Planet Granite

Great indoor climbing gym! The best in the South Bay.

I’d give it a 4.5 star rating.
Service (⁵⁄₅): everyone’s super helpful and patient. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! I recently took the belay training and the employee who trained us was very patient and nice.
Rock climbing/​bouldering (⁵⁄₅): even though it gets crowded sometimes, there’s a lot of different levels offered for both bouldering and rock climbing.
Gym (3.5÷5): honestly, the main part of PG is the climbing part. The gym is only there for people to do some cardio, but none of the machines look super nice or new. The whole gym area kind of looks dull.
Monthly membership is pretty expensive, but as long as you go a few times a week, it’ll be worth it!

I started climbing a few months ago, and I’ve been steadily improving. This place is amazing, lots of climbs on all sorts of levels. I never get bored, they are constantly changing the routes. Their bordering section is great. I tried both SF and Belmont and this is by far the best.

I used to go here and the best rating I could give it would be 4.5 stars but since Unilocal doesn’t do that I will round up.
Rock climbing 5 stars
Their rock climbing is great. They have varying degrees of difficulty and change the walls often so their users don’t get bored. They have some huge walls that go up very high. There is one wall that is pretty close to an exposed support beam that always made me feel uncomfortable but I usually just choose not to do that one. Other than that one they all seem pretty safe.
Gym 3.5 stars
They have a decent selection of gym equipment but it gets pretty busy like most public gyms. They don’t have a bench press so you have to hog the squat rack if you want to bench press. The membership also included their cross fit classes which seems like a tremendous value since those can be pretty expensive. Catch is if you have never done cross fit you have to go through their orientation which costs extra.
All in all this place offers a good value and a great experience. If you are thinking about rock climbing this might just be the best place to start.

A great place to rock climb at and they have a great staff as well.

First the pro:
Based on my limited experience, PG seems to have a good selection of climbing routes.
Now the cons — these by far outweigh the positive:
This place stinks! Go on a hot day and everything will smell like feet. Their rental shoes will very likely give you foot fungus.
The facility looks like it’s in dire need of some deep cleaning. Everything is old and/​or dirty — it’s sometimes hard to tell. The shower fixtures are rusty in lots of areas and the drains looked clogged every time I was there. Don’t go into the showers without wearing slippers, as your feet will be soaking in other people’s shower water while you’re taking a shower. The lockers have probably never been wiped down, ever.
Prices are ridiculously steep for what you get. PG is obviously milking the fact that climbing has become such a popular pastime and there aren’t really any other noteworthy facilities in the South Bay. I don’t blame them but wished someone else would open up a new place in the area soon, as PG’s customer service could clearly benefit from some healthy competition.
Lastly, beware of the boy instructor with the Napoleon complex. If you had an instructor who was impersonal, condescending and accusatory, then that’s probably him. Clearly, this guy needs to take a customer service 101 class. Or maybe he owns the place, and he doesn’t care about your business.

I enjoyed rock climbing. There, I said it. And I really mean it.
After an incident many years ago that involved me climbing up a pole, standing on top of it and then jumping off the thing to reach for a trapeze bar, I never thought I could do anything that involved climbing or heights again. I have a fear of heights. Yet I love hiking, go figure.
I came here for a team building event. Like others in my group I approached this activity with trepidation and angst. Sweaty palms anyone? However, I figured I could go up a few feet then come back down and call it a day.
We were split up into groups of 5 or 6 people and received a lot of instruction on how to tie the ropes, how to wear the harness and plenty of instruction on stay safe. Our instructor was the BEST! He was patient and tested us constantly to ensure we knew what we were doing. We had to practice a few times, which helped a great deal. With all this repetition, I felt better about what we were going to do. While watching my colleague climb up first, I slowly started to feel more comfortable.
When it was my turn I took my first step up, told myself to take my time and go for it. Honestly, that first step was the hardest and slowest. After that I started to head on up at a pretty decent pace. It wasn’t as hard as I thought and I knew the ropes were there to catch me if I fell. Trust the ropes and trust your partner! Once I slapped the wall at the top, I told myself to relax and sit back. Rappelling down was the best part! Woo hoo! Most of us were able to take 2 climbs before our time was up. Some made it up all the way, some made it up half way. Everyone had fun and that’s all that mattered.
Parking was easy for us as we came in the late morning on a weekday and it was relatively empty inside. Signing in was a breeze and the staff was friendly and helpful. Make sure to wear socks (thin is better) if you are renting their shoes (they are meant to be tight). Wear comfortable, stretchy clothing to allow for movement. We didn’t use a locker but stored our stuff in the cubbyholes.
They offer fitness classes and have standard gym equipment on site as well. I did not try them out so I cannot comment on those features.
I look forward to trying this again (did I really say that?). Hopefully their other locations are just like this one. This is a great place to hold team building events, parties and social outings.

