Crux Climbing Center Central - Yoga & Fitness

I entered with the come to crux package which is 5 day passes at either of their locations for $75 (pre-tax). The staff were welcoming and was not too busy when I visited Sunday late afternoon 11/23. Crux is unique in their orientation process. I had about a 10 minute tour with some lady and she explained the grading process with these animals that indicate different grades (see pics for visual). The gym boasts of many bouldering opportunities and features a pretty challenging cave section. The back of the building has two floors featuring actual gym equipment and classes. There is a lot of amenities on top of the gym including office space, ping pong, and a sauna. There is also a brewery next door and an art store. Its a solid gym with great energy. --- Updated: I head a solid opportunity to ask Zach a few questions about crux and give some feedback. He was very down to earth and has been very welcoming as I see him working there. He also went the extra mile to provide insights into his own climbing background at UT and contrasted crux with some of the gyms in the local Texas area (plano, college station, austin, etc.) Thanks, Sam

There’s a great energy at Crux that you don't find at many gyms. The space is beautiful and full of natural light, which completely changes the vibe of the workout. It’s open, airy, and really well-maintained. Between the climbing, the welcoming seating areas, and the coffee shop right next door, it has become a true ‘third place’ for me in Austin. Definitely a local favorite!

The space and staff are fantastic. The classes, equipment, sauna and regular events offer a range of things to do outside just climbing. The staff and other members create a welcoming space for everyone, whatever your level of fitness or climbing ability. It's a great place to get a heavy workout, or just hang out and relax.

Matt has been absolutely incredible and accommodating in every way in helping us plan our girls birthday and make it a special day for us. The facility is incredible and we absolutely love their kids room 💕 PS: major shoutout to Nick and Chris- they led the birthday party games with 30 kids for our daughters 6th and did incredible!!!

Crux Central has some of the best routesetting I've ever seen. They have really exotic holds, including some holds that the head setter designed. The setting is complex and fun to figure out - at all grades - the gym is really geared toward intermediate and beginner climbers. There are many easy boulders in the V1-3 range that use tons of volumes and macros, which is a testament to the gyms dedication to the beginner climber. They don't set anything that requires an unreasonable amount of strength, but rather focus on building technique and having fun. They have a low density, and high quality. The friendliness of the other climbers is what impressed me the most. Everyone said hello to me and I felt welcomed from the moment I entered. In a city with many world class gyms, this is truly a destination gym.

Crux is a great place to climb but there is more to running a business than taking a customer's money and ignoring them when there is an issue. Unfortunately, that's the level that Crux operates. I've sent a dozen emails now over several weeks regarding a yearly membership that I paid for in advance. They never respond. Most of the suggested email addresses bounce. If you care about your customers and want the support of the community, support your product.

Visiting from out of town, I decided to check this place out because of the boulder focus. It’s clear when you walk in that they want to make sure climbers feel comfortable in their own skin. It’s cozy, despite its large size, and there’s a good amount of climbing. The majority of the climbs are in the V3-V6 range and the difficulty was pretty consistent across grade bands. They use circuit grading, and they put the grade band on every start tag, which is great. I spoke with lots of staff while I was there and everyone was very friendly. I don’t know how stiff your gym grades, and I don’t care how soft or sandbagged this gym is compared to yours, because the bottom line is that climbing here was a lot of fun.

I am a member and I take a advantage of the crew offering to get a good deal. I also get a cyclist discount so it’s even cheaper. I love the classes and staff. It’s much more than just a climbing gym.

I had such a fun time here! I do think this location is more for professionals, or avid climbers. There are no belays, just bouldering! We got a day pass for $28 each and since it was our first time we got free rental shoes. I didn't have time to check out the sauna, but it is included in the pass and I peaked inside and it was very nice. They also have a full gym and classes that are all included in your pass! We only spent 30 minutes there then went next door for food and coffee, but I went back after and some people were there for hours! I think the enjoyment level here depends on what you want to experience.

