Rockquest Climbing Center

BEST INDOOR GYM /​training center I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to dozens of gyms around the country, including 2 in Denver, Colorado and 3 in Boulder, Colorado. Forget about Rockquest being the best climbing gym in Cincinnati, it is among the best climbing gyms in the country.
Before Rockquest, I climbed 2x at 2 different gyms but didn’t think climbing was for me because at some point the route became way too tough for a beginner and I thought it wasn’t my thing. But Rockquest has routes that are easy enough for beginners to work their way up. That is how I became obsessed and in the course of a year went from a newbie trying to find partners for toprope, to leading indoors, leading sport outdoors at the Red, traveling to other states and countries to climb, starting trad leading… went mountaineering, now temporarily moving to Colorado.
What does Rockquest have?
Lots of square feet of climbing walls, very tall walls, and a ceiling. There are all levels from stuff like a ladder to 5.13, with tons of 5.9−5.11 (where the majority of people climb). Bouldering goes from V0 to V8 or beyond. There are lots of top-​roping walls, and lots of leading walls. There is a place to practice your cleaning of a sport route. They now have auto-​belays at certain toprope walls in case you are new, visiting, or your partner bailed. There is an «anvil» boulder, that you can top out in, and actually go back down the stairs instead of jumping down and breaking an ankle. It also provides storage, and is great to get a bird’s eye view from. The bouldering area is a padded floor. The TR area has floor anchors. The lead wall got 2 movable rock bags to help balance the weight of a heavier climber/​lighter belayer.
What makes it so good?
The walls are many and varied — slab, slightly overhanging, full overhanging… some other variety… flakes, stemming problems, dihedrals… They even have an overhang for a toprope which is clipped in a way so that if you fall, you don’t have to swing back to the wall. They have a bulge (almost a roof) and a roof for leading, which many gyms do not have, so you can be completely upside down.
The walls are aesthetically pleasing yet, there are not too many «naturals» and weird formations in the way so the routesetter can implement his/​her vision however they want, instead of being inhibited by «pretty» rock. They change the routes often — rotate changing a section every week or so so that each route changes about every 3 months or more often, and the boulder changes more frequently. The holds are cleaned often (I have seen them powerwash it), and they regularly get new ones.
RQ is also well run with a friendly staff and policies that make sense. They allow you to belay with an ATC OR a Gri-​Gri. That way you can become familiar with both. The places that don’t allow gri-​gris make no sense, they are a little more complex to operate especially when lead belaying, so it’s great to get practice inside, when the staff can do quick survellance to see if the belayer is belaying properly. Once the staff provided a belaying suggestion to my belayer which I was very thankful for.
They have a good selection of gear (climbing shoes, harnesses, belay devices, protection guide books, chalk, tape, snacks) and as a member, you can get a discount. The hours are very good — open 7 days a week till 10pm on weekdays, 9pm on weekends. Also, despite Denver area gyms not being as good as RQ they are more expensive.

Rockquest has been my home gym for 7.5 years. I learned how to climb there and their lead class prepared me to climb outside. I train there regularly which has made climbing at the Red and around the country amazing. Their staff members are knowledgeable, safety conscious, and exceptionally friendly. I prefer the lead wall, but the boulder anvil and top ropes are equally as fun — they even have a campus board and hangboards in the back. Thank you Rockquest for being such an integral part of my life. I love the Rockquest family!

This place is great for training climbing muscles, power, strength, and having fun. RQ is different than a bouldering gym in that you have more options for technique training specifically because there are more types and kinds of routes here, roped or not, and the ability to lead climb if you want.
Kids seem to go crazy here, which it’s mostly cool and funny to watch, but I’ve had some extremely close calls with younger ones getting dangerously underneath me while I’m ten feet up and inverted hanging on with fingertips: (just be careful!
It’s a bit pricey, but they sell and rent everything for that beginner friend you brought along, but it can get overwhelmingly crowded during parties and unlucky weekends. Other times it’s a ghost town/​climbing paradise.. totally hitup the incredibly long roof lead routes!

Great place to climb. The staff are laid back and friendly and very knowledgeable about climbing technique and walk around the climbing area to make sure everyone is correctly belaying and being safe. Christoffer M. is correct in his comparison of Rockquest to Climb Time. I liked that Rockquest has a bathroom with actual lockers that can be locked up as well as showers to wash your post climb sweaty bod. If you are a newbie, read online about tips and technique and try to incorporate these into your climbing. Climbing has become a great change of pace workout for me. The more I do it, the better I become and walls that were once impossible are now becoming much easier to climb. I highly recommend you get some friends together and give climbing a try. If you do end up going solo, you can always boulder, or ask someone there to belay for you. People are very friendly and most enjoy helping out a new climber, as they were there once. I wish this place was closer to home and cost a little less but the ability to climb year round is something that is not found in every city.
*There’s plenty of parking
*They accept credit cards.
*I would wait a bit before buying all the climbing equipment: shoes, harness, chalk bag, belay ATC, etc. Once you commit to it, ask everyone where they buy their stuff.
*Use your legs! They are much stronger and longer than your arms and will help get you up the wall.
*Trust the rope and your belayer. Everyone falls and there’s nothing wrong with it. Get back up on the wall and try again.
*Always double check your gear, knots, and activity above and below your climbing area.
*Have fun and don’t quit if you are really struggling. Keep at it and you’ll be so proud of yourself when you reach the top of the wall.
*This can be a very unique date idea or all ages family activity, just be ready with a change of clothes and whatnot.

