It's been a long time since I visited the North Boulder Rec Center. It's fairly far from my house but they have a lot of nice programs. Decades ago my younger son took gymnastic classes there. My husband has used their pool for Scuba trip prep swims to test out their equipment. Also my kids and many of their friends had birthday party events there in the 80s. A friend of mine invited me to stop in and try out their fitness classes for seniors. The program is free to us, though most of the participants have some form of support from their medicare supplement policy (Silver Sneakers membership) and I assume that benefit supports the program financially. Nothing is ever "free" in the sense that it is just like being out in nature. There is a large building and many staff to support. All the staff we met in the process of signing up and get information on programs were very pleasant, efficient and supportive. The teacher of the class was a very positive and talented young woman who clearly understood her participants very well. The music was such fun. Some was the a similar play list to what I had in classes in the late 80s & early 90s, when I last took an indoor fitness program at other locations under the Jazzercize label. Many disco dance songs, new in that era, retro classics now. Also some pop songs of the 60s for some of us and cool down relaxing folk and ballads focus too. I was surprised yet pleased to hear Joan Baez "Diamonds and Rust" unique to a class like this I think. Parking is a bit complicated at the center, as the lot out front has very small spaces and is filled quite early in the day, but there is more room along the sides with slightly larger spaces and now that we know that, we will try there first next week. read more

Rude and unkind management. facilities are nice enough, but I'd to go south/east boulder rec as their staff is much kinder.

I only write yelp reviews when I have an exceptionally poor experience or an exceptionally optimal experience. If I could give zero stars I would. First, the water was COLD. My two year old son's teeth were chattering and his lips turned blue within 5 minutes of swimming there. I asked a life guard if there might be something wrong and when she checked she said it was 81 degrees, which was only 2 degrees colder than what they usually keep it at. 83 degrees is 15 degrees colder than normal body temp. This is WAY too cold for little ones. I later heard that they have a hard time keeping the water warm. If this is the truth, it would have been nice to hear up front. Next we went to warm up in the hot tub. Apparently they only allow 15 or so people at a time, which I have no problem with, but as I approached the hot tub, the head life guard, a young boy, held his hand up at me with a stern look and shook his head. I had no idea what he was shaking his head at and felt very unwelcome. I had only just come through the door and was still far off from climbing in. It seemed as though he was reprimanding me before greeting me and sharing the rules with me. Very shortly after I began to understand what was going on, three people exited the hot tub. He looked at me with a grimace and said, "you're lucky". I understand that young people who are given responsibility and power are just learning to find themselves and their way in it. I don't blame this young man for his misunderstanding of how to enforce rules in a kind way. But I do blame the adults who run this facility for not mentoring him better. I left shortly after that. When I arrived home I found I had left my toiletries bag in the shower. When I called to see if they had it the next day I was told over the phone that they "usually throw these kinds of things out". When I asked him to let me know if it was there or not he said he was not permitted to tell me over the phone. I said, I have a two year old and I really don't want to drive across town, just to find out it's not there. Would you please tell me if you have it in the lost and found? He said, "no". I drove across town that day with my son in tow. When I got there they did not have my toiletries bag, which was a nice plastic water proof zipper bag with shampoo, conditioner, deodorant and soap. Why on earth would you throw such a thing out instead of keeping it for a day in the lost and found? I simply could not believe how disappointing and unkind this whole experience was. I had to write a yelp review. There really isn't much more I can do except warn people away. read more

It's appalling that they are basically shut down for a year now due to Covid. Lack of exercise is killing people. My kids cannot even play basketball indoors anywhere in Boulder now. This rec center wasn't great to begin with, although their pool was always nice. read more

North Boulder Recreation Center - Recreation Centers Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

