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Since August 2024 Adelaide has gained three bouldering gyms: Urban Climb in a former Hindley Street cinema, a new Beyond Bouldering gym in Thebarton and Laneway Boulders in Stepney, and Adelaide's Bouldering Club has moved to Urban Climb. Here's what opened when, and what each offers.
In early 2024, bouldering in Adelaide mostly meant two Beyond Bouldering gyms, in Keswick and Kent Town, and Adelaide's Bouldering Club in Thebarton, with Vertical Reality in Holden Hill for climbing on ropes. Since August 2024, three new bouldering gyms have opened, one of them in a former city cinema, and the city's non-profit bouldering club has given up its own walls. We checked every climbing wall in Adelaide in October 2026; here's what opened when, and what you'll find inside.
Beyond Bouldering was started in 2017 by a group of South Australian climbers. Its first gym, in Keswick, opened that year with walls by Walltopia, and a second had opened in Kent Town by August 2019. A third Beyond gym, at Clovelly Park in the southern suburbs, ran from July 2021 until January 2024, when it closed because of the Torrens to Darlington (T2D) motorway project, Climbing Business Journal reported.
Urban Climb's plans for the former Event Cinemas GU Film House at 128 Hindley Street go back to June 2022, when CityMag reported a $10 million, 2,500 m² bouldering gym due to open in mid-to-late 2023. In January 2024 the chain said it would open later that year as its first venue in South Australia, and Urban Climb Adelaide opened in August 2024.
It has seven bouldering walls spread over two levels and four of the old cinemas, with names such as Blockbuster and Roswell that nod to the building's past, wall art by the Brisbane graffiti artist Sofles, a café, study spaces and a pro shop. In January 2025 its club manager, Phil McMeel, told CityMag that by most measures it was the biggest indoor bouldering gym in Australia, and spoke of an "indoor bouldering explosion" in the city. A fitness gym for members followed in October 2026. Adult entry is $26 as of October 2026; a first visit costs $31 and comes with two free weeks, and children aged five and over can climb if an adult supervises them.
Four months later, Beyond opened its newest gym, Beyond Bouldering Thebarton, at 27 Walsh Street, west of the city centre. The landlord built the warehouse from the ground up, with Beyond's team helping to shape the design, according to Climbing Business Journal. It has 540 m² of Walltopia walls, including a large overhang whose floor rises with the wall towards the upper level, and a training area with a Kilter Board, a 2024 MoonBoard, a Tension Board 2, hangboards and a fitness gym. Kyri Karakitsios, Beyond's business and marketing manager, told the journal that having gyms on both the east and west sides of Adelaide, with parking for people heading home from work, was a key goal.
Thebarton now hosts Beyond's biggest events. BOLDER 26, on 27 June 2026, drew about 320 competitors; more than 200 spectators came to the finals and over 1,500 people watched the livestream. Entry is $25, the same at all three Beyond gyms, and one membership covers them all.
Adelaide's Bouldering Club (ABC), a non-profit association since January 2012, ran its own bouldering gym at 10 Ware Street, Thebarton. Its website still listed the gym, with memberships and opening hours, on 1 December 2024; by 26 January 2025 it announced "We moved to Urban Climb" and gave 128 Hindley Street as its address. ABC now describes itself as an athlete development organisation operating out of Urban Climb Adelaide, where it runs the youth programme: weekly squads for ages 5 to 18 at $240 a term, plus an Urban Climb junior membership, invitation-only competition and high-performance teams, school-holiday sessions and one-to-one coaching.
The newest gym began as a development application, lodged on 9 August 2024, to turn a newly approved warehouse at 41–43 Henry Street, Stepney, into an indoor rock-climbing centre. The City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters' Council Assessment Panel granted planning consent on 16 December 2024. The gym's website still read "Launching Soon" in March 2025; Walltopia, which built the walls, lists it as a 2025 project, and Laneway Boulders was open by December 2025.
Walltopia fitted 324 m² of bouldering surface into a 220 m² building laid out for up to 125 climbers. Inside are over 100 problems, a Tension Board 2 at the back, weights and hangboards upstairs and coffee at the front desk, and the gym runs beginner classes, a youth club and Women on the Wall sessions. Adult entry is $24, and the $30 Intro Offer adds 14 days of unlimited climbing.
As of October 2026, Adelaide has five bouldering gyms and one roped gym:
Memberships at the bouldering gyms are billed weekly: roughly $36 to $39 a week month to month, and around $30 on a 12-month contract. Each gym also has a cheap deal for a first visit. For prices, classes and kids' options gym by gym, see our guide to climbing in Adelaide; for competitions, clubs and the crags beyond the city, see climbing in South Australia.
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