how many specials they advertise but never intend on being used. read more

it's a nice climbing gym but it's not very easy to navigate, i've been climbing for 17 years and it's not the worse gym i've been to, the people that are supposed to check you in are too talkative with regulars i waited about 30 minutes to be checked in only to be told that they had no ropes for lead climbing. Three Stars. read more

It's been my home climbing gym for 6 years. I love the people who work here and the community, it's so welcoming. I've made dozens of friends here. Honestly it's been the best gym I've ever been to. read more

Do yourself a favor and pass on this place for your kid's birthday. Communication and service was unbelievably bad. It took two days to get a basic Y/N answer about whether invitations are part of the package (and involved conferring with 5 people total). The events people are based in CO and the local staff is woefully unequipped to assist in planning, like, in any way. We ultimately had to cancel three weeks out because someone at the front desk accused me of cursing at him, which did not happen (I still can't believe this), and the director handled it incredibly poorly. She didn't investigate, just passive aggressively offered a refund and then scheduled a call with me that she had someone else make. If this is how this group is led, no wonder. So glad we got our money back! Bottom line: book this place if you're in the mood for a massive headache and want to have to find a new venue last minute. Luckily, Sportrock is down the road and has competent people manning phones and dedicated event staff onsite. What a relief! read more

Visited on a Saturday afternoon around 4PM and the gym was busy but not overly crowded. Checked in was fast and the staff were very friendly. There were many lockers in the locker room and I especially liked the feet washing station in the restroom (what a nice touch I really want this in my home gym). I didn't have time to do any rope climbing but there are sooooo many routes for top rope and lead, probably will take a long time before one runs out of routes to do here. I didn't see grigris attached to any of the ropes and I didn't see any auto-belays. The boulder area was also huge with tons of problems. I spent about 1.5 hours here, was pretty tired and the skin on my fingers were gone by the end. The gym also has a large training area with systems boards, hangboards, and lots of things to work on. Very happy with the offerings. One thing that could improve here: ventilation. When I first walked in, the smell of climbing feet and sweat just hit me. It was pretty also kind of warm and stuffy in the gym (outside temperature was 60F, not sure how that factors into the atmosphere in the gym). This gym is somewhat in the basement of the building so that might contribute to the poor ventilation, wonder if that can be improved. Please please! read more

This review is a hard for me to write because I like this gym, but I hate the way they nickel and dime customers. The gym is solid. It's in the top 5 I have ever climbed in. There's an extensive bouldering section, decent 35ft walls, weights, treadmills, and locker rooms. Solid! It's still new so all the climbs are still fun and they appear to have switched some of them out already which means they're keeping up with it already. My issue with Earth Treks and the reason for two stars is their pricing/fees. I don't mind paying $85/ month as a member living near DC, but it's the multi-gym pass, the "start-up" fee, and Family membership are disappointing. Why must I pay $6 extra/month to visit one of their other gyms? I'd like to know how many members visit a different gym often enough that Earth Treks thought it would be a problem and they should charge more for it? What if I don't know if I will visit other gyms but I'd like the option? Guess I better pay the premium. Crystal City (CC) is in their top pricing bracket too. I would understand if I was a member of one of the cheaper locations and they wanted me to pay the CC price to be able to visit other gyms, but instead, this is the opposite of that. What about this "start-up" fee? $59 for what? I come from climbing on the west coast, and I have never once seen a startup fee to become a member of a rock gym. Verizon charges me that much to send a technician to my house. What is Earth Treks doing for this? Silly. Finally, the family pass; Why must a person be married or civil unioned? Like I said before, I come from climbing West Coast, and Family/Buddy memberships are the same. I should be able to come in here with my friend/significant other/spouse or mother and pay the discounted rate that assumes we are paying more and also ensuring the business that they now have $150 coming to them monthly rather than $85. That's the incentive to bring a friend and convince them to climb with you daily. Every time I signed up for a gym, I brought a friend because of the incentive. I boulder mostly so now I have no extra incentive to bring someone in for more than a random day pass or to use one of the membership included buddy passes. Oh and last thing.... $10/month to put my account on hold? I can cancel my membership, but I have to pay the start-up fee again if I return. As a military member, I have never seen something this absurd. Even Verizon will put my phone on hold indefinitely without any fees at all, and they are truly in the business of ripping people off. I know this review seems whiney, but I know this company can do better for its members. Maybe my review will inspire even one change, that will be a small victory. read more