This is my neighborhood rec center and I like it! It has a spacious weight room with south facing windows that's never too crowded when I go, with pristine machines, a huge selection of magazines, a cubby for backpacks, and friendly everyday people who really don't give a crap how much weight you can lift or how you look in your shorts. The swimming hours are a little weird, and sometimes you surface for air only to find that your lane is being discontinued for kids' waterslide time or whatever, but hey - the place HAS A WATERSLIDE. Along with a pretty neat kids area with mini slides and wading pools and general watery fun. The basketball court is huge, with 8 hoops and plenty of room, with carts of inflated basketballs in the corner. My only problem? It's super expensive, and their pricing plans are weird. Like, you can't get a monthly pass without paying a huge premium the first month (since technically it's an annual pass paid monthly), so if you're an occasional visitor you're sort of out of luck, since the 10- and 20-punch passes don't carry much of a discount from the regular drop-in prices. You can go to the Y and get pretty much the same amenities for a fraction of the cost. In my case, NBRC's just much closer to my house and for me, for now, it's worth it. read more

This review is specific to the prenatal class with Ines Manteufel. I just went to my third or fourth class with her and it was so good! She has a great, soothing voice and a lot of practice with yoga. She is also a mom so she is teaching pre-natal yoga from a place of experience. I like that she reminds of us what is going on in our bodies (a miracle!) and that she pushes us in asanas that are easy to say "I'm pregnant. I am going to take it easy." Specifically, deep squats! I don't know fully from experience as this is my first baby, but I hear deep squats rally help with labor. If you or someone you know's eggo is preggo, tell them about this class! Oh and it's $6.75 drop in (no membership required). Even cheaper if you do punch cards. Check the schedule as she said it changes from time to time but right now it is Friday 10:30am-11:45am. Also, if you are a new mom, babies are welcome! read more

This rec center is near my work, so I go there to work out on lunch breaks. They could use another squat rack, but it's a pretty well stocked gym for its size. I never have problems getting machines if I need, but I can imagine that would be a problem during peak hours. A star off for having basically no fitness classes before or after regular work hours. Also for the screaming children in the locker rooms. Again, these issues are why I started going here in the middle of the day - kids are in school, it's just me and the swimming grannies. read more

My single days of quiet time and swanky gyms are now behind me and I have joined the breeders in my quest for fun places to go with kids. Through new eyes and life circumstances, I've come to appreciate the wonders of the North Boulder Rec Center. You should see my little guy's face when he dunks a ball into the poolside basketball hoop. Who has time to lift weights or stretch now anyway? read more

I've only been here a few times. But I have to review the prenatal water fitness class. I've been doing yoga through out my pregnancy but now, at 8 months, it's more difficult than expected. Getting in the water really helps. Not only do you feel weightless but your getting an amazing workout. The teacher, Erin, plays fun music and keeps the class entertained. The last 15 mins are spent in the warm pool stretching. Too bad you have to get out and feel the real "weight" again. The class is only 7bucks-Monday nights at 7 for an hour. Definitely worth checking out for any expecting mamas. read more

I absolutely love the leisure pool here and we use it on a regular basis for free swim, swim lessons, and I really enjoy taking a quick ride down the big water slide. The view from the pool is very forest-like and makes me feel like I'm up in the mountains. We took a dip in the hot tub after lessons today and I really felt like I was at a ski lodge. I like the lounge area in the lobby where you can watch your kids taking lessons in the pool and the Popsicle container is always tempting! This may not be the fanciest gym in town but it suits my needs very well and is definitely affordable. The family change rooms are also fantastic. I like that I can take a real shower and not have to worry about running after my toddler! read more

This swim facility is good for kids. We took our kids swimming there and they like it. Lifeguards are hit or miss. There are a couple who shouldn't be around children/families ever, but the others are good with kids while also keeping everyone safe. I would say there are a select few who should look into a different line of work. I will probably go back for leisure swim but given the staff is just OK I don't see my family spending a ton of time there. We are relatively new to the area and this has been one of my least favorable family experiences so far but mostly because of a couple of employees. read more

Chris made a promise last year to the Boulder Barracudas family's to keep this team together for at least two years so we could build the team back up. Only to go back on his word and make it a rec league you have broken the heart of a lot of kids that loved this team. The swimming program has fallen apart under your control and I would advise other to take there kids to other programs outside the Boulder rec centers. read more