I climbed for the first time EVER, and I’m glad I got to do it at Planet Granite!
Climbing has always been something I really wanted to try out, so my friends and I finally decided to check out PG. We came around 3pm on a Monday and were able to get the the student price ($ 18), which didn’t include shoe rentals (an additional $ 4).
My group primarily stuck to bouldering and didn’t do the top ropes. Although it was my first time climbing, I didn’t feel intimidated by the crowd at all. Many of the people who came were actually extremely helpful when I was working out different paths and different levels during my time there. The staff was also extremely friendly — whenever I had a question, they were always ready to answer my questions!
Couple of downsides that I observed:
— Some of the holds were faded, so I had a hard time distinguishing between colors, especially when I was mid-​climb trying to figure out where to go next. (My mantra for the day was if you can’t tell up close… it’s whatever color you believe it to be! Hahaha, oops!)
— As the night continued on, it got more and more crowded so there was sometimes a wait to do a route, but I guess the bright side is that they’re open pretty late (11pm).
Overall, I think this was such a fun experience, and I would love to go again very soon!

This is for the customer service at the front desk: I arrived to take my first yoga class and asked to rent a mat. The person at the front desk said there were no yoga mats because they were all dirty and had not yet been cleaned. I waited for him to offer to clean one, but he just kept looking at me like I was out of luck. He could have given me a mat and bottle of cleaner — I would have cleaned it! So I left. They didn’t seem to care that they lost out on a new customer.

I love climbing, which is important because this gym is very expensive. It’s the best gym in the area if you like to top rope as well as boulder, and the gym equipment, yoga, crossfit and other fitness classes further justify the price. The only other options in my area are City Beach and The Studio which are not a good fit to what I want (all the extra recreational amenities unrelated to climbing) and lack of top roping, respectively. They’re also similarly priced for memberships, so it really is a matter of deciding what you want to get out of your money. It is currently $ 85/​month, but I go ~3 times/​week every week (day passes are $ 24 without gear rental).
PG Sunnyvale is really busy during the weekdays after work. If you don’t want to wait between climbs or cannot go off hours or during the weekend, this place is not for you no matter how awesome it is. I love going off hours, but sometimes I like climbing during the crowded hours too – you can get some good beta and the atmosphere is always friendly and encouraging.
Routes are rotated in sections every week, so routes will stay up ~2 months. I’m a frequent climber and haven’t run into issues with variety. They’re pretty good at keeping the mats clean, although they get a little chalky in the evenings (they’re cleaned in the morning). I’ve taken a few yoga classes with different instructors and found them all excellent, but none of the others. Definitely a nice perk of the membership.
They host several events you can take advantage of if you’re a single climber looking for a partner or just other like-​minded people to climb with – Beta Babes, Trivia Night, Singles & Swingers (this one gets really crowded) are the ones I’ve participated in at one time or another.
They host two climbing events a year: Bloc Party (bouldering) and Friction Series (top roping). Loads of fun for amateurs and more advanced climbers, but they do disrupt your routine for about a week as routes are set up and taken down.

