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Anteater Recreation Center

4.6 ★★★★★ 487 Google reviews · Climbing gym in Irvine, California

Modern, spacious facility with basketball, tennis, and racquetball courts, plus a climbing wall and a pool.

Plan your visit

  • Gear rental nearly every climbing gym rents shoes (~$5–8 typical) and chalk; harness rental is often bundled with a ropes pass
  • Waiver always required at climbing gyms — sign it online before you go to skip the front-desk line
  • First timer? bouldering needs zero experience — rent shoes and walk in; staff will point you at the easiest problems
  • Memberships available — worth asking about if you'd climb more than a few times a month
  • Today see hours ·
  • Phone (949) 824-1149
  • Website campusrec.uci.edu

Hours

Monday 6 AM–10 PM
Tuesday 6 AM–10 PM
Wednesday 6 AM–10 PM
Thursday 6 AM–10 PM
Friday 6 AM–10 PM
Saturday 8 AM–8 PM
Sunday 8 AM–8 PM

Hours can shift for holidays, competitions, and youth-team practice — worth a quick check before a special trip.

What's inside

Walls and programs at Anteater Recreation Center, confirmed by climbers' own reviews.

⚙️ Auto-Belay Gyms

“Only two disappointments come to mind: 1) climbing wall has no autobelays, which I expect relates to its heavily restricted hours.”

All gyms with auto-belay gyms →

🧘 Climbing + Yoga & Fitness 4 mentions

“There's plenty of machines although I prefer to be in wellness center because it seems more inviting than the actual weight room.”

All gyms with climbing + yoga & fitness →

What climbers say again and again

The things reviewers bring up again and again across 487 Google reviews — with their own words as proof.

🧘 yoga & fitness included 2 mentions

“There's plenty of machines although I prefer to be in wellness center because it seems more inviting than the actual weight room.”

From the reviews

They have several wheelchair accessible machines. Including 2 cardio handcycles and cable weights. The general staff is not well educated on these machines but the Director of fitness and wellness (Courtney Burke's) was well informed. She took the time to show me where the machines are located and how to use them.

★★★★★ — Jenaro, Apr 2018

Great complex with good management. I went on a weekday morning and there were not many people. I'm interested in that swimming pool, it's very clean.

★★★★☆ — Denzel, Jul 2023

Fantastic gym. Huge facility with multiple areas for various sports and activities. You can play pretty much any sport here except grass field sports. They even have a squash/racquetball courts!.

★★★★★ — Moo, Nov 2019

I'm a spouse not a student, so I actually pay for the ARC separately, and I am extremely happy to. It is an excellent gym with many well thought through amenities. Only two disappointments come to mind: 1) climbing wall has no autobelays, which I expect relates to its heavily restricted hours.

★★★★★ — Dragor, Nov 2024

Excerpts from public Google reviews. Read all 487 reviews →

Where to find Anteater Recreation Center

680 California Ave, Irvine, CA92617

Get directions

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Listing verified July 2026 from public business records and climber reviews. Something out of date? Report a correction. Own this gym? Claim your listing — it's free.