Challenge Rocks

Tucked in the back of a nondescript building in Hingham, Challenge Rocks was too easy to conquer even for novice climbers like me. Our Groupon provided a day pass for unlimited climbing with shoes. We stuck to our sneakers and they did the job. There were lockers for your valuables, but no lock.
The girl at the front was friendly, fitted us quickly with harnesses, and gave a 3 minute explanation on how to properly hook up. We didn’t notice the numbers until she left for the other room, but it would’ve been helpful to get an explanation of the difficulty levels (ranging from 5.6 to 5.11) because they seem to be splattered all over the place along with different colored tape. There are about 10 panels on the right (that means little since each panel can contain multiple climbs). The traverse wall on the left was the most challenging of the afternoon. Aside from the malfunctioning «That was easy» buttons on the first two climbs, the lack of bells and whistle at the top of the others made for a rather unceremoniously end and little opportunity for satisfaction.
There was a small group of tweens when we arrived and just a family of four by the end. We climbed for an hour and moved on with the day.

Held a 2 hour-​7 year old girls party here with about 13 kids. Very pleased with the organization and hands on entertainment. Parents were impressed and the kids worked up a good sweat. It’s much pricier per head than other facilities such as kidz planet but well worth it. At the end of the two hours the kids were drained, well fed and ready to leave. It was a great time. Highly recommend.

A climbing gym on the South Shore? A place where experienced climbers can practice, adults can try something new, and kids can learn confidence while getting incredible exercise? Finally!
The energy of this place is amazing. It’s not as big as some of the marquee climbing gyms in Boston, but has a good variety of overhangs, roofs, chimneys and aretes, with a small bouldering cave about to open and future plans for significantly more bouldering.
They have auto-​belay devices on almost every route, which means that my 7-​year old son and I can both climb at the same time. It took him a few visits before he was completely comfortable, but now he loves the autonomy of safely clipping in and virtually running up the walls. We spent 3 hours at Challenge Rocks one Saturday and a big chunk of that time was just me sitting down and watching him climb and enjoying the huge smile on his face.
Speaking of smiles, I took a group of 40-​something friends there over lunch one week. Everyone was apprehensive at first, but half an hour later everyone was smiling and high-​fiving, including one friend who was very afraid of heights. I took a few photos so that the parents in the group could «prove to their kids that they went rock climbing.»
The owners — Fred & Grace — are super friendly and helpful, and most importantly, amazing with kids. After watching a bunch of 5-​year olds having a blast at a climbing birthday party one Saturday, including time on a trampoline and zip-​line, my 7-​year-​old son said «I am DEFINITELY having my birthday party here!»
I love that this is a huge confidence boost for him, and a great place for this old trad climber to get back into an amazing sport after a 10+ year hiatus.

I first met Fred when my daughter was 5 years old, she went to a Rock Climbing birthday party, and came home so excited about it and begging to take classes. At the time I didn’t know anything about Rock Climbing, so I signed her up for gymnastics at that gym instead, but she kept begging to switch to rock climbing. They let the gymnasts climb at the end of each class. Fred told me she was a natural climber, and I realized I knew that she was, since she had been climbing trees and anything she could from the moment she could walk.
I transferred her into Rock Climbing, and she took off like a rocket! She joined the competitive team, and made it to the States, Regionals, and finally National Championships at age 7 (the youngest competitor there!) and again at age 9, all thanks to Fred and his amazing coaching and team.
Unfortunately my daughter was stricken with a health problem that forced her to quit competitive climbing, but I would wholeheartedly recommend that whether you are a seasoned adult climber looking for a gym, or a parent looking for a great experience for your child, you will find what you are looking for at Challenge Rocks. Fred is an expert who enriches every gym he has ever been a part of, I would follow him anywhere he goes, and I have!
Rock climbing is an AMAZING sport that uses EVERY muscle in the body, and I highly recommend getting even very young children involved in it, they make great little monkeys! Plus, it’s a great Birthday Party destination, and school camp and summer camps are so much fun for them too.
So, really, if your kids are climbing trees, walls, shelves, inappropriate things… instead of discouraging the climbing, redirect it to safe, organized REAL climbing, taught by a Master, you won’t regret it!