Camps at Boulder Rock Club set out to challenge beginner and experienced climbers alike. (Photo: Boulder Rock Club).
Kids can feel like they’re starring on “American Ninja Warrior” as they maneuver through obstacles at The Warrior Playground. (Photo: Warrior Playground).
Do your kids love climbing, maneuvering obstacle-like courses, and monkeying around? There are several gyms throughout Boulder County where they can challenge themselves, gain new skills and build confidence.
From a Warrior Playground with obstacles to climbing gyms, these local spots take the summer camp experience to new heights (literally!)
Warrior Playground
Kids can feel like they’re starring on “American Ninja Warrior” as they maneuver through obstacles at The Warrior Playground, which has drop-ins, memberships and summer camps.
“Beyond learning the staples of Ninja, like beating the Warped Wall and scaling the Cliff Hanger, our campers learn to try hard, that failing is a natural (and fabulous) part of life, and that self-confidence and self-esteem is built from the inside out,” says personal trainer Claire Pearson, marketing and operations manager for the Longmont gym and an American Ninja Warrior alumni. “Movement creates beautiful opportunities for children to see what they are made of and grow personally as a result.”
The youth curriculum was developed by American Ninja Warrior athlete and facility owner Sam Banola.
More information: Warrior Playground, 33 S. Pratt Pkwy., Longmont; warriorplayground.com
Kids can feel like they’re starring on “American Ninja Warrior” as they maneuver through obstacles at The Warrior Playground. (Photo: Warrior Playground).
Longmont Climbing Collective
Longmont Climbing Collective this year introduced its brand-new, state-of-the-art climbing facility, featuring the tallest indoor climbing walls in Colorado and Kid Zone with bouldering, top rope climbing, a slackline, a warped wall, and a slide.
Longmont Climbing Collective offers summer camps that teach kids how to enjoy a variety of activities, including bouldering, rope climbing, tackling the outdoor wall, maneuvering obstacle courses and participating in team-building exercises.
Skills that kids pick up go beyond physical climbing abilities, says Climbing Collective Marketing Manager Nick Coutu. Climbing is a full-body workout that helps kids develop strength, flexibility and endurance and it also enhances coordination and balance and boosts self-confidence.
“Climbing routes also require strategic thinking and problem-solving skills,” he says. “Kids learn to analyze the best way to ascend a route and overcome challenges and self-imposed limitations.”
More information: Climbing Collective, 155 Pinnacle St., Longmont; climbingcollective.co/longmont
Boulder Rock Club
Camps at Boulder Rock Club set out to challenge beginner and experienced climbers alike.
“Overall we aim to provide participants with the skills to one day be independent and self-sufficient climbers,” says Josh Hill, programming manager.
Longmont Climbing Collective this year introduced its brand-new, state-of-the-art climbing facility, featuring the tallest indoor climbing walls in Colorado and Kid Zone. (Photo: Longmont Climbing Collective).
This can range from first-time climbers learning the basics, like fitting their harness and utilizing the auto belays, and returning climbers working on more advanced skills, such as top rope belay and intermediate techniques, he says.
The Boulder Rock Club is offering single-day options that run in conjunction with multi-day ones so that kids can drop in for a few days of camp based on their interest levels and what works best with families’ schedules.
The gym offers camp options for Tiny Tots (ages 4 to 5), youth climbers (ages 6 to 12), teen climbers (ages 12 to 17) and camp for Girls Only (ages 6 to 12).
More information: 2829 Mapleton Ave., Boulder; boulderrockclub.com
ABC Kids Climbing
ABC Kids Climbing also offers camps for varying abilities, including indoor and outdoor camps.
The climbing gym also has a hybrid indoor/outdoor week-long summer camp that includes indoor climbing sessions where kids learn techniques and gain the knowledge necessary to transition to rock climbing outdoors in some of the area’s renowned climbing areas like Eldorado Canyon, The Flatirons, and Boulder Canyon.
ABC Kids Climbing is unique because it’s specifically built to foster growth, development and climbing and athletic skills in kids.
More information: 1960 32nd St., Boulder; abckidsboulder.com.
