This is an awesome community pool for city folk to cool off at. It's a pretty long drive to the…read morebeach from this corner of Somerville, so it's great to have somewhere closer to pop in on a hot summer day. Entry is $2 for adults, or you can pay $40 for a season pass. The parking lot is small, but there's additional parking at Dilboy stadium a short walk away. No food or drink allowed (besides water of course) which is a bummer, but makes sense for health and cleanliness issues. A few other reviewers thought the pool was dirty, but I haven't found that to be true. The locker rooms/bathrooms are a little rough, but it's an old community pool, what do you expect? It's pretty packed with kids so this is not the place to come for peace and quiet. Regardless, this will be a regular haunt of mine this summer for sure!

I've lived so close to this pool for so many years and didn't find out about it until this summer…read more Oh the sweet relief of cool refreshing water that I've been missing all my Somervillian life! Dilboy pool is a really great way to beat the summer heat while having a cheap day out in the sun close to home. You can get their via public transportation by taking the 80, 87, or 88 bus, or drive to the pool and park in the lot in the back. The nice thing about this pool is that it is really big and not to full either. Mostly families visit, and they have a shallow wading pool for the tiny kiddies if you have any in tow. With 5 life guards on duty, and the deep end reaching 4 ft. 8 inches, you can feel safe in just about any inch of the pool. They also have a male and female dressing room equipped with toilets, showers, and dressing cubicles, so you can change on site if you prefer. A few changes to keep in mind that we heard from some of the regulars and confirmed with a lifeguard: 1) Chairs are no longer allowed at the pool, so bring a towel and be prepared to plop yourself down on the concrete. 2) They are now charging a $2 entrance fee if you go to the pool between 11 am and 1 pm. After this peak time it is free. 3) This isn't really a change, but something to be aware of if you are visiting for the first time with lots of people. The entrance to the pool is through the dressing rooms, which means your party will be briefly separated until you are on the pool side. Happy Swimming!

I'm scared to post, so this place doesn't become too crowded! What a GEM! The facilities are…read moreclean and modern, the pool is awesome and always times to swim. Love it here!

Charlestown Community Center has 3 all-season tennis courts. They put up a bubble in the winter…read moreand take it away so you can play under the stars during the summer, with a great view of the harbor. The tennis is really cheap (I think $200 for the entire YEAR if you live outside of Boston, $100 in Boston) (this price may have changed). It's not a well known in the tennis community, but a decent place to play for cheap! IT's also a coummunity center with lots of other ammenities, I dont know what else they offer since I only went there for tennis.

Its only open for 3 hours I can't see it ro midnight what is up with that so if u work though hour…read moreu can't enjoy a pool in ur hometown it's closed at lunch time are u serious and they want all this money to go their you guys must have rocks in your heads who ever came up with this time

i'm very upset. the medford tufts pool changed a rule making it more difficult for people to come…read morein. the staff on the inside were not clear on what to do, and i can't seem to understand why. tufts used to be a open friendly area for people to swim, and now it's just terrible. please fix this system because it is crappy.

Terrible experience and extremely disappointing. This place has so much potential and could be such…read morea great resource for the community, but the way it is being run and the way the staff treats people completely ruins the experience. The female lifeguards were rude in general to the public. They kept staring at us and pointing at us, which made us extremely uncomfortable. The pool checks were also poorly communicated, and nobody clearly explained what the actual purpose of them was. The head lifeguard was just as rude and unprofessional. What made the experience even worse was that after we left because we were uncomfortable, we were literally stopped and pulled aside by the staff and accused of lying about having a child with us just to get into the pool. We did NOT lie. We have been at the pool. We had our belongings inside and everything was already set up. Two of us left because a lifeguard told a mother in the water near us that she could not be in the pool with the floaties she had. Since it was extremely hot out and we wanted her child to actually be able to enjoy the pool, we went all the way back home to grab a life jacket we had so mind you the third person with us was still there at the pool with all our stuff waiting for us to return with said life jacket for the baby. We were rushing back specifically so she could get back in and enjoy the pool. So to then be stopped, accused of lying and treated like we were doing something wrong was completely ridiculous. We only needed about an hour at the pool, and somehow that short visit turned into an uncomfortable and frustrating experience. The staff's attitude, the staring, pointing, lack of communication and then accusing us of lying was enough to make it very clear that we will not be returning. It is honestly a shame because this place has so much potential and could be something really great for the community if it were run by people who actually knew how to treat families with basic respect and kindness. One visit was more than enough.