Rockquest is by far the best place in Cincinnati to rock climb, a few reasons: I have been here a few times with some buddies and I love it. The staff are friendly and nice and really care about safety. Also they do a lot with kids groups and schools and every time I have been there the kids love it, sure they are scared at first, but hey it’s safe to rock climb.
As many others have noted, this is one of the great places in Cincinnati to bring a date and after wards head over to the Root Beer Stand.

THis is the best place to rock climb in the Cincinnati Area. They recently built a great new bouldering wall. Look for occasional coupons in things like the entertainment book.
Great place to bring a date!

Preface: A newbie Climbers Review!
If you are looking for your next date night to be fun, unique, and exhilarating, then grab your partner (you need two people) and head on out to Rockquest!
Just be prepared to WORK and get all sweaty, sore, have bleeding hands, and possibly not be able to lift your shoulders the next day, but if that doesn’t scare you off, then head on out and have the «climb» of your life! Sorry, couldn’t resist!
When I first walked in and looked UP and saw how high the walls were, I was thinking, «Oh my gosh! What did I get myself in for?» and the hubs all of a sudden had this fear of heights I haven’t heard about in 12 years. They walls are THAT high and intimidating.
But before you even have to worry about climbing up anything, you first have to learn how to belay and become a certified belayer at their center. The belayer is your safety person. They are the ones who will catch you if you fall while climbing up 40 feet! We both took the belay class which teaches you how to properly put on your equipment, tie all the required knots, and catch your climber should they fall, and also properly lower them down when they are ready to come down. This type of climbing with a harness and belayer is known as rope climbing.
Our coach had us certified and belaying in about 30 minutes and so now we were off to do some actual climbing! We decided to start with an easy wall, never mind the only people climbing this wall were kids, we were not ready to tackle any huge wall yet! I took off climbing and Pat was my belayer. Good thing he has those buff arms in case I fall! :)
And you know what? When you start climbing up that wall, placing your hands in the right grooves, finding the best place to put your foot and focusing on where your next step will be, you forget that you are 20+ feet in the air. In fact you don’t even look down, you just start ascending and all of a sudden, BAM!, you are at the top of the wall without even freaking out once!
When you want to take a break from the rope climbing and try your hand at something slightly different, you can do some bouldering. Bouldering is climbing without a rope and is never more than about 10 feet off of the ground. You can free climb up, down, or sideways and you don’t need a partner. It is awesome for building strength in your fingers, or like us, recognize you don’t really have any finger strength!
They also offer parties and there were a few kids birthdays going on while we there, but the space is large enough that you can always find a wall to climb.

They paved a parking lot and put up paradise (at least for people wishing to be around sheer rock faces). Rockquest features any number of climbs, from something about as simple as a ladder to something like ascending a sheet of metal. And not just one of each level; they have several dozen climbs. Plus, routes are marked on each wall, so you can make it tougher by only using the tagged holds.
Compared to Climb Time, Rockquest is taller and more diverse. It’s also more expensive. For a beginner, this is no advantage. For an experienced climber, this is probably worth your while.
The one frustration is filling out all the insurance forms before you can climb. Plus, you’ll need a belayer, which might mean you and/​or others from your group will need to pass a belay test (answer a few questions correctly, show them you can tie a figure 8 knot, demonstrate good form and proper communication with someone climbing). This will set you back at least a half-​hour before you can start your ascent. Or you could go to their website and fill out the forms ahead of time.
But once the red tape (and the test) is passed, your quest can begin! You’ll be surprised how easy/​hard it is. It’s not just pullups, so upper body strength isn’t as crucial as you’d think. But good finger agility is key to getting around certain obstacles.
Rock climbing is great. Rockquest is a great place to do it. You’ll be sore, but it’s worth going back. And on subsequent visits there’s no paperwork!

My home gym, and one of the best rock gyms I have been to. Two reasons: they have great route setters, and the folks who run it care. The implications of the second reason: it isn’t some awful corporate-​owned grigris-​already-​in-​place, we-​worship-​our-​insurers, porkers-​leering-​from-​exercycles gym where the staff work one hour per week and don’t know your name. It’s the opposite.
If you like to boulder, you will be disappointed. And they don’t have ice climbing. But if you go for any other kind of climbing, you will like this place. They have routes that kids can actually do; they have a lot of space; and they have lead routes that go from almost vertical to bulges to long rooves.
I have been in gyms where the exclusively-​indoor climbing route setters will completely ignore features when they set. It’s a missed opportunity for those of us who need to learn to use those features when we are outdoors. Rockquest’s walls have features, and the route-​setters use them. They don’t have finger cracks, but I can’t think of another feature they are missing.
If possible, try to avoid the church groups, birthdays, scout troops and the fatass lady who only comes because she likes to torture her children with criticism. (They climb; she criticizes. What is WRONG with people?)
Try it out. But don’t bring your scout troop?

Rockquest is like my home away from home. The place is great. People are really friendly and helpful. There are tons of classes and climbing routes, plus various membership options. I’m absolutely hooked. I cannot say if it’s the climbing or the people that I like more.