LEF Climbing

LEF is my favorite place in all of Lexington. I’ve been climbing there for about four months, and even when I was a beginner, I felt welcomed from day one. The staff is super friendly and always ready to help. They explain the rules, show you how to use the equipment, teach you the basics, and are always available to answer any questions. The community is amazing. During my first two weeks, I made a lot of friends, and I still meet new people all the time. The gym is really well-equipped. They have bouldering, sport climbing, moonboard, handboard areas, free weights, cables, and machines for general workouts. They also guide you on routes if you need help. I like that they host events like Halloween climbing nights and competitions, which makes the gym feel like a real community. The only downsides for me are that some routes lately seem sandbagged, with that I mean they put an easier rating on a route than it actually is, for example, a route might be labeled V3, but it feels more like a V4 or even V5. It can be a little frustrating, but it’s really not a big deal. Also, during peak hours the gym can get very crowded, but that’s normal for any gym. Honestly, these things don’t take away from the overall experience. LEF is an incredible place to climb, train, and meet people. Being the only climbing gym in Lexington, it’s definitely worth it. (None of the photos were taken during peak hours).

The employees there are really cool. Very helpful and willing to answer questions. Also, it's huge. Even with about 50 people in there, everyone has some space to climb. The only negative is that place really needs a good cleaning. I know it's tough because if all the dust, but 30 minutes a week just wiping down the area up front would be great. It's still worth membership if you love climbing though, or even if you want to learn.

Having to book a day pass that needs to be approved and reviewed is absolutely pathetic. This place deserves to be publicly shamed by the climbing community. Unwelcoming, uninviting, crummy hours. Abysmal business that needs to take a long look in the mirror at themselves and ask themselves why they are okay with such an unwelcoming policy. Only gym in America I’ve ever seen that upholds this policy, and then chooses to stand on it while customers wait to be let in. Who do they think they are.

Awesome, friendly, and super helpful staff. I’m new to climbing and they’ve patiently answered questions. There’s plenty of bouldering options for newbies, as well as auto belayed climbs. Truly appreciate the later hours too, it’s what convinced me that I could try this as I live out of county and sometimes work late. They constantly change out routes, but not too often so you have plenty of time to work on problems. I love all of the comps they hold too!

Edit: That’s my bad, the font is really small but it does say on the mobile browser that entry by day pass needs reservation. Compared to the size of buttons for purchasing entry, I just completely missed it. The gym is clean, open, and really well laid out. Bouldering was fun, interesting, and plentiful! Auto-belays are in good shape and routes were really interesting and fun! There definitely could be more set for TR/auto-belay/lead imo, but what was there was really fun. Staff were cool, albeit a little standoffish but they were still helpful and friendly. My only complaint is that it’s not straightforward on the mobile browser that a day pass holder has to make a reservation to visit the gym. I don’t know how common this is, but had I not read someone else in the reviews complain about this, I wouldn’t have thought to check. In all, a good experience and I’d definitely go again!

Medium size climbing gym but is not a good place for beginners. There are barely any bouldering walls or auto belay walls that are manageable for beginners even if you are reasonably fit. Booking a spot for climbing is easy, many spots always available but there isn’t enough to keep you occupied as a beginner for more than an hour.

Absolutely love this place!! We moved out west but made it a stop in our itinerary when visiting to come back here. Hands down one of the best climbing gyms I have been too. I miss this place so much. Highly highly recommend this gym! They have everything you could need. And it’s huge!!

This Gym is amazing! Always plenty of room to climb and new routes to explore. The staff is super friendly and helpful. You get a lot for the monthly membership fee. Well worth a visit!

I was invited by a family member to join her in rock climbing. This was my first time rock climbing, and I must say I was a bit intimidated about climbing. The staff were very friendly and detailed on how to get prepared for climbing the wall with the harnesses and also the ins and outs of each level of difficulty. My son loved climbing, as this is definitely his wheelhouse, but not necessarily mine lol. There were numerous walls to climb with the ropes/harnesses utilized and other boulder walls with a harness or rope not used but with a padded flooring under the ways. There is a wall for each level of climber from beginner to seasoned. If you want to try something new or get more practice on your skills, LEF is perfect for you! We will come back soon!