I love this place. For the past almost-year me and my girlfriend have been buying punchcards and coming to boulder here every so often. At the beginning of the school year we came every Saturday, but as schools gotten busier we havent been coming so frequently. It is the most affordable bouldering place ive ever been, they provide bandaids when you get scraped, have very attentive service, inclusive staff and events, and very kindly use sustainable paper towels at the handwashing station with high-quality lotion available after. They always provide chalk and shoes and I think the routes are super fun and also inclusive! I also like having the opportunity to use the other gym amenities with the daytime pass, and it is all kept very clean. One time I came in with a sprained ankle and used two punches because I thought my ankle wouldnt get in the way too much, but after a few minutes I realized it would and I didnt want to stay. They refunded my punches so now I have them for another time! I love this place and have brought almost everyone I know here with me. I would definitely recommend it.

I'm a beginner climber, and only tried, Crux for a month membership. Things I love about it: - Affordable: $105 for a month membership, and there is a first responder discount. - Offers fitness and yoga classes - Overall, clean gym and bathrooms. - Two locations: Central and South - Central location is conveniently next to Spokesman coffee, so it's nice to do some work and climb some routes. - Dog friendly. Things that are not so great: - The gym routes are not as friendly for beginners, many are V3/V4. - No electric treadmills - gym is always busy in the evenings.

Came here with some friends and we had a great time!! The staff was wonderful and very helpful and open to any questions!! The gym wasn't too crowded so we were able to do a bunch of different climbs and I liked that there was a traditional gym and stretching area inside too!!

I've been going here on and off for about a year now and crux is great climbing center for all levels. The memberships are little expensive but they also include they gym which I love too. I don't go often enough to get a membership consistently so I usually use punch cards, which are a great value. The route setters do a great job and the turn over for the routes is a perfect amount of time to work at figuring out the challenging climbs and not get bored of the easier ones.

Crux my go-to climbing spot in Austin, especially in the mornings. Their facility is clean. This is their smaller location, but it's still packed with things to do. It has a small gym, yoga room, ping pong table, moon boards, and many fun routes. They have a good variety for beginners and advanced climbed with many dynos. Staff is friendly and parking is free + convenient. They often have events and deals too if you want to become a member or purchase a punch pass, I'll be back for the next deal :)

Crux gyms are the best! I've been here a few times and same energy as their other loc

It's an all bouldering gym with a fitness center and sauna area in the locker rooms! They have been such a great addition to the austin climbing community and I'm so glad to be a member!

Now that I've visited the second location a few times, I do really enjoy visiting. Although I'm not a Crux member, it's nice to visit once in a while when the whole gym has new sets. It's smaller, but it's well maintained and the sets are fun. Although I'm still more of a sport climber, until the tall wall gyms finish building, I'll continue to drop by once a while to check out the new sets.

It pains me to give a climbing gym less than 4 stars, heck less then 3 stars for that matter. I've never been to any Austin climbing gym cause we're always at the crag. But this location left a really bad taste in my mouth. I had driven to Austin for a weekend and on my last day, I had the hankering itch to visit an Austin climbing gym. This place was literally 10 minutes away from my friend's house and we decided to check the place out. Mind you, we all know the covid situations in establishments, however this place just failed to deliver important information. My friend and I called about visiting on a day pass, and what seemed like a nice conversation, the staff member failed to let us know we needed reservations. Even on a day pass, they failed to let us know. That was red flag number one. We filled out waivers online and then proceeded to go. When we arrived, we had mentioned that we wanted to visit and had called earlier. Well... the girl at the front desk told us that we needed a reservation. Okaaayyyy I get it. But we called. Shouldn't they have let us know? What truly irked me was that the staff seem like they don't communicate to each other. I voiced my concern about how we weren't informed even though we had literally called not even 15 minutes prior to arriving. The staff didn't even want to deal with the nuisance, ignored us, then tried to say, well since it's raining, most people are at home or here climbing. If they weren't, they'd probably be at the crag. And I'm here rolling my eyes thinking, okay? You guys are privileged with a crag. Cool. Red flag number 2, once they didn't feel like dealing with the issue, they saw that it wasn't busy, they decided to let us climb. I already had bad vibes to begin with, but we ended up following through. But as we're going through orientation, a staff member failed to tell us they only use liquid chalk. While I'm looking confused as I have my chalk bag out and ready to go. Like hello???? I'm just irked. You would at least think that for a popular climbing gym, they'd at least be inclusive to the community whether you're from Austin or not, they'd communicate important information to climbers, and lastly, at least act like they care about their gym goers.

