I started attending this YMCA location in October 2024 after my rheumatologist said I should try swimming (I have chronic health conditions including early-onset osteoarthritis and a connective tissue autoimmune disease), and there happened to be a promotion for no join fee and a month...
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I started attending this YMCA location in October 2024 after my rheumatologist said I should try swimming (I have chronic health conditions including early-onset osteoarthritis and a connective tissue autoimmune disease), and there happened to be a promotion for no join fee and a month free. I'm so glad I did! Long review incoming because I know I appreciate detail (I'm autistic and like knowing things in advance) and maybe someone else will too. 😄
All of the staff I've met are super friendly and informative. When you sign up they give you a tour, and the woman who did mine was really nice and answered every question I had (and mostly even before I asked!). Extra shout out to Chip for being a wonderful human being!
I'm in the LGBTQIA+ community and the staff have been so welcoming and kind, and I haven't had a bad experience with anyone at all yet even though I look pretty different (I guess you could say "alternative" 😅). For trans and non-binary folks, when you sign up you can use a "preferred" name if your legal name and the name you chose for yourself are different, and you can self-select from male/female/non-binary gender information for their records. There are designated men's and women's locker rooms, as well as a 3rd gender neutral area for families, mixed gender adults & kids under 18, people with disabilities, and/or people who need a neutral totally private area.
The facilities are clean and really nice, everything feels just really well maintained and "new" even though it's not a brand new location. The locker rooms have a plethora of toilets, showers in an enclosed area, lockers, several private changing areas, counter space with mirrors, and a swimsuit dryer. If you forget a lock, you can ask at the front check-in desk for one and they just take your ID as collateral. I appreciate that the rules and guidelines are clearly stated on the walls; I like having expectations laid out before doing things to help with my anxiety.
For those with disabilities / accessibility needs, there are chair lifts for seated entry to the pools and the program pool (the smaller, shallow warm one) has an entry with a gently sloped ramp without steps on one end. I haven't ventured into the gyms but they look really nice and never too crowded at the times I go, even in the after work 5-7pm range. I'm told that there's a hand pedal exercise machine (I can't remember if it's called a hand bike or elliptical) for people who have arm strength but are more limited in the hips and legs. My only complaint with accessibility is that the locker rooms are about as far away from the entrance as possible with a long walk down two hallways, but that's not something that is changeable. The program pool can also get really loud during open swim, but I bring my noise-dampening wireless earbuds.
I only currently use the pools for low impact exercise but I love the setup of the two pools, ease of access, the temperature of the program pool (warmer and gentle on joints!), and the two classes I have attended intermittently. LIFE (low impact for everyone) cardio with Tanya is so fun and she's fabulous! She shows multiple ways to do the exercise depending on your ability level. I'm the youngest person that I've seen in the class by about 30 years but everyone is so kind and welcoming (and they kick my butt in class, good lord). I was invited to lunch on my very first day going to the class, which was really nice even though I didn't take them up on that. For kids, there are some water features and splashy things that they always seem to enjoy! There's also quite large hot tub in the lap pool area that runs too hot for me to put my whole body in it, but I like resting my legs on the edge and other people seem to like the temperature (not a complaint, I'm just sensitive to heat and wanted to mention that for other people who may have a similar lower tolerance!).
Overall I'm very happy I joined and I tell my local friends that it's a great location. I just really love the whole environment at the Y! 💜