Movement Crystal City - Busy busy. (8:20pm on a Wednesday) - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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What an awesome place! My brother -- the "human lizard" -- has been going to this Earth Treks regularly, for about two years now. During these two years, we never did understand his fascination for climbing. He'd tell us about it and we'd get annoyed when he'd miss family dinners, or when he'd religiously up and leave home to "climb", wondering what it was that had such a strong hold over him. Up until last night, we couldn't grasp why he would take passion in such a body straining sport (especially since he's fractured his finger), but we get it now. Last night, he taught my friend and I how to climb - and how to climb safely, with the right use of lower leg and hand grip. It was so much fun! I can't wait to go back and give a try at V1 and V2, but something tells me I should start lifting weights to build some arm strength, and maybe even grow some more leg while at it ;) The inclined walls are a bit intimidating but I see why everyone is drawn to the challenge of conquering these unusual mounds! The fact that it *can* be done is what drives most to keep trying and building that endurance and strategy! This facility at Crystal City Earth Treks is clean, gorgeous and absolutely stunning. Staff are super helpful and people are so friendly and kind. My brother said that this location is the third largest in the nation, and that the Rockville location is the largest - I cannot wait to check that one out too! #LetsClimb read more

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I stopped by Earth Treks Crystal City during a recent trip home for the holidays to boulder. I'm already familiar with many of the Earth Treks gyms and had been climbing at the Rockville location for years before I moved to the Bay Area. This location is easily accessible by metro, but also has free garage parking. I visited on a weekday (between Christmas and New Years) after 8pm, and finding parking was no problem at all. The gym was pretty empty with only ~20-25 people in the bouldering area. Overall, ETCC has one of the best facilities of the ET climbing gyms I've been to. In addition to the rope walls and bouldering area, there's a yoga studio, a lifting area, a climbing-training area, and locker rooms. The walls were built by walltopia and have lots of friction, and the holds feel almost brand new with a lot of texture. The locker rooms are modern and clean, and have everything you would need including built-in locks on the lockers, places to wash your feet, and showers. The bouldering problems were all fun, but I felt that there wasn't too much variety in the setting. A majority of the more difficult problems were either comp-style, or burly. Because of this I'd rate this gym 4-stars. I'd definitely come back again next time I'm in the area and want some more variety beyond the ET Rockville setting. read more

Great new rock climbing gym in Crystal City Arlington, VA! Highlights: - Huge gym - Clean bathrooms with showers, lockers, towel service - Large gym fitness area if you don't want to climb everyday - Free Parking on Weekends and after 4pm on Weekdays - Friendly Staff - Large Bouldering, Top Roping and Lead Climbing Areas - Fitness Classes including core burn and yoga - $89/month for 1 person, $150/month for 2 people (Family) - Crowded during peak times (6-9pm) - Daily Passes are $25 each Highly recommend checking this place out for a workout or even a tour! read more

Things to love about this place: 1. It is huge 2. It is clean 3. Lots of climbing options 4. New gear of every sort 5. Modern bathrooms (sorry I'm a stickler about that) 6. Free parking after 4PM in the garage Why this place didn't get 5 stars. I understand I am a little bit rusty, and I probably deserved to fail my belay test for lack motion smoothness per their style. HOWEVER... just one test opportunity a day without any help by the staff to improve or allow for a retest after practice, is rather obtusely strict. I understand the need to be focused on safety. However, every other place I have been to let people get better and retest when staff is available. This place is rather draconian. So basically, this is not the place for beginners to make mistakes and learn, unless you want to pay for it AKA: come another day and pay the daily rate or the high price in house training. read more

Totally amazing! Everything is new, which means bring your band aids! Even the wall is like sandpaper.. Really grippy! This gym is HUGE with separate areas for top roping, bouldering, etc. and the staff are so nice. Alexa? Even dropped by to say hi! I know Jeremy also took some amazing photos of the place! Talk about a warm welcome! Will definitely be back. Especially when the metro gets their act together! Parking is free on Sunday, and on weekdays they validate so that parking is $1 per hour. After 4 pm. It's free. read more

Very cool place. I have been there as a guest with my friend who is a teacher and maintains a summer membership as well as for a birthday party. The facility is very cool and caters to a wide range of climbers! Parking is super easy, the facility is always clean, and the staff is very friendly. They even have a small but solid gym area if you are concerned about needing to keep a separate gym membership. The location is slightly inconvenient for me to maintain a membership but I do enjoy the occasional visit. read more

Earth Treks is an amazing climbing gym. Want to top rope or lead? Check! Great dedicated area with amazing lines for you. Boulder? Check! Separate area with amazing problems. The setting is terrific and rotated every few weeks consistently. They have an amazing gym area with multi-sectional use for stretching/core work, weights, rowing, and finger/climbing strength training. They also have a yoga room with set classes each week. The level of customer service is impeccable. Brady, Cole, Bryan L., for example, set a high standard. They listen to their customers and act on feedback, at times..immediately! For example, the AC was running hard on a particularly cold day. I let them know and within minutes it was reduced to a reasonable temperature. I value this responsiveness tremendously. The staff do their best to keep this immaculate gym well-maintained. read more

Movement Crystal City - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

This is basically a rock climber's country club. Think a bunch of lean twenty something professionals running around like it's an adult playground climbing all over things. The lockers are generously sized and electronic. Great store layout for you to browse gear. The walls are interesting. The weight room is a huge plus. I think you can forgo a traditional gym membership and get by on the weights and cardio machines here. Now if only I didn't live 22 miles away... read more