Pros: nice tall walls and pretty creative routesetters who do not seem to hate short climbers. Largest lead climb section, and most autobelays, of any climbing gym I've been to. Staff are nice. Good vibe with lots of third space hangout areas. Route grading is accurate (though coarse). Has showers IIRC, and a gender neutral bathroom. I think there may also be a weight/board room there. Don't love: day pass orientation starts on the hour (somewhat annoying for planning, but not awful). Grading scheme is very coarse, washer system for boulders always throws me off a little. I would like more arete (but that statement is true almost everywhere I go). Overall: solid climbing. We like it a lot and we'll come back whenever we're in town. ALMOST five stars, but not quite, I'd give it a 4.5 if I could. Does not seem to have a queer climb night as many other gyms do...it sure would be cool if they added one.

After not climbing for over a year, I decided to put on my climbing shoes again and check out LEF Climbing. It has a spacious interior with a variety of routes for bouldering, top rope, auto-belay, and lead climb. The walls are much taller than other gyms I've been to and make the routes much challenging. Some of the grading doesn't seem very consistent. Staff is nice. Kids and adults of all ages are welcome. It's definitely fun to experience it at least once! The day pass is currently $30 per person with all gear rentals included. No price reduction if you bring your own gear. The membership cost is hefty, $100 per month or $80 if prepay... that's close to 1K per person at a minimum. One membership bonus is that all classes are free. If I resume climbing on a regular basis, I might consider shelling out some $$.

Very welcoming community and they are actively taking feedback to improve. Definitely recommend!

This was a fun place to go!! It was kind of dirty in there but that is normal for a place you get sweaty ! It was really fun and hard! You get a great arm workout while you're there. The pictures you may see on the scroll are very incorrect there is not that many pegs in the walls and not that much color. I also did not see a gym??? It was super hard to climb! They provide you with shoes and a harness! Make sure to bring your water or money! They do have a vending machine with water protein bars and hand chalk. There is a water fountain and water bottle fill up station. No need to worry about the bathrooms they have some there and you get a day pass! It's $30 a person plus tax including children. Make a reservation online to come. You can also sign the waiver there! Hope this helps! Have fun!!

If you're going solo, I wouldn't recommend a membership because it's often super crowded to and you can't use auto-belays without long wait times. If you don't feel comfortable talking to undergraduate students, it's not really too friendly, or easy to make friends. Not worth the price if you're a solo climber. If you work at UK at all, johnson alumni center is a good and way cheaper option to climb. I've been to a lot of climbing gyms and this is the only 1 I don't think of as 5/5 stars.

This place is awesome, we brought our sons here and then came back with the grand children. They all had a great time and got some good exercise. Not sure why they feel the need to have the pride flag on the wall. You should be able to have a business with out pushing sexual orientation.

L'escalade fitness & climbing or LEF Climbing for short is a very nice, well rounded climbing gym! Just visiting from Houston, TX, I was looking for a cool place to boulder in Lexington, KY. It pretty much seems like LEF climbing is the only option to choose from, but luckily LEF climbing was everything I was looking for. I've only been climbing seriously for a little over a year now so I am no expert in the sport, but I'm not a complete newbie either. LEF climbing was nice in that they had a good range of routes from v0 (easy, red holds) to v14 (extremely hard, pink holds), and that the difficulty is based on the color of the holds. As far as pricing goes, they charged the average amount based on the gyms I've been to. First time day passes cost $22, but after your first visit day passes become $15. And renting equipment like shoes or harnesses costs either 1 item for $4 or 2 items for $7. Monthly memberships average in price around $70/month, but price varies depending if you need rental equipment or if you want access to the full facility like the workout gym or just the climbing walls. Overall the place is clean, staff is friendly, and is good for all skill levels. A kids climbing area is available, a couple auto belays, belay classes, tons of top roping, lead climbing, training equipment, workout gym, and several different bouldering walls are all offered. We were a little short on time so we didn't get to utilize or try everything, but the bouldering problems were great. We only climbed up to the black holds that represent up to v6 problems due to our current v5 skill level, but everything ranging up to that point was a lot of fun! The setters at this gym are quite creative, and aren't afraid to set a challenging route. I can't wait to come back next time I'm in Lexington, Kentucky!