What a great place to spend a day! Plus it's free thanks to DCR! The facilities are clean - shower,…read morechanging rooms and bathrooms. The pool is huge. Lifeguards are present and they test the pool quality every hour or so. The kiddie area is blocked off so perfect for families who want to dunk their kids and not to be disturbed by other swimmers. Don't want to swim? There is a splash pad when you leave the pool area. There is also a playground with picnic tables within 2 min walk. I saw four swings for babies/toddlers and swings for older kids are behind the slides. Street parking.

This is a very beautiful pool. I wish it were available more often, but the building is, after…read moreall, a public school. It's worth adjusting one's schedule for at least one or two visits, especially during summer heat waves. The showers offered privacy, but -- during my visits during heat waves -- no hot water. The Cambridge YMCA on Mass Ave. also offers cold showers only. My issue is with another post here that the pool at Somerville YMCA on Highland Street is inferior. I've been swimming there since the 1980s. Compared to many local pools, it's Buckingham Palace. The building dates back to 1904, which is an automatic turn-off for many people, even though Somerville YMCA is kept clean & orderly and offers everything you need to stay fit and toned. I love the beautiful old tiles that line the pool room walls and the peaceful atmosphere for lap swimming without someone else's music blasting away -- as at the MIT pool, to "keep the lifeguards awake." If the windows were unsealed to admit natural light, it would be perfect. To swim a mile, you must do 44 laps. Some experienced swimmers find this confining, but it's just right for beginning/moderate swimmers. The showers are excellent; for a little extra money, there's the women's and men's health club rooms, which offer secure lockers, curtained private showers, towels, and a small gym with plenty of equipment. Ginny Smith offers kick boards, but not fins. You must carry in all your gear and take it with you when you leave. The separate shallow pool is a perfect place to do shallow-water aquatics or physical therapy workouts. Lifeguards friendly & helpful. Desk staff -- during my few visits -- seemed inexperienced and inadequately trained. Perhaps there's too much staff turnover: my guess. A must-visit pool.

I actually had a very pleasant swim during the senior lap swim session. The pool was a nice…read moretemperature and not too crowded. When I went to take a shower post swim, I discovered that many of the showers don't work. With the help of other patrons, I found one that was OK. Kind of a bummer that most don't work. On the way out, I met the director of the pool and mentioned the showers. She was the snippiest and rudest admin person I've come across in a long time. Full of herself and with a big time attitude ... "I'm not a plumber!" she told me. Oh my gosh - who hired her?! Not a person you would want representing such an important and promising facility.

Clean 25 yd pool that wasn't too crowded. I went after work and didn't have to share with more…read morethan one person. Also, there's a very large diving well and separate kiddy pool so the lanes don't get full of aqua-joggers or families. Compared to some other local (non-university) pools, it's not quite as over-chlorinated or quite as warm, and definitely cleaner. Cheap entry by day, multiple-session card (I did the 10 entries for $40 which I think is budget-friendly) or gym membership - although I haven't checked out the gym yet. Only complaint is limited hours of lap availability and no AM lap swim during the winter session.

