About Us

Grand River Rocks was founded by Josh Tuffin, Christoff Le Roux, Mike Cieplak, and Scott Hamill. Good friends and seasoned climbers long before the idea of opening a climbing gym was ever even imagined, the four owners built much of the gym with their own hands. In August 2011, the doors of Grand River Rocks opened, and Kitchener-Waterloo officially had a gym entirely devoted to rock climbing. In November 2013, our gym expanded and took over the unit next door.  

In December 2019, we decided to bring climbing to Waterloo with a brand new bouldering-only facility.

In June 2024, we moved our Kitchener location (and Go Bananas) to a bigger, newer building on Victoria St.

Grand River Rocks Kitchener has auto-belays, top-ropes, lead, and bouldering. We have a kid friendly area called Go Bananas. Our boulder walls range from 14.4′ to 15′ tall. Our rope/auto-belay walls range from 17.4′ to 25.4′ tall.

Our Kitchener location has a gear shop, spray wall, training area, and workout area open to all members and day pass users. Our workout area has a cable machine, seated stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, weight plates, dumbbells, kettle bells, and a free standing rig. Our restrooms contain change rooms, lockers, and showers.

Owners Mike Cieplak, Josh Tuffin, Scott Hamill, and Christoff le Roux

Our Original Kitchener Facility

The 14,000 square foot facility located at 50 Borden Ave was the home and beginning for many KW climbers from August 2011 to June 2024.  The curved wood-panelled ceilings and the concrete walls helped to maintain the charm of this old industrial building.  

Our NEW Kitchener Facility

The facility located at 264 Victoria St N opened its doors in June 2024.  The massive space has dedicated party rooms, ample space in the changerooms, a large yoga studio, a roomy workout area, and, of course, lots of climbing!