I’ve been a member for about a year now. I have a few observations.
The Good:
— excellent fitness classes including crossfit, yoga, cycling, core with flexible schedules
— excellent weight lifting amenities (endless barbells, weights, squat racks etc)
— best top route /​lead climbing gym in the Bay Area bar none
— formidable bouldering problems
— excellent instructors for climbing and fitness
— great, helpful environment and community for new climbers
— many members only perks and social events
— walk-​ins allowed on a member guest pass or paid day pass
— free climbing lessons for friends if you are a member
The Not So Good:
— peak hours are incredibly busy; there are waits for every climb
— sometimes they run out of lockers during busy times
— parking is horrible; there is no better way to put it; way too many cars and way too small of a lot during peak times
— may be a bit of a wait for lifting equipment during busy hours
Overall, my experience here has been incredibly positive. I’ve made lots of friends, learned to be a better climber, and have increased my overall fitness and quality of life. At first, I thought the membership fee was a bit steep compared to somewhere like 24 Hour Fitness or City Sport, but PG really has a much more community feel and the caliber of instruction here is just so much better.

Lots of walls with many different levels. I’ve been to a few gyms, both here and in Canada, and Planet Granite is a great one, I’d give an 80% if the best one I’ve been to was 100%. What it lacks:
— Routes are a bit crowded, so sometimes you’d be on a pink route and it’d be intermixed with a red one and cause some confusion
— Some holds are old and faded, causing similar colours to look even more alike
— Lots of people during weekdays
— There aren’t many V1 and V2 in the caves, it’s either V0 or impossibly difficult ones
— The gym area should have a belt with a chain (for doing weighted pull ups and dips)
— Day passes/​10-​passes are a bit pricy … In Canada the going rate is ~$ 17/​day or $ 140 for 10 visits, here it’s $ 24/​day or $ 210 for 10
Some of these are very specific, but overall it’s a great gym with lot of options and people are generally very friendly and easy to talk to.

One of my friends started rock climbing regularly a few months ago and I’ve joined him a couple of times here. It’s always a great experience here, minus the slightly pricey entrance fee (which isn’t too bad if you have a membership). But since I don’t come here enough to make a membership worth it, I go for the $ 30 one-​day fee every time. $ 24 is the day rate, and you can get a harness and shoe rental for another $ 6.
Even when it’s crowded here, you can always find space to climb. It’s a gigantic gym with so many different walls and a variety of difficulty levels. If you want to climb the taller walls you do need someone who has a belaying permit/​card thing to belay you. I know they offer lessons/​training for those who want to learn. I’ve heard that passing the test is pretty easy. And it opens up so many more climbing options!
The people here are also super awesome. Everyone is very respectful/​mindful of those climbing around them, so I really like the environment here. Climbing is more of a workout than you would think – and it’s not just arms! But for those of you who don’t want to climb for too long, you can also take advantage of their gym equipment in the back. I think they also have yoga classes? Overall, it’s a great facility and I’ll definitely come back again every now and then to climb :)

Expensive, expensive, expensive.
Planet Granite is a fully functioning climbing/​fitness gym with a variety of amenities attached to your monthly/​daily membership. Aside from bouldering and belay climbing, you get yoga, fitness, functional fitness, personal trainers, as well as access to their gym area lumped into your membership.
And here is where I find fault in their pricing model. I am an avid boulderer, so I come here for bouldering/​belay climbing, not yoga, not a weight gym. And for me to pay $ 24 for a day pass or $ 69 for a monthly membership, I feel ripped off. And their student day pass of $ 18 is only valid Mondays-​Fridays before 5pm? AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR DAT. Ideally, they would divvy up their accesses so people who only want to boulder could pay a lower fee instead of offering a one-​size fits all deal. Because those one-​size fits are usually the worst. In Seattle, I would pay $ 12/​day for a student day pass, but that’s another story.
Aside from that, the routes are well-​maintained, and even some of the V1’s-V2’s make me sweat. The routes here seem a bit more challenging per level than they seemed to be in Seattle Bouldering Project. Some routes here feel inconsistent; some V1’s feel easier than V2’s, and some V2’s feel easier than V3’s. There is even an age-​restricted area that offers much more difficult routes with challenging overhanging routes for experienced climbers. The gym is huge, and good for it because this place gets busy during weekday nights!
For members, they offer a free informative belay lesson where any day after, you can get «certified» if you pass a belay test, thus granting you access to the roped rock climbing area. Their belay system is centered in a device called the Grigri. They give announcements to the entire gym if there’s a solo climber looking for a belay partner. The rock climbing walls tend to test your endurance more. On the bouldering walls, the difficulty is more sustained and concentrated and the bouldering problems are always interesting. The staff is friendly, but often slow and forgetful when it gets busy.
Great gym overall, terrible pricing model.
Strong 3 to a Light 4

