Date night in Holland, Michigan, that isn't dinner and a movie

Dinner and a movie is a fine date. It is also the same date everyone in Holland has had a hundred times, and by the third winter the menu at the usual spot stops being a surprise. If you want a night where you actually do something together, this is our list, written by people who work at a climbing gym and still spend most of their evenings out in town like everyone else. Climbing is on it because we think it earns the spot, and the rest is here because we'd recommend it to a friend.

Climbing as a date

Bouldering is climbing on short walls with no ropes, no harness and no partner holding the other end of anything, which makes it one of the few activities two people can start together on the same evening with zero experience. You pick a climb, you try it, your date tries it, and you argue about how to do it. Climbers call that beta, and trading beta is most of the fun. Our climbs are organized by hold color instead of numbered grades, so a cautious first-timer and a date who climbed in college chase different colors on the same wall, and nobody has to announce a level.

A first visit starts with a short walkthrough from our staff, about fifteen minutes, covering how the circuits work and how to come down off the wall onto the padding. Most people are climbing within ten minutes after that. Plan on an hour on the wall and however long you like in the cafe afterward, where there's locally sourced coffee, kombucha on tap, and a view of the mats.

Cost for two

Two adult day passes run $48 total, and that is the whole bill. Shoe and chalk rental are included, there's nothing to reserve, and the pass covers the climbing, the fitness area and the cafe for the rest of the day. Sign the waiver online before you come and check-in takes about a minute.

A low-pressure night out

Climbing here is challenge by choice. There is no instructor telling you what to do next and no clock, so a date can be two people working on the same yellow climb for an hour, or one person climbing while the other reads in the cafe and offers commentary. Both happen every week. If one of you is nervous about heights, the walls top out at 16 to 17 feet and plenty of good climbs never go near the top.

Hours that work for a weeknight

We're open until 10 PM Monday through Friday, until 8 on Saturday and until 6 on Sunday, so a 7 PM climb after work is a normal thing here rather than a special request. Weeknight evenings between 5 and 8 are our busiest window and also the most social one. If you'd rather have more of the wall to yourselves, come after 8, or on a Sunday afternoon.

Afterward, downtown

We're at 12345 James Street at US-31, behind Burlington, and downtown 8th Street is about ten minutes south. New Holland Brewing's Pub on 8th is the easy call for a drink and a full menu, and Sperry's Moviehouse down the street does reserved recliners with a dinner menu delivered to your seat, if you want the movie half of the classic date after all. Our own cafe works too if you'd rather not move the car: coffee, kombucha, snacks and tables where the chalk conversation can keep going.

Bringing a group

A date night sometimes turns into four couples. Groups of six to ten can walk in without booking ahead. For more than ten, give us a call at 616-377-7006 so we can make sure everyone is climbing from the first minute.

Winter version

Holland winters are long, and February is when a date that involves moving your body earns its keep. The whole building is heated, and in summer it's fully air conditioned, so the plan works in both of Holland's weather emergencies. On Wednesday nights our Circuit Labs event turns the gym into a group challenge, which makes a good date for a competitive pair.

Come try it. Sign the waiver, wear something stretchy, and someone on the floor will point you both to your first climb. Everything you need for a first visit is here.