[Note: this facility is multi-purposed. My review is about the fitness amenities (gym, locker…read morerooms, fitness room). There are also conference rooms, an auditorium and other event spaces here that I won't be discussing.]
The City of Saint Paul owns and operates several recreation centers. I was looking for an indoor walking/running track and a fitness room and came across the "Saint Paul Getting Fit" program, through which I can buy a membership to use any of the facilities for--get this--$30 *annually* (http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=2940). Not per month, per year. So with the cold weather on its way, I went to my nearest recreation center, the Wellstone Center (also known as El Rio Vista Rec Center) and bought a membership.
The lady at the front desk was very nice and helpful. There was open gym going on for volleyball and basketball, as well as a big festival in the auditorium. She was handing out passes, taking gym fees, and helping me sign up for my membership, without so much as blinking. Do not hesitate to call the front desk line if you have questions, she will help you out. (Tangent: when I first heard about the Getting Fit program, I called the main St Paul Park & Rec office. The person I talked to didn't give me any information, and couldn't even tell me which Rec Centers had walking tracks. Very underwhelmed).
The locker rooms are on the lower level. Small, but fine for my needs. It's BYO-Lock, and they do have small and larger lockers. There are also two shower stalls in the ladies locker room, for your reference.
The fitness room is also on the lower level, and is fairly small. There were three ellipticals, two treadmills, a multi-function weight machine, two sets of free weights, two bars for bench press (one standard, one was a really cool self-spotting machine), and a couple other pieces of miscellaneous strength-training equipment. The treadmills are really nice--newer, with good options for programmed and manual work outs.
As a cooldown, I went upstairs to use the walking track. Myself and the SO were the only ones using it on a Sunday afternoon. The track is smallish (11.5 laps = 1mile) and is probably only about 6 feet wide, but it does the trick. It's suspended over the gymnasiums, so I had a good time watching the local teens playing volleyball and basketball.
Overall, I was very impressed with this facility for the price I paid to use it. Their fitness amenities don't have a ton of capacity, but there also aren't many people using it (There were 2 other people in the fitness room, and no one on the walking track). The facility is clean and well-maintained. The staff is friendly and helpful. And it's, overall, a fantastic amenity for the West Side community.