I’ve been to a lot of gyms and this is a personal favorite. Of the PGs around the Bay Area it seems like the biggest. Also means sometimes, it’s the busiest. It can be packed some nights, full of climbers, but there always lots of routes to choose and the gym does a great job keeping it fresh and changing routes up. The front desk staff are knowledgeable and pretty speedy. The coaching staff are tough and push you confidently out of your zone. A great place.

PG has really made me enjoy working out. They have a lot of walls for climbing (both bouldering and top-​roping), as well as crossfit and gym equipment. The climbing routes are well-​maintained and changed fairly regularly, so there’s always something new to work on! The membership also includes free fitness and yoga courses, which is nice. The locker rooms are kept very clean and provide showers and a sauna for post-​workout relaxation. If you’re just looking to try out the gym, they do offer day passes and rental climbing equipment.
It can get pretty packed on weekdays after work hours, but thankfully the parking lot is huge. You may have to wait a bit on certain climbing routes or fitness equipment, but it generally isn’t too bad.
Overall, great gym and would recommend climbing to anyone looking for a fun, new hobby. (That also helps you be more fit!)

Not really a climbing community | great climbing facility
$$ — $$$
If you’re looking for a challenging gym with a tight-​knit community, this is not for you. If you’re looking to climb casually to meet other singles, this is probably for you.
I’ve been climbing for 7 years and have climbed at several gyms around the country and internationally. If you’ve ever been to one of Planet Granite’s gym locations, it’s no surprise to expect a big hub of people to meet other people after work (and/​or school). It’s big and they offer a lot. It’s a franchise.
At this particular location, it draws a bunch of well-​paid engineer guys (duh, silicon valley) and 20 to 30 something aged women. I’ve stopped by a handful of times and enjoyed climbing here but realizing that I’m climbing above my normal grade than at my home gym (Santa Rosa’s Vertex Climbing Gym). An example is I’m usually working V4’s and V5’s solidly and I came into this gym flashing V4’s /​V5’s and working on a V8.
Community? I don’t see it. I think if you’re ‘really good’ you’ll end up striking a conversation with the crowd that looks like they’re ‘dirt bag climbers’, but every time I step in there, every person looks less than welcoming. I walked past a person or persons that I smiled at because I’m just a friendly person and they avoid eye contact, giving you the impression that they’re a complete snob.
Huge gym. I don’t feel cramped the times I went since there’s a lot of accommodating open space (indoors and outdoors). Lots of rope routes and an indoor and outdoor bouldering spot. Despite the open doors and fans, it’s still REALLY hot. Excellent gym work out area, too. Bathrooms are clean and spacious, which is similar to the other gym locations by them.
Couldn’t believe we paid $ 48 total for day fees for the two of us. (Vertex’s adult day use fee is $ 16) Well, if they have the nice facility, you know where your money is going to.

So many hipsters unite. I am definitely not hard core and I’ve prolly gone three times ever. The first time I took a belay lesson but I couldn’t remember anything so I opted to not dotage belay lesson and would just climb. I had to get a day pass and then rental equipment. It was super crowded around 7 on Wednesday so just find a rope and squeeze in. Man I was beat even with only 5.8 or something. Weaksauce. But just keep swimming! Climbing hehe.

