Climbing in Kalamazoo

I am moving to Kalamazoo in late June to pursue my career as a wind turbine technician. I don’t know anyone out here and I don’t know much in terms of climbing in Michigan. Any info on the area would be greatly appreciated and if anyone wants to climb out there feel free to message me

There's a good gym out there, Climb Kalamazoo. The only place to really climb outside in the lower peninsula is Oak Park in Grand Ledge, near Lansing. Its sandstone, top rope only and bouldering. I have only been to Kzoo a few times, but its a chill  college town with great beer.

I grew in in Kalamazoo and I’ll 2nd that the only climbing option is really grand ledge - the hardcore bust out the 10 hour drive to the red if that want to climb good rock.  Unfortunately, the lower peninsula of Michigan really got shafted in the last ice age.  It’s one of the most rock starved areas in the nation.

Also from Kalamazoo. Climb Kalamazoo has been around for a long time and it's definitely a good gym making great use of the space they have. They tend to grade (boulders especially) closer to grades outdoors so the grading might seem a bit different than what you‘re used to in the beginning.

Grand Ledge (Oak Park) is just over an hour away, top rope and bouldering only as mentioned above. Almost all anchors are set on trees above, padding the anchor around the trees and over the edge is required https://www.grandledgeclimbing.com

Red River Gorge is about 7 hours away and it's probably the best climbing easily accessible from Kalamazoo. Weekend trips are doable (1.5 days of climbing).

Mad River Gorge is just over 4 hours away in southwest Ohio. Haven't climbed there myself but I've had friends go there.

Canada. There's a lot of climbing near Niagra Falls (Golden Horshoe, 5 hours away) and on Bruce Peninsula (Lion's Head, 6.5 hours away)

Edit: The Upper Peninsula has some world class ice climbing as well (http://www.michiganicefest.com). Also, Peadbody Ice Climbing is a really unique ice/mixed/altitude training facility about 30-40 minutes north of Ann Arbor (https://www.peabodyiceclimbing.com)

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Hey, I never have climbed East of the Mississippi. I am from Lansing and Flint. Grand Ledge is very limited. Probably best bet is weekend trips to Lions Head in Canada and the Red River Gorge. There’s a climbing gym in Pontiac.