Earth treks for daredevils who like to climb is a perfect place to be at. They have bouldering walls that are also perfect for beginners and those who doesnt have any experience at all. Their walls are beginner friendly. You will not ran out of walls you can try on. There are a lot going on in that gym so many people and activities. Around the bouldering wall they have the gym and the studio. It can get a little bit crowded and noisy but if you want to meet new people and friends this would be perfect for you. read more

Movement Crystal City - Gyms Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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We have been coming here since it opened last year and LOVE IT! We were looking for a local place to climb and this answered that. Where to begin!!!! Okay so the place is massive with two huge sections for climbing....one for bouldering and one for top rope and lead climbing! The place just looks and smells nice. Which is huge for a gym. When you walk in you're impressed. Everytime I walk in I'm in awe how cool the place is set up and how good it smells. No dirty BO smell here. They have a pretty good size pro shop with all the gear you need plus a snack area with drinks and food products. The bathrooms are past this and are huge with lockers and again....smell good. As you walk to the bouldering area yu will see the workout area, which is where we spend most of our time. We like to climb but we love the gym inside of the gym. You'll find all your basic workout equipment, mobility apparatus and a yoga studio. I could go more in-depth but trust me, you'll like it. It's a nice way to integrate tradition workouts and weight / body weight training into your climbing. Classes....they have classes everyday and are adding more. Abs, yoga, circuit training and more. Plus if you're a member, they also have member only clinics. So how much for all this you ask? My wife and I pay $150/month for the two of us. I honk that's a lot but she broke down the classes we take (2/wk) and it makes it worth it and that's not even adding in the unlimited climbing we can do. It can be expensive but it's worth it, especially if you are a climber or want to try it. They have the membership but you can also do daily rates, etc. lots of different ways to try this place out. If you're a member you also get free passes. Boom. Sold. Is the staff cool? Hell yes. They have some Of the nicest people working for them. I guess it's the climbing culture but everyone genre is pleasant and welcoming. Even if you're brand new to climbing they are awesome. They will help you with everything. We have become friends with someone the staff and that's huge. Other members are also nice and I haven't met someone I didn't like. I recommend Earth Trex to anyone looking for a fun way to change up a workout. Climbing is fun and a great workout plus there's so much here to be apart of. Lots I haven't even covered here yet. Check it out and try and tell me you had a bad time? Go ahead...dare you! Enjoy. read more

Thanks to Earth Treks I have reignited my interest in climbing and bouldering. I have come here twice: the first for bouldering, and the second for top roping. Both experiences, though quite different, surpassed my expectations. They have a whole section with different skill levels for both activities. What I really liked about this place was that it is more than a gym- it represents a climbing community. There is always someone there to teach you how to properly tie ropes and remind you of proper climbing protocol. I highly recommend that they expand into DC. read more

The level of pretension here of staff fits the mood of some of the customer base. Don't get me wrong, they have a very nice facility. But I've had numerous friends go here and be rejected based on trivial safety checks. A friend just had taken their class with one person then a safety check with another who used different verbiage and requirements than the person who taught the full class. Then promptly rejected her without explaining or giving a second opportunity to correct the incorrect action. I'm all for solid safety procedures. But you guys need to work with people, rather than simply giving my friend a second chance she simply said "you'll get it next time." That's how you ruin an experience for someone and ensure they don't come back. By making your test feel like a punishment rather than an information refresher. This is a recreational activity and on the whole very safe. I've seen people who shouldn't be approved to climb be approved. But more commonly I've seen people who would be perfectly safe be denied. I was about to go sign up for a full membership. But now I'm going to go check out the new place in DC. Brooklyn boulders. read more

Earth Treks Crystal City is a very nice gym. Really, it's quite beautiful. It's brand new; the holds all still have their new sandpaper feel; it's massive; and the walls, bouldering and equipment/training areas are all great. They also have a fantastic store. One of the only places in town to actually try on some gear before you buy it. But it also has a pretty meh community. It feels like a mega-gym where no one knows each other and everyone is just there on their own. One of the reasons I climb is because the people who climb are usually very friendly and outgoing. The whole place just feels very sterile to me, from the flat, featureless walls, to the people who work and climb there. The prices are also very high. Not insanely high, but my wife and I can both climb at Sportrock for the same price that one of us can at Earth Treks. I'm also not a fan of the double wrapped top ropes at all. Yes, it is incredibly safe. And for that reason, great. But I suspect that it gives their members who have never climbed anywhere else some pretty bad habits. You can easily let go of the brake on their top ropes with a person under probably 175lbs and they would lower gently and safely. In fact, with a light person, it's necessary to more or less let go/bring the brake up above the ATC when lowering. You cannot gain a sense of how to lower a person safely when top roping outdoors or leading here. Finally, the grading is terrible. I'm not sure if the people grading are just way off, or if it's intentional to give people a self-esteem boost, but every route I've done is about 2 grades higher than it should be. It doesn't really matter, but it annoys me when combined with the weird sterile feel of the place. Overall, it gives the impression that they are a climbing place for people who never intend to leave the gym. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it's not my cup of tea. read more