I am trying out several different masters swim programs in the Boston area and this is my second…read moreone I've tried. (See my other review for Quincy masters). So, I have to say, this one is just okay. You get a decent workout, but it's not HARD. And the reason why is not because of the workout itself, but it's because there are no SEND OFF times. Basically, the workout is, you do X amount of sets, but resting wise, you just do 10 or 20 second rests after each set. And so personally I'm not motivated to swim faster because I'm not trying to do anything on a specific time constraint. I find myself a little less focused to go faster without sendoffs. Also, the workout is pretty much the same each time- you start with a warmup, then 2 underwaters, and then the main set, and then an IM set, and the same kind of sprints where you try and do each 25 with zero breath or one, or whatever it is. It's not a bad workout, but I'm incredibly bored because I know it's the same each time. The main set changes each time, of course, but the sameness of structure makes it kinda boring. We get a decent amount of yardage in- anywhere between 2400-3200 per hour and 15 minute workout time. Practices are twice a week. As for the coach, Elyssa, she is a lovely woman. However, she doesn't quite have the enthusiasm I'm personally looking for. I want somebody to yell at me and give me critique. However, in her defense, she does have to coach 6 lanes of people so I understand it's not easy to give personal attention, so I don't blame her. But personality wise, I like a little more spunk in my coach. But everyone is there for different reasons so it's hard for a coach to be everything. The one thing that really bugs me is the staff that works there at the front desk- they are SO unfriendly, rude, impatient and clearly underpaid. They are CRANKY and they are the first people I see when I walk into that building so it makes me want to not be there. The pool is about a 10 minute walk to Harvard T stop (cut off across Harvard campus will save you ample time), so it's not terrible in terms of location. Oh, the pool itself really sucks. First of all, there are bulk heads that's separating the different sections of the pool so there's nothing to GRAB onto when you're doing two hand touches; it's completely awkward and irritating. Imagine finishing and doing two hand touches on a wall. Also, when you get into the pool, they have these blocks that are covered by orange covers that sorta get in the way and make it hard for you to get in- not to mention it is IMPOSSIBLE to get out because of the depth. You have to swim to the ladder to get out of the pool, because there is no way you can get out from the pool otherwise. It's kinda ridiculous. Cost wise, it's $105 for 20 sessions, so that's $5.25 per session, which is pretty cheap. I've looked into many other programs and this is probably the cheapest one. So pros: -Pretty good location if you're in Cambridge -Decent yardage of workout -Nice coach -Inexpensive Cons: -Sucky pool -Unfriendly front desk staff -No real send off times, just go at your own pace (which can be a pro if that's what you are looking for) - A bit dull (atmosphere, people, some of the workouts) If you are in Cambridge and are looking for twice a week workout for fitness, this is probably a good option for you.

Very long line I went with my 4 daughters and my son, we waited for almost 1 hour just to be half…read moreway in, i went to the car to get a water with my son, when we came back my daughters have already went in, I told the DCR staff (2 girls and a boy) that my girls is in there and the boy told me "you still have to wait" wait for what ? MY UNDERAGE GIRLS are in the pool unsupervised! Is it not a restriction that "Children under 12 must be accompanied and monitored by a parent or responsible adult guardian at all times." These places are horrible, I'm NEVER coming here again. I guess this is Chelsea for me SMH

Good set up pool. They have free parking nearby. The locker rooms are huge and the entire layout is…read morewheelchair friendly. They have two pools, one for kids and toddlers and another larger pool that get gradually deeper with hand rails on the side. My boys did the swim lessons and had a great experience. Early in the morning the pool gets very cold. Luckily there is nothing blocking the sun and so when the sun is out the deck get hot fast.

A neat park and playground, this spot has a good sized jungle gym, some basketball courts and even…read morea sharply painted hopscotch grid. On a weeknight, there were quite a few parents here with their kids. There is plenty of shade but no visitor parking.

The Paris Street Pool is amazing! I have been swimming here for a few months, during the adult lap…read moreswim allotted time. The facility is immaculate, the staff super friendly and professional. The locker rooms are cleaned multiple times a day. The pool itself is crystal clear and perfect temperature for exercising. I haven't had time to try the aquacise class yet, but I can't wait to.

Great pool! Clean! Very good Senior water exercise class! Parking is a problem during st cleaning…read moretime!