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!  We took over the unit next door, and we now have much more to offer!  A new yoga/fitness room, a small workout gym (with a treadmill, elliptical, weights, and rowing machine), a viewing deck, fun walls for kids, another boulder, and many more top-rope and lead routes.

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

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