Great place and reasonable priced for the amount of walls they participants can climb. Loved the variety and different levels. Nephews loved that it was not a time restraint for fun. You climb until you can't climb no more. Definitely recommend!

This gym is great! There's a few bouldering walls including a warm up wall, as well as several auto belay top ropes and three warm ups, lead climbing, partner belays, etc. There's also a gym in the back with workout equipment! The staff are very friendly and make an effort to get to know you.

Fantastic, large climbing gym with plenty of routes and bouldering problems. Membership fee is reasonable and they are constantly changing routes. Love this place!

All the rock wall climbing your heart desires and many levels. They have an all day ticket for us beginners and then monthly deals for those more avid climbers to hone in on their climbing skills. Great place to let adults and kids alike to blow off some steam, especially during the winter months!!

This place is pretty cool. I took my 13 and 9 year old nephews here while they were in town visiting. Staff was awesome and took care of my nephews with the setup. There are multiple climbing walls with varying degrees of difficulty and climbing styles. The rental equipment looked like it was well maintained and in good shape. My nephews could not get enough of the climbing, until they had muscle fatigue, and want to go back the next time they are in town. It is good for all ages and skill levels. If you want to get a great workout or have your kids burn some energy during the cold winter months I suggest you bring them here. In addition to the daily fee they also have some membership options depending on what you are looking for.

Amazing place and environment! You can always make friends and socialize while learning and exercising! Tons of cool events other then climbing with yoga and sometimes coffee and waffle Sunday climbs! Really a great atmosphere! Highly recommended! People are always willing to help you wether it's staff of just people there to climb!

Planned an office team building event here on January 14th. The process for registration and walk-in is done professionally and the instructor was knowledgeable in her position. Our time was limited but to two hours and at first I wAnted to just hit the walls and start climbing instead of listening to the safety and familiarization brief. However, once we were able to start climbing it was evident that those were necessary. There are skill levels for literally everyone. We had a 52 year old female make it half way up the tallest wall. Age wasn't really the factor as much as the athletic level perceived of the individual. It was a great confidence booster for her. Everyone enjoyed it. It was a great workout and be prepared to have a great forearm workout.

Great gym for both bouldering and top roping. I think there were 4 auto belays, not sure tho. Super nice/helpful staff as well. The weight room is also really nice. Totally worth the Day fee!

This is a nice gym. Very friendly staff. You should know before going that It's main focus is bouldering. It has great routes for bouldering. Good routes for climbing. Also, if you're solo for the day all the auto-belays are crammed into the same corner.

My husband and I had a great experience today at LEF Climbing! He's pretty seasoned, but I've only climbed a handful of times in the last year. Some gyms seem kind of pretentious towards inexperienced climbers -- not LEF! Being there was like a wave of welcoming relief! The staff was incredibly friendly (you're the man, Tommy!), and we even got an awesome lunch recommendation. This place was seriously the gift that keeps on giving. There are a bunch of auto-belays if you don't want to take the class, and so much bouldering! Clean. Good music. Cool atmosphere. We're fans.

A really Nice Facility, that feels welcoming, love they have auto belays and plenty of all types of climbing, their fitness room is stocked, and a nice yoga class.

I decided to go to place with my husband as a first time experience to do something different. We are not climbers and have never done indoor climbing before. We reserved online for a class along with purchasing a first time day pass. I assumed you would have to sign up for a class to learn how to do things. When I had questions about how to do things I called several times and wasn't able to reach someone. The voicemail prompts to email or leave a message. I left a message but decided to send an email a few hours later. They responded with a phone call from my email. Once I enroll us online we went the next day for our reservation. We got set up with gear and had a slight tour. The online reservation system was new for them so it took them a little to find our names in the system and the receipt for payment. They explained the difference in walls and how to do things but at that point let us have free range of everything. I told them we had enrolled for the class and said the classes start every hour and a half so I figured we could try to climb on our own and then catch whenever a class was starting but never saw when a class began. The class apparently is for the rope climbing portion and us climbing with the harnesses were already difficult so we didn't even bother with the class. It was a fun experience but the other customers seem like they are regulars and already know how to climb and practice. You can tell we had no idea what we were doing besides having fun, I would have expected an instructor to be beside us and show us how to do things and then watch us and then let us be alone rather than letting us go from the beginning. They are a nice staff so I'm sure they would help if we needed but we just played around for half and hour and decided to go. Fun to experience for non climbers but I probably wouldn't come back.