Crux is fantastic! It's my go to place to train. Their routes are mainly competition style, but I think it's a lot of fun. When I want to train for outdoor stuff, I'll go outdoors. They have a moon board and kilter board if you want to train harder. I also enjoy the idea of their weights area... I've never actually used it because I always end up climbing, but it's nice knowing there's an option. The community here is great. I've made quite a few friends who I'll say hi to if I ever see climbing. People are always willing to talk beta and it's fun to work on a problem together. People have also given me advice on shoes, training, and technique which has made me a much better climber.

Had a great time this morning at this climbing center. Does have moon boards. Some nice dyno routes. Some of the volumes can be much at times but all in all good balance and great place for beginning climbers or entering into bouldering. Will definitely come back. Thank you for keeping us going through these times. Many blessings. #climbing #austintxgym #crux #austin #bouldering

Climbing is one of the activities I picked up when I moved to austin a few years ago. This location is great since being in central austin, it's close to the Asian markets nearby on airport or mueller park. To me, not as beginner friendly compared to ABP but still a good amount of beginner problems. It feels a bit more challenging to me (which I like. Around v3/v4 skill level) Beside just regular climbing walls, there's an area as well for kids. Another spot for gym equipment for working out or cardio exercises. There's an upper area above the gym equipment for open workouts. Sometimes the classes they offer are taken up there! There's an open area near the front where you could just sit and relax. Recently also noticed there's a ping pong table. The staff are super friendly to work with. The price is about the same as what you would pay for at ABP. I just follow where my friends go and most of them come to crux central instead!

TDLR: clean. Nice attendants, but screaming children. Prices include classes and climbing, whether you want to climb or not. I was really excited about this place because it seemed new and was like a 5 min drive from me. Meh, I wasn't impressed. I went in for a quick look around before signing up, and there were several loud shrieking young children (granted, in the children's area) that could be heard in the workout room next to them, the open room upstairs, and partway into the normal climbing area. Like, you can't give them an enclosed area?! The walls echo their tiny, screechy voices. I guess it'd be fine if you had music on? But they have group fitness classes in the upstairs area... I don't know, I just don't like hearing kids scream. Is that a personal preference? I thought it was a community-wide thing. I asked the person at the front desk how often there are children screaming, they said more often now that it's summer, and on Monday nights when there are kid programs. I'm not a climber, but was interested in their yoga and fitness classes. I asked about guest passes to try it out, and those dont exist here. I asked about taking classes without the climbing, they said it's the same cost whether you do climbing or not, which is $22 for a day pass. I saw online that they did punch cards, and they said that was just a collection of day passes. The bathrooms were okay. They were clean but nothing special. There were 2 or 3 showers with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. There was a sauna inside the bathroom.

Great place to go to climbing gym, has a few easier climb for beginners. Would recommend the south location if you prefer a harness/belay. It's less crowded before 4:30pm on weekdays if you're trying to avoid the crowds.h

First time climbing in awhile and first time climbing in austin and I'm a fan of this place. Super new looking and modern with a good amount of space and a neat workout and studio area. This location is bouldering only, no top rope section - which is only at the south location. They've got a neat work area to do work if you'd like and a ping pong table too which is a fun way to relax between climbs. Day pass here is about $20 and there's a slight student discount of around $3. One thing I did notice that may also be due to me not climbing for a while, but the routes seemed harder than listed. For example lots of the v3-v4 and even v1-v2 routes were more challenging than the rating.

The route setters here do an amazing job setting interesting problems that are consistently well thought out. Many times, I've noticed myself trying new body movements I hadn't tried before. Problems are frequently satisfying and thought provoking while providing a healthy amount of challenge for the grading. Also great - friendly and helpful staff, clean walls (and facility overall), and many free fitness related classes included in membership.

