Ever watch Mission Impossible II? The intro scene where he is climbing that extremely dangerous cliff side without any harness, and wonder how you can do that just like him? It looks cool but this place will not help you pull a stunt like that. They emphasize and teach safety and the proper use of rock climbing equipment. Welcome to the Virginia Beach Rock Gym.  It’s one of the many Virginia Beach things you can do on your oceanfront vacation.

Learn how to rock climb

If you want to learn how to rock climb, they offer classes that will guide you through the basics of knot tying and rope handling. The instructor will instruct you for thirty minutes for $25 as a new climber and $5 for each additional climber in your group. They also offer other introduction courses like the Half Hour Rappel Course, the one hour climbing rappelling combo, the Belay class, and the Rappel Class. They have more detailed information available on their website which includes times and pricing for each course. 

Experienced climbers

If you are already familiar with how to climb safely, you can try out one of The VA Beach Rock Gym’s experienced climbers only walls. They have what they call “The Main Wall”, which is a thirty two foot realistically textured wall that has different climbing routes you can take based on your experience. The Rappel Tower is available for practicing your rappelling skills and they also have “The Boulders”, which looks like fun, mostly because you do not have to worry much about knots, ropes, or harnesses.

Rocking climbing rental rates

All equipment is rented at the Virginia Beach Rock Gym. Items like the harness cost $3 to rent and shoes are $5.  They have more rental equipment pricing on their website, but for the full gear it would cost about $13. You can also visit the pro shop to purchase gear for personal use.

If you’re a local, they have membership opportunities available that allows for discounts on courses, classes, and events. If you want, you can also take a qualification test for Belay for $3, lead certification for $15, and rappel certification for $15.  Members get $5 off.

If you want to bring your kids, they also host birthday parties. Everything requires reservations so make yours at least one day in advance.

Last edited:  March 26, 2017