Sanctuary Climbing & Fitness - Seaside, California

Carly B.

My sons took an intro class today. I think the instructor's name was Jena, but I could be wrong. They were so good with the children! So calm and reassuring. They made sure they were safe and rules were followed while keeping the whole experience upbeat and positive. My boys had a blast and are begging to go back. The facility is very clean, and there are a lot of walls for all different climbing levels. They played good music and had a really great overall vibe.

review edited to correct pronouns.

mike G.

Awesome spot. They don’t have a lot of Down climb holds here, but it just makes you a better climber.
Liquid chalk only buy they supply you with it. They grade lower in my opinion, but maybe i’m just weak (I climb v5 at my home gym and couldn’t send a single v4 here).
They have so many cool routes and different kinds of holds, my favorite were the ones that were made out of wood because it felt like I was climbing on furniture.
Will be back soon!

Alyssa G.

This climbing gym is phenomenal! The environment is so inviting and people of all ability levels are welcomed. The route rankings range from V0 to around V7.

Thomas P.

Super cool place with some really cool features but one major flaw. Only liquid chalk. I understand that loose chalk is messy but at least allow chalk balls inside chalk bags to minimize mess. I have pretty sweaty hands while I climb so it's pretty important to chalk up especially as the holds are already grimy because everyone has sweaty hands lol. I was looking for a quick workout and it was hard to climb because I couldn't chalk up. Also they need more down climbs because like another guy says in his review, a lot of people might not have to skill to down climb so you should always have jugs available especially because people are bound to slip because of the chalk issue. Setting is good though and the moon board is cool. It's just hard to fully enjoy it with liquid chalk. Please allow at least chalk balls

Minerva O.

Points deducted for (1) liquid chalk ONLY rule (2) super greasy holds (3) color scheme of routes not always easily discernible from each other. (4) not beginner-friendly, so hard to hang with your friends who are new to bouldering.

I’d rather be able to use chalk than have a “very clean gym.” I’d think chalk on the ground is expected at an indoor climbing gym.

Sometimes, you have to realize that the slightly different/duller color *is* part of the newer shinier-colored route. Or that there are three different “natural” [marble/wood]-colored routes all within the same space.

The ropes for top-roping options is nice, but they can be annoying because they’re definitely in the way when not being used.

Please read all the 2 and 3 star reviews! I strongly agree with all the critical reviews regarding grading route setting and difficulty, especially this:

“The main issue in my opinion is the setting. A lot of the problems I got on weren't the best lines and didn't flow well, and it seemed like the way they make problems hard is either with bad top out holds, and/or really bad feet. And I don't mean bad feet in a way that helps you work on your footwork, I mean like just bad feet in really awkward placement, really far feet, or no feet all together.”

And I get that this gym aims to reflect outdoor bouldering more, but that’s also the reason I rate it as a lesser gym; it’s not what I want in an indoor gym.

All that said, the staff is nice, the environment is nice. And some of the routes are interesting.

derek B.

routes are way undegraded a V2 (at Sanctuary) was about a v4 in other gyms. Climbs seemed to be old school method of "just make the holds crimpyer to increase the grade" or "remove the feet" to start. Coming from the PNW it might just be a difference in climbing culture in how the routes are set. Up north there is a larger focus on creativity, balance and power. While this gym seems to be about finger strength and a 1990's approach.
The staff however, was awesome. Super friendly.The gym is also bigger than their photos make it look. With better more modern routes this would be an awesome gym

But overall I did not enjoy this gym. No motivation to come back.

Indy B.

Amazing gym overall. The staff are amazing, and the gym is spotless. The climbs themselves have a very wide variety in style and all are very interesting and unique. The climbs are hard compared to some other gyms, but I think that’s awesome. They’re more similar to outdoors climbs and they’re still really fun to work. You just have to accept you might not be climbing as high grades as you would at other gyms.

Tomas D.

I gave 4 stars but realistically I would give 3.5 if I could.
First the positives. The staff are incredibly friendly and supportive. The gym is generally very clean. They offer classes and the LED route wall is very cool. The entire gym is boulderable, but there are auto-belays just about everywhere. The price of day passes and rental shoes are very reasonable and they have student discounts.

Now, unfortunately, I do have some complaints. This gym does not feel very beginner friendly. They have a tough grading system and a distinct lack of beginner problems. I brought my roommates and I could tell they felt like they couldn't climb anything. On top of that the setting is pretty monotonous and I struggled to want to keep trying at the problems I couldn't top out on. The crash pads are very firm and make me feel like a fall from the top would not be very comfortable and the liquid chalk only policy is kind of a bummer.

I think this gym could do a lot more with the space they have and I think if they weren't the only game in town they would be quickly outcompeted by a better equipped gym with more interesting boulder problems.