Yakima YMCA Aquatic Center — Attraction in Yakima

Update: things have definetly improved over a couple years of being open. I thoroughly enjoy to call this place my home gym. Alot of improvement has been done and all is awesome! ☆Old review: Parking is a slight bit congested with overflow running into Chesterley Park parking spaces. People at the front desk are all very pleasant and helpful. After walking past the friendly staff at the reception area there is a care center for kids with a staff member watching, and a youth area for kids to play or study after school studies. Then there is the locker rooms there's a family, men's, women's ALL are super small and always SUPER crowded at all times of the week especially evening times, there is absolutely no where to sit to get changed, not even close to enough lockers the lockers they do have I have a strict feeling that people come and put there stuff in and leave there stuff there until the next time they arrive because the lockers do lock but with a code that you select yourself. Whenever I go I make certain there is nothing to steal being put into my gym bag because most of the time I'm not able to procure a locker. Workout areas are excellent plenty of different types of workout specific equipment. Nice workout training studio for those who like to learn to train. The indoor two-lane track the left lane is walking the outer lane is jogging usually not busy. The track goes around the gymnasium then winds around the main exercise area. Two separate areas of free weights is awesome. The gym is excellent for basketball I like to go in there and just shoot around. Sometimes the afterschool program uses the gym for the kids. They cordoned it at half court so that members can still shoot around but after 3:30pm weekdays it's pretty busy. Then there's the pool areas excellent play area for kids the pool playground is usually pretty busy during the evenings. Lazy river is pretty quaint but walking against current for adults seems beneficial. The two slides that run outdoors then back into the facility the teen kids or preteen kids seem to enjoy. I raced a kid down to the bottom the first time trying it out it seemed like little kids would enjoy it too. The therapy pool is excellent I'm super happy that they decided to add that in. For first time swimmers its excellent, or people doing therapy classes that they have is really a benefit. The lap pool is really nice but I have not seen a whole lot of people using it yet. It would be great if they did a free swim for kids once in a while make the pool open for free swim like around the evening times. Keep the pool a lap pool maybe just three lanes during the day as long as there's no lesson events going on. Jacuzzi is wonderful strong jets and very warm water. If you have sensitivity to chlorine it's fairly mild. The steam room and dry sauna are unisex adult areas where you have to wear a swimsuit or equivalent which is very good. The steam room isn't one hundred percent consistent as far as staying steamy because people are in and out alot it's a great steam room otherwise. The sauna similar idea in and out. The showers are of abundance in the mens locker room. This facility would have got an overall four star rating had the final thoughts leaving the facility was not the crowded locker room. Four stars meaning still having room for improvement. Overall the place is a great addition to the area. It is something new.The business will wear off soon hopefully. Business is good...

Been attending this gym 5 days a week for the past year. Here is my experience & what I have seen/experienced.

Entire Gym - Kids running rampid & blocking off areas. Parents not watching them. Disrespectful teenagers that act like gangsters. Also actual gangbangers go to this gym.

Upstairs - Cleanliness is great but machines constantly & consistenly break down. They have a good selection of Kettlebells but no area to use them.

Swimming Area - This is where it's real bad. Lap swimming pool constantly & consistently is changing temperature. Kids/Teens are daily in the Adult lap lanes & the Lifeguards don't enforce the rules. This is daily. Kids/Teens are also in the Therapy pool during Adult therapy pool time only & once again the Lifeguards do not enforce the rules. This is daily. Sometimes the kids/teens will try & sneak into the hot tub/sauna/steam room which is adults only. The Lifeguards enforce these areas rules 50% of the time. The kids/teens run rampid in this area & their parents let them. Half the adults "usually the ones that don't control their kids" are also not respectful. They will take your towel from a bench or put their items where you already have yours. As for the sauna you are not supposed to pour water on the eletric sauna. I see people do this every now & then which is dangerous. Also the steam room Constantly & consistantly breaks down & they will turn it off on purpose if there isn't alot of people using it during that time. So when you wanna use it you have to ask them to turn it back on & they'll give you a made up excuse why it's off. We know why. Adults will also keep the door open to long letting all the steam out cause they have no respect for others. Same with sauna for the heat. Also in the steam room people will pour water on the tempurature gauge/put a towel on it which messes it up. Or they will put a towel under the door so steam dosen't slowly release out of the room which in turn slowly over steams the whole room which ends up cooking peoples skin.

All in all the gym deserves a 2/5 because it is a good gym. Just alot of very disrespectful adults that don't control their kids & teens which is not YMCA's fault. It is nearly a by product of Yakima residents. Also lifeguards/workers that very rarely enforce the rules. Other then...

The layout of the aquatic area is annoying and awfully designed. The kid area is CONSTANTLY raining water on you. My daughter only lasted a few minutes because there simply was WAY too much water constantly hitting her face. The “lazy river” is small and positioned directly behind the kid area. So half the time you’re in the “lazy river” you’re get rained or dumped on with water. As soon as you’re done wiping your eyes from the kid area splashes cascading to the river area, bam, you get hit again and are having to wipe your eyes. My eyes ended up burning within a few minutes because of this. There’s plenty of landscaping outside that could’ve been utilized to make the aquatic area bigger and separate the kid section from the “lazy river”. There’s no pool area for your younger kids to hang out in. The therapy pool is limited to elder and 8 month and under. The bigger pool on the other end is for the lap swimmers and we were told we weren’t allowed in there. So we really only had two choices to swim. The chaotic kid area and the uncomfortably crammed “lazy river”.

The front counter customer service was awful. We had gone swimming when it first opened and utilized the girls locker room to store our belongings and shower after swimming. Since we literally haven’t gone since then I asked them to direct us towards the locker rooms and the girl working the counter snipped at me and said we were only allowed the hallway lockers. When I explained to her that we utilized an entire locker room the last time she said that there is no girls locker room and the hallway lockers are the only ones available. Frustrated and trying to keep my toddler in control I just said whatever and used the hallway lockers. Roaming around the aquatic area there most definitely is a girls locker room, literally the exact locker room we used the first time we went. So she either lied to me or just started her job and doesn’t know the layout of...