This is a member only club perched in the beautiful hills north of Orinda. We went there as guest and truly enjoyed the vast space the club is on and the size of the pools as well as the cute and well run cabana. I believe there is a 4 year waitlist. Parking is an issue because limited - we got dropped off hence no issue. Car pool at least , get dropped off at best. read more

I will begin with the fact that the Orinda Park Pool is one of the nicest pools in the area and the swim team families are wonderful. Where OPP is seriously lacking as a club is with the swim team's leadership. The head coach, Brad Allen lacks the direction needed. He is a poor communicator, it is almost as though he has no interpersonal skills. He is extremely immature and one of the poorest role models I can think of. He can be toxic at times too. I know other parents feel the same which is why I don't understand why the OPP board doesn't remove him. We have since left the pool and joined another in the area. I wish we had done it sooner. read more

My recent experience at the pool was great except for the head swim coach, Brad Allen. His immaturity and his unprofessionalism is extremely disappointing. We have decided to join another pool. read more

OPP is by far the best pool in the east bay. Beautiful facilities and the nicest guards, managers, and swim team coaches. More specifically Brad Allen is the best head coach in the OMPA and it's not close. He fosters close relationships with each and every swimmer and fosters a culture and community of sportsmanship and fun. He knows the names of every child on a swim team of over 300 kids. He is one of the most dedicated and kind people I have ever encountered. One could not choose a better leader for the team my kids call a family read more

It's a nice pool, well kept, and plenty of activities for adults and children alike. But that's where all of the positives end. My girlfriend has been a long a time member of this pool, and it has been one constant incident after the other. A little after she first joined she requested a replacement entry key fob from the pool manager. It took 3 months of weekly emails for the pool manager to order her one. Then when she finally got her replacement key fob it was DOA. The pool manager then took another month to replace it with a functional one. Recently while she was assisting a child with swimming lessons someone had the audacity to go through her belongings, stole her wallet, and tossed it somewhere. She looked high and low around the area with no luck. A couple days later she checked in with the lost and found and it was there minus her cash. According to the employee someone had found the wallet somewhere on the property and gave it to one of the lifeguards. The lifeguard couldn't remember what the guy looked like despite it being only 24 hours ago. They didn't take his name either so we have no idea who found it. This summer she's been dealing with constant harassment from one of the lifeguards. She has repeatedly told him she wasn't interested, and yet that hasn't stopped his constant unprofessional behavior. Even after complaining to management, no one has done anything about it. The lifeguards work 10-12 hour shifts. More than half the time they don't even pay attention to anyone or anything, and rarely look like they care at all. The swim lesson teachers and employees are all just high school kids with little to no experience dealing with kids or people. The pool experiences at least one closure every week or two due to fecal matter in the pool. Some of the other members here are extremely entitled and snooty towards non-white folks. Overall this is a nice pool if you can afford it, but don't expect the employees to help you with anything. As long as they get their monthly/yearly dues, they don't care what happens in this pool. read more

I remember well my aunt taking me here when I was only 9 years old with my cousins. Almost too many years ago. We really enjoy the clean water and the huge grassy area to sit on our towels and enjoy the weather. Such good times back then. read more

I am not a fan. I live on a street really close to it and every summer morning at 8am, there is music and screaming on mega phones and speakers. It wakes me up and upsets me and my family. Also, people have to park for meets. And for some damn reason, they have to park in my driveway, so then I can't get out. Also, the rest of the people on the street agree. And finally, my road is very bumpy and dangerous, and the speed limit is 15 MPH. But some people can't understand speed limits, so theygo over. Once someone's mailbox got hit over, and the person who hit it over didn't even pay for it. In conclusion, I am not a fan. Though me or my kids have not gone there, I don't enjoy it. ( written by friend , but I agree) read more

"Not your friendly neighborhood pool." After moving off El Toyonal our family joined OPP with the expectation of having a delightful sun-soaked swim filled summer. After just a few visits to the pool, however, and we were disappointed and left with sour tastes in our mouths. Here are a few examples. 1. During my wife's third visit to OPP, we struck up a conversation with an elderly woman who stated that she'd been a member of the pool for forty-five years. The woman proceeded to question my wife about "where was she from?" When my wife replied that she'd been born in Berkeley, the woman said, "No. Where are your parent from?" When my beautiful wife told her where her father had been born, the woman actually stuck her nose up, turned her back on us and refused to say anything else! It was beyond shocking. My precious 2 y/o son was there! I had heard remarks about Orinda being stuck in the 50s, but this was like a slap in our family's face. After that, my wife didn't really feel like going back to the pool again. 2. The pool was closed too often because of fecal contaminants. 3. We had a very difficult time getting our deposit returned after we decided another year of the pool wasn't worth it. Although we promptly supplied OPP with an address change, the pool sent the check to our old address and then asked our family to go there and pick it up. We had to email OPP too many times before our deposit was returned. Lastly, too much attitude from a "volunteer" staff member when we were just trying to exit OPP. We wanted to like OPP. Honestly, we wanted to love it!! Well, so much for expectations. I'm giving OPP the two-stars because of its chill pre-season and the nice pool manager who has the moving company. read more

Welcome to the circle of Hell: the Orinda Park Pool Parking Lot Aggressive, self important, stick up their asses moms double parking on a hot July afternoon. It took me 25 minutes to get out of the parking lot, since I had no idea that stopping your car to talk with other bitchy moms on the narrow street leading out of the place is not considered a faux pas in these parts. Since my alter ego doubles as an Au Pair, she has to shuttle the progeny of the affluent to such places. I personally find nothing wrong with the kids; E.E Cummings said it best "You shall above all things be glad and young". Ahh the summers of the youth should only be spent in places like this. The pool itself and the facilities are pretty wonderful but I always have my qualms about "private" establishments and their negative correlation with people of color. Despite the splashing playfulness of the little kiddies, I couldn't get over my own disgust with the place. What happened to the old days of hopping the fence at the public pool like they did in "The Sandlot"? Squints and Wendy Peffercorn would have never gone to a place like this. read more

I love the pool but the café is terrible they leave out the special food from events the day after I just tried to buy M&Ms and a sprite and she said sorry no get something else in a very rude way a lot of the time when I order food from there it is burnt or undercooked I don't know why they got rid of Dave they should bring him back and they should I never hire these people again because they're really mean super rude and messed up my order the first time and are essentially just screaming in her face is America is fat no candy or soda for you they don't even have real sugar like what the heck it's summer and we can do it we want like bru if I could I would give them -10 stars read more

I am surprised and confused by some of these reviews. We have been members at OPP for 13 years and our kids have been on the team for 9 years. Also, we joined when we lived in Berkeley and about 5 years later we moved to Orinda. We find OPP to be a very laid back and friendly pool. It is also a really lovely place to spend time in the summer. The pool is absolutely perfect for young children (tons of shallow water), as well as swim team. There have been some ups and downs with a couple of lifeguards over the years, but for the most part the lifeguards are good. The current and previous managers are excellent. Most people are very friendly. I am sure a few are not, but I encountered so many self-righteous, angry people in my 15 years in Berkeley, and I can't say I've met one person like that in Orinda, especially at this pool. I can't believe a reviewer judged the entire pool