Beautiful new bouldering gym in north Austin sister to the south Austin gym. Go here. You won't be disappointed. And contrary to the previous review, you can go to both gyms on one membership pass for a $10 monthly fee. Get climbing.

My personal favorite and current home bouldering gym in Austin! It's smaller than some of its competitors, but there are a good variety of routes that are well-thought out and are regularly updated, the music and vibes are cool, and you get a friendly and diverse crowd here. Keep in mind that outside of a small gym, yoga, and fitness class area, you can only boulder here. At this time, actual rock climbing (with a harness) can only be done at the south location. The interior is bright and well-ventilated, and the bathrooms are clean and well-maintained. They provide hair ties and bandaids for free up at the front as you need them, and they provide paperless hand drying methods after hand washing whenever possible. Climbing walls are this fun shade of yellow, and the pads at the bottom are just the right amount of cushiness. Parking is not too bad, and Crux Central is right next to the amazing Brewtorium. I heartily recommend Crux Central, and all of the people I brought there to try it have had a positive experience. :-)

Pros: - Great routes - Great price - Central location - Coffee shop next door Cons: - The hours on the weekend mean that it can be a bit busier with some amount of kids running around unsupervised Summary: This is my favorite climbing gym in town. I only wish they had earlier hours on the weekend and that there were some kind of rules in place for children.

I was in Austin for 2 months and needed to restart bouldering after the pandemic. Found Crux right near my place and I absolutely loved it! Once you sign up for a membership: unlimited climbing from 6 AM to 10 PM, workout classes were free, and a fully equipped weight room with bikes, treadmills, and ellipticals. They rotated and changed routes often enough to keep things fresh. The staff were always so friendly, going out of their way to say hello when I came in (regardless of the time) and would always be so helpful if I had any questions. Even the people that signed up for this gym were great! I met a lot of people over 2 months who helped me out on climbs and cheered me on. They've built a great community that have great vibes!

Update: My concerns have been allayed! The sauna is fixed and the gym is super well run. My wife and I bought 2 yearly memberships and visit 3 days a week. I couldn't be happier with our new climbing gym. My wife and I haven't climbed since the pandemic started. In the time since then, this brand new gym opened up in the building attached to the Brewtorium. They have created an extremely spacious, high-end bouldering gym in a beautiful space. They are currently limiting the amount of people allowed in and require masks to be worn while climbing. We felt extremely safe and comfortable in the gym last night. When you enter, there is a lounge area to your left with a yoga studio behind that. They host multiple yoga classes per day that they are currently limiting to 7 participants to allow for safe distancing. They have a huge amount of climbing space that they reset in sections, weekly. Their memberships are very competitively priced and the staff is friendly. Additionally, in the back of the gym, they have a traditional weight-lifting area with free weights and exercise equipment. Upstairs from that, they host fitness classes, though the area is open to members between classes. Their locker-rooms are in the back right corner and each have a spacious sauna within. After our trial visit last night, I expect this to be our climbing gym in the future. My only concern is that, though newly open, one of the moon-walls and the men's sauna were out of order. I'm hoping these are just new-opening hiccups and will be resolved soon. Bonus: Spokesmen Coffee has a location within (separated by a door) Crux. They are currently open until 4, daily.

If you go with kids call before hand because birthday parties get the entire kids room. There is very limited options outside that room for kids. And then the birthday party moved into the general area so there is no where for non birthday party kids to climb because you can't go in the party room. South location is better and bigger.

It's absurd to have a membership that doesn't cover all locations. Anyone who has a membership purchased at the Pickle Road location should know that membership doesn't cover access to this location, you have to pay for a day pass or buy a separate membership for this location.

This is my happy place. I love the setting and the crowd. One day will try some classes.

I've been a long time member of the original Crux - South location. The new central location is absolutely beautiful. There is more bouldering which I love. The yoga studio is gorgeous and oh so clean! The staff is very friendly and helpful which I appreciate. Crux central has become my little oasis. I highly recommend! five stars!