This place has something for everyone. I have been a few times now and am very impressed. They have excellent auto belay options for new climbers and kids, along with bouldering that is entry level. You can also tell that serious climbers enjoy this gym, as there are plenty hanging around. The staff were very welcoming to newcomers and kids. The rates for a day pass seem fair, and are slightly less than I've seen at other smaller gyms when traveling.

Went for the first time today. Both me and my son rock climb and wanted to check the place out. WOW first class. The young guy that helped us ,Tommy, was super nice and very concerned about our safety. Stayed with us until he knew all was good. The walls are super high and the routes are great. If you like bouldering you'll be in heaven. They have thought of everything. Even not allowing climbing shoes in the bathrooms. (Think about it) The price wasn't bad for a day pass but I'm usually not staying that long. So I wish that they had a half day price.

I have never really done rock climbing before and had always wanted to go to a good climbing gym, so when I heard about this place in Lexington I was looking forward to giving it a try. It didn't disappoint I was really surprised how big it was inside. Besides having a bunch of climbing walls they also had quite a bit of bouldering walls, which I didn't even know were a thing! All in all they were quite laid back and it was overall quite fun to go to and it was pretty easy for me to get into it even with the little experience I had.

I've been to a handful of rock climbing gyms (in KY, as well as other states). I've only found one other that could compare to L'EF. They have great sport climbing and bouldering, as well as a nice children's area. The gym is only a year old, so the holds and walls are in great condition. The bathroom and locker facilities are clean and spacious. There are a variety of routes, accommodating everyone from newbies to highly experienced climbers. It's a great place to meet new people and learn from skilled climbers. You won't be disappointed.

L'escalade is a world class facility that is unlike anything Lexington was even prepared for.. It took one afternoon to check it out and I was back in the evening to sign up for a membership.. Sure, the Red is close enough, but not close enough to climb three plus times a week for most of us. Routes that stretch 50 vertical feet to the anchors make this the perfect place to work your endurance and three walls of bouldering will pinpoint your weaknesses and challenge your strengths.. The staff is friendly and laid back which contributes to a welcoming experience for new climbers young and old. I had always been put off by the idea of 'training in a gym' but L'escalade has been a great addition to my routine and has immediately improved my flow and strength on the rock. I really can't say enough good things about this place. If you climb- just go! You won't regret it.. The $60 that it costs for the membership is a paltry fee in exchange for the well being and strength you'll receive in return.

This is a great place to take the kids and get a good workout at the same time! They aren't overbearing with the instruction and yet within 5 min the orientation gets you up on the wall and having fun. Amazing facilities and staff. Very comfortable atmosphere and a great way to get some exercise. Would highly recommend!!!

We first went to LF on the prodding of our 15 year old daughter who got the climbing bug this past summer. WOW is the first word that described our first impression walking in. And wows continued throughout the rest of our stay. There was a modest first time sign up fee and I recommend doing all the paperwork online prior to going. That will save you 15 or so minutes on your first visit. The rental equipment is first class and the fees are very reasonable. Climb for an hour or all day, it is one fee. The staff are friendly, helpful, and patient. The climbing walls are extraordinarily WOW, and the rest of the facility too. It has walls for the petite young learner to walls that challenge the pros. And you don't have to be a seasoned pro and have a belay partner to climb. They have self belaying mechanisms all over the place. The routes have a rating card at each base, and color coded handholds mean you can climb a pure route or go ahead and just have fun and use whatever hand/foot hold you want on the way up. We were told the routes are changed very week. Heck it would have taken us a year to climb everything if the walls remained static. One of my favorite challenges were the walls that lean out. I never took one of those on before in my minimal climbing experiences. Safety is a paramount factor for the staff, and you will also see it the way the place has thick pads under all the walls. Let's see, we can spend $20 or so to climb, or sit on our butt watching a movie while listening to people munch on pop corn and raisinettes. Yep, WOW was the word we used often and very likely you will say the same thing multiple times yourselves on your first visit. I am excited this kind of world class facility has been built in Lexington.