There’s a reason why day passes & membership is the most expensive here vs. SF and Belmont. I loved being a PG member and feel that the quality of the 3 PG gyms is higher than other climbing gyms in the Bay Area (ie. Mission Cliffs, Iron Works) in that the routes are regularly swapped and the grips on the rocks are not worn down from overuse or dirtiness. Staff has always been friendly, helpful and efficient. One of my friends dislocated his elbow once (very poor landing from bouldering) and the staff reacted very quickly and knowledgeably.
Benefits of Sunnyvale: best parking of the three gyms (SF has a metered parking lot and Belmont is free street parking). It’s a larger gym with tons of bouldering options. Good amount of regular gym equipment. Comparatively, SF is sort of hard to get to without a car, and the cherry on top is you have metered parking when you finally get there. Belmont is nice, but smaller.
Cons: working out in the general gym area (ex. ellipticals, treadmills) is very stuffy and air circulation is not good at all. Even if you had the simplest workout of your life, I am certain you will end up sweating just from the heat.
Notes: It gets REALLY crowded, at the predictable times (weekdays after work). Weekends is a ghost town at opening hours which is when I would recommend coming. Weekend late afternoons also die down a little and you have to find the sweet spot that avoids the children’s rock climbing parties. Unfortunately, a membership doesn’t make economic sense unless you come more often than just the weekends, so you are going to have to suck it up and brave the crowds at some point.
The most annoying thing about PG is their membership offerings and that you must either fully cancel or else pay to have your membership frozen when you are away.

Came here for the first time last Sunday with my bestie and had a blast!!! Our instructor was so fun and helpful. My group was all smiles and giggles thanks to David! A+ for dealing with us crazies.
Pro’s:
— lots of walls to climb in all levels
— ventilation is good, they keep all the doors open
— workers are all nice and helpful
— bathrooms are huge with lots of room and kept very clean
— prices are fair for non-​members at $ 26 a day (w/​harness and shoes)
— no meatheads working out.
Con’s:
— it’s a teeny bit smelly up in this joint…
Overall it was an excellent first experience. David, our instructor was so much fun and seemed very passionate about his work. He made the climb not as scary as I had anticipated and it was semi-​smooth sailing :)
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would come again!

Wow what a great place, I went here with my daughters and watched them climb. One does a lot of rock climbing around Bishop and Mammath and I’m sure elsewhere, and it was the first climb for my other daughter.
I chickened out, I never get higher than I am tall, about three feet.
The staff was great, I was impressed with how safety conscious and professional everyone was. They treated everyone well, especially the novices! Which is probably why they are so popular.
I think I saw a sign for Yoga, maybe I’ll try that next time. At least I’ll be on the ground, for the most part.

A long overdue review for Planet Granite…
I love this place. It has just about everything I could ask for in exercise equipment (except a swimming pool). Every time I enter, I feel like a kid in a candy factory. There are plenty of cycling machines, free weights, and equipment for gymnastics/​chin ups/​dips.
There are plenty of walls for climbing (100+ ropes to choose) and bouldering with varying levels of difficulty.
On weekends, the walls can get crowded. So, it pays to call in advance to make sure there aren’t party events.
The staff are very friendly and extremely helpful.

I’ve been here a few times before, mainly for bouldering.
My friend got me introductory rock climbing classes for my birthday, and it was a nice experience. The instruction was really good (Amy was our instructor) and I had a nice time. One big perk is that you get your belay certification out of the way, so you’re ready to climb when the classes are completed.
The facilities are top notch, there are plenty of people to buddy up with, and it’s large enough to handle the throngs of people that frequent this very popular fitness subculture. (I was shocked to discover how popular this is!)
There is also a nice gym facility, and yoga classes are available.
Overall, this is an excellent one stop shop for many different avenues of fitness, but I feel as though climbing is first and foremost in the heart of the building.

Your chalk balls are huge, mind if I dip my fingers in them?
My significant other has a membership here so he was able to get me a free belay lesson. Daniel at the register was very friendly and pleasant to talk to — I signed my waiver and went to go change into my work out clothes. Ford was my instructor and he was very friendly and thorough with the lesson — taught me and five other beginners how to attach the belay device, how to do a safety check for the belayer and the climbers how to tie the necessary knots (there’s two kinds you have to do), how to demonstrate correct communication between belayer & climber, and how to demonstrate correct belay technique.
After our lesson, we were given a day pass to practice our belaying and do some climbing. the next time we come back would be a belay test so you can get your official belay card. Test was straight-​forward and of course I passed it. I only bought the 5-​pack after the lesson for $ 60 to see if I’m going to like Rock Climbing and if I’m going to commit to the monthly. The deal is only valid if you purchase it the day of your lesson.
I’m afraid of heights so I wanted to climb easy ones to gain climbing confidence little by little. I was only doing 5. fun (super noob status) and now I can do 5.7, heading towards 5.8.
I’d belay you all night long.
SHIYETTTTTTT, I’m in love.

