Climbing in Chicago, IL

Chicago may not have many outdoor climbing options nearby, but that doesn’t mean that rock climbers in the Windy City are out of luck.

Lakeshore Sports and Fitness at Illinois Center features the largest indoor climbing wall in North America, and you certainly won’t miss it when you enter the building. The wall dominates the atrium and rises 10 stories. That’s more than 100 feet of climbing, which is hard to find this side of the Rockies.

The Chicago Athletic Club at Lincoln Park has one thing that others don’t—outdoor climbing at its custom-made outdoor wall attached to the club. Great for both beginners and experts, the wall at the Chicago Athletic Club in Lincoln Park is one of six walls at three of the gyms' locations (the others are in Lakeview and Evanston). For climbing in actual rocks, Devil’s Lake is the most visited state park in Wisconsin, offering magnificent panoramic views of the 360-acre Devil’s Lake from 500-foot high quartzite bluffs. There are more than 2,000 climbing routes of all skill levels to choose from in the park.