Turkey Thicket Recreation Center — Attraction in Washington

My experience with the recreation center is currently limited to the pool where my son goes for swimming lessons, but it has almost completely blown away my expectations.

This center is clean and well-staffed with mostly friendly workers that almost always pleasantly greet us when we come in. The temperature inside is the opposite of whatever it is outside, meaning that it’s comfortable. The whole place reeks of chlorine, though, because of the very large indoor pool.

The pool itself is big, clean, and safe with a number of lifeguards that are watching from their perch and others in an office close by. They all have been very attentive, never straying from their mission.

There is a wonderful kiddie pool section with a spray tree so the tots can have some fun, and the entrance to this pool is a slight slope that allows kids to get in at their own pace. Within this area is the spa, which is often used and seems to be pleasant. The kiddie pool feeds into the larger pool through a narrow channel with the depth slowly increasing, giving parents and kids the option of how deep they’d like to go. There is only a couple of feet of water in the kids area, and the channel to the bigger pool area goes to 4 feet before you’re free and out in the main pool.

The lane lines are tight and properly maintained, keeping swimmers from drifting too far and hitting others or moving into shallower waters.

The pool is heavily chlorinated like all public pools, and the pool enclosure is very warm and humid. The pool is not hot, and my little son is chilly when he’s done with his lessons. You’ll sweat if you’re sitting out of the pool in anything more than a t-shirt and light pants. There is a very loud hum present, making it hard to talk to others around you.

The locker rooms are large and clean, with nice showers to help you rinse off all of the chlorine.

In addition to the swimming pool there is also a large basketball court area with clean floors, a small gym with well-kept equipment, a billiards table in the lobby, and other rooms that I have yet to explore. There’s also tennis courts outside.

This is a really nice community center that you should definitely visit if you live nearby or have thought...

The Rec Center was nice. The people who work there were very friendly. I was impressed with the pool, although the water temp was cold. The hot tub however was perfect. The pool environment was clean and well lit. I enjoyed it. My only concerns, how often do they clean the locker room floors and shower. With all the diseases these days, those areas need to be mopped several times a day to control foot fungus. Also, I noticed early stages of mold growth on the shower walls. In the pool, the perimeter drain area for the skimmer and near the steps are dirty. Need cleaning. Other than that, I will go back again next week. Sometimes, it's the simple things that help...

Be prepared to take a seat. Your kid will have a field day running around this massive playground. The water works are not running (water fountain included) and keep an eye out for sticks and large rocks the bigger kids like to toss them around. Also, beware of the swing set. As soon as we walked in a little girl about 1 was knocked down. And then 3 more in the 2 hours we were there. This place has maybe 6 basketball hoops and 3 or 4 tennis nets. Great place for a picnic or just to tire out the kids. Parking available is...