I love this place.
The staff is extremely friendly, the climbing here is challenging for newbies, and even veterans of this sport. I’ve found that the general consensus here is that it’s an extremely welcoming place with loads of friendly people and folks who are just masters of their craft.
I went here to book a belaying lesson for my girlfriend and I. We decided on the spot to go ahead and give bouldering a try as well! Everyone was friendly, and everyone kept offering us tips on how to improve our climbing!
Now on to the belaying lesson. It felt a BIT rushed, but it was a very effective class. My girlfriend and I were able to learn a lot, and we really enjoyed the entire session with our instructor. We never felt endangered, we always felt safe and taken care of.
Despite all this, it’s still really expensive to climb here, but I can gladly say it’s well worth it!

MMM I think I would give this place a 3.5 stars just comparing it to my other rock climbing experience,
This place was overall more packed, more smelly (I know its inevitable because it’s a workout place) than this other place I’ve been to in dtsj.
However, I think those things didn’t really as much since I was mainly there just to have a good time with friends.
I paid about $ 30 for shoe rental and a day pass and unlimited climbing, but I have really dinky arms so how much climbing could I do anyways.
They also have a weight area there so since I worked on my arms and paid for a day pass I did my daily squats there too lol.

One of my buddies is a member here so he invited me to climb one day. I had fun the first day and so he signed me and my fiancé up for a baley class.
The following weekend we had Reinhard as our baley instructor. He was super awesome! After our lesson we were able to climb on our own, even up up to 5.6 and 5.7.
We bought the 5 day passes for $ 55. We came back this past weekend to climb again. We had to take the test for a temporary card, and we couldn’t remember what to do. Thank goodness they didn’t give us a permanent card because it’s good to refresh our memories. Safety is the number one thing here! Luckily one of the girls was nice enough to go over it with us!
We have 4 more passes to use before October so we are looking forward to getting some climbs in before they expire.
It’s such a good work out! It’s a fun sport that we can do and try together. Since neither of us have done this before it’s kinda cool that we can start on the same level and grow together. It’s also good for relationship or team building because learning to baley and climb is built upon trust! You have to trust each other, be able to communicate effectively and safely, and help each other make it to the top! You also have to encourage and help one another if you see him/​her struggling. It’s a perfect sport for couples and would be fun for dates. If you’re single, there’s always someone looking for a partner. It’s connected with the Crossfit Sunnyvale so I’m sure you would meet lots of people working out here!

My life and love! I am pretty much miserable if I spend more than a few days away from PG and will be longing to climb something; anything! I’ve always loved climbing everything I could get my hands on since I was a child and when I encountered my first wall at the age of 15, it was love at first sight.
I spend majority of my time bouldering around here. It’s a decent sized gym with lots of options for all levels. Both the staff and the patrons here are super nice and not a single creeper in sight (Unlike a gym such as 24 HR Fitness…). If you’re ever stuck on a problem, you can always count on a nice friendly stranger to help you out or offer some pointers or tips. Don’t have a belay partner? Go to the front desk and they will help find you someone to pair up with. How can you not love this community?!? Did I mention that everyone here is like your cheerleading squad? Just walking through the gym, you will hear tons of praises and words of encouragement as they try to pep up someone to power through whatever they’re struggling on.
I also take some of the fitness classes here with Zeus. I’ve been taking his Abs + Core class for about 2 months now and somehow managed to drop 13 lbs. It’s a challenging class to me and you WILL be sore the first time you take it, but I promise it gets better by the 2^nd or 3^rd class. He also teaches at Total Body Fitness class which completely kicked my butt, yet I’m eager to return to the next one to see how much better I can do next round. I haven’t tried out any yoga or spin classes but I’m told those are great workouts as well. Classes do fill up quickly so it’s good to show up 15 minutes before to stake out a spot.
I really didn’t think it was possible, but I’ve somehow grew to love PG more and more. It’s where I go to feel good, relax, unwind from stress, and submerge myself into a positive community.