A decision on when gyms will reopen in New York in on the horizon, but if you want to try a different type of indoor workout in the meantime, you can check out the Niagara Climbing Center in North Tonawanda.

"It feels great to kind of get back into the swing of things, I mean literally on the wall like swinging out, kind of like a monkey again," said Andrew Searns of East Amherst.

Searns is back at one of his favorite spots. He said it’s been weird not being able to climb.

"It took a lot of time to get readjusted when I got back out but like I really missed it," he said.

Like many places, COVID-19 forced the rock climbing facility to shutter its doors in March. During their four and a half month long closure, the center did a lot of maintenance work to prepare for whenever they were going to reopen.

"We did some very deep cleaning as well as painting from the ceiling all the way down to the floor. We had new floors put in. We kept extremely busy," said Rhonda McGuire, the director of business at the Niagara Climbing Center.

The rock climbing facility started welcoming back their members the last week of July. That was after they were given the all-clear in Western New York's Phase 4 of its reopening. 

"Within that Phase 4, there were some guidelines that weren't really, really clear for gyms and fitness centers, however we are not a fitness center,” McGuire said. “We are a sports center where rock climbing is all we do. We do not have free weights, we do not have treadmills and rock climbing is actually considered one of the lowest risks sports."

The rock climbing center is currently open only to its members and is operating at 25% capacity. Before members walk in, they'll have to wear a face mask. Once inside, their temperature will be taken and then will be asked some questions.

Those questions are:

• Have you been around anyone with COVID-19?
• Do you have any symptoms related to COVID-19?
• Have you traveled outside the area?

Hand sanitizer is placed throughout the facility along with signage and posters that outline COVID-19 protocol guidelines. Climbing shoes are required when you're on the walls.

McGuire said, "We do disinfect and clean all the highly touched surfaces every half hour to hour depending on how many climbers we have in."

All of this was put in place to keep climbers at ease.

"Yeah, I feel really safe here," Searns said.

"We survived. Our members are just thrilled to be back. They are just so excited," McGuire said.

To find out how you can become a member, check out their website.