Whether you’re a seasoned climber fine-tuning your technique or a first-timer ready to face your fear of heights, Movement Gym Design District welcomes all skill levels to the rope-climbing gym.
When visitors first walk inside the sprawling 45,000-square-foot climbing gym, they might feel intimidated by the 56-foot, colorful walls. But the facility’s climbing coaches and classes are meant to make visitors feel confident.
“The goal for what we encourage is to excel from the state that you’re at, whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced,” said climbing coach Rebecca Thompson. “We just want people to feel comfortable with pushing themselves further.”
Climbing coach Rebecca Thompson is pictured at Movement Gym, a climbing, yoga & fitness center, in the Design District of Dallas, August 21, 2025.
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Thompson has been working at the Design District location of Movement for more than two years. She teaches children and adults the basics of rope climbing, in addition to coaching the adult climbing team.
“I personally have been working with beginner climbers for the past five years, and I understand what it was like to start as a young adult and how it feels to be afraid,” said Thompson.
The Design District location is one of the six Movement locations in North Texas. It opened in November 2022, and since then, staff has taught hundreds of people, from the ages of 4 to 70, everything from the basic of climbing to equipment knowhow spanning harnesses to shoes.
While endurance climbers focus on the big wall with rope, the climbers who want to focus on strength and dynamics can head up to the second floor, which has bouldering. This is where people climb without any rope on a wall 10 to 15 feet high, and they fall onto the mat.
The gym also offers yoga and fitness areas, a training zone, gear shop, tension board, Kilter Board, a balcony with a view, gear rental, showers and saunas. There are also events, such as trivia climb night, BIPOC meetups, women’s climb night, queer climb night and more.
“We really try to help people network and find a community that not only fits their schedule but has people that they love,” Thompson said. “The climbing community as a whole is very encouraging, positive and welcoming to newcomers.”
Movement Gym
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Movement offers a free class for first timers. Attendees can take classes in rope climbing, bouldering, yoga and fitness. The gym’s most popular class is the introduction to rope climbing during which beginner climbers learn the lingo, how to belay, and good verbal communication.
Details: Movement Gym in the Design District is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 141 Glass St., Dallas. First class is free, and classes are $30, day passes are $24, and memberships start at $80.
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