They are overpriced and although there are more sweet employees than bad, the bad apples are in charge. Prudence in gymnastics is extremely controlling, offensive, and rude. She runs her program like a Soviet Olympic team and is not pleasant to be around. I will not be sending my child there again after hearing complaints about Prudence from the instructors. Also beware of Gina in registration. This lady hates her job and will take it out on you. I had called to see if I could send my kid to the last half of a session of dance classes for toddlers and she had said I could do it and pay for the last few. I came in to pay and Gina says no that's wrong, who told you that? I told her, Gina screams across the office from her chair, in front of multiple customers and employees at this poor young girl that she never should have said that. I was mortified and then she went on to say that she didn't care what I did and that she just didn't want to lose her job. It was ridiculous. Pay online, avoid Gina. Great pool, yoga, and NIA lessons are awesome! read more

North Boulder Recreation Center - Recreation Centers Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

This review is for swim instruction through Boulder Rec Centers. Long story, but I've been trying to register for private swim lessons for two months now. Tremendously difficult to get anyone to respond at all. We are still without a teacher after two months of emailing. read more

We are just visiting Boulder for a month and this was a great neighborhood resource. Friendly staff and reasonable ... join one center and use any of the Boulder facilities. If you can somehow get access to the CU Rec Center then that's another level, but if you just want to swim or workout run over to NB Rec. read more

My review is not so much about the facility, which is actually very nice. My review is of Miss Julie who teaches the Creative Movement for the very young kids here. I give her three stars because my 3 year old seemed to enjoy her class. However I have a big issue with teachers who refuse to allow parents to see their toddlers in the classroom. I just don't trust them. I was surprised to be asked to leave the room in the first place (all other toddler classes I've taken my daughter to involve the parents). But I would have been perfectly ok with that if she didn't shut the blinds and keep us from peeking in on our kids! The first week I was purposely annoying and opened the door a few times to look on and make sure my daughter was still having a good time. The second class, I decided to be less disruptive (not wanting to be rude), and I simply cracked the blinds open a bit so we could see in. And all the other parents agreed they felt much better (I got a "Good for you! It's the least she should do!" from another mom). We all hated being shut out. The blinds remained cracked for two weeks with no issues (Miss Julie didn't even notice. Nor did the kids.). On the day of the last class she closed them before class, so I peeked in right before class started and opened them. "I'm just going to crack these just a hair so we can look in," I said. She gave me a look of absolute horror and shook her head. I told her they'd been open for the past two weeks with no issue, and she was genuinely surprised. She left them open for a minute and then closed the door and the blinds again when class started! I can tell you we will not be signing our daughter up for any class with Miss Julie ever again. What's she so afraid of?! What is the big deal?! Is she so bad at what she does that she wants no one to see?! My daughter came skipping out and asked "Did you see me?! What did I do?!" She had enjoyed our conversations about what she did in class those two weeks before and wanted to know how impressed I was with her new skills. "Miss Julie closed the blinds so I couldn't see you," I said. My daughter was totally crestfallen. What Muss Julie doesn't seem to understand is that some of us want to be a part of our kids' experience with something new. And our kids like it too. Especially when they are only 3! Her move was shady at worst and lame and self-centered at best. Having the blinds open for two weeks hadn't distracted the kids in the least! And it made the parents much happier. Closing them makes me think she's scared because she doesn't know what she's doing. read more

This turned out to be a great spot to have in our new local 'hood. We brought our young kids over to swim yesterday and they LOVED the splash area and big slide. Having a family changing room/bathroom was so helpful since my husband and I were both there, and we had no trouble getting a large shower room for us all. We also tried a gymnastics class that intimidated me at first (there are many classes running at the same time so there are TONS of kids) but it was actually very well organized and run. The childcare area looks very sweet and clean, and we've heard great things - although it's too bad the hours offered aren't more. The workout room itself was a bit small and lower end, though. I was able to do a short workout but the machines are limited (in type and number) and there is no real space for stretching or anything. If you want a "real gym," you should check out CAC. Much higher-end, more machines and newer. But for a great family spot to do classes, swim, etc. we were very happy with North Boulder Rec and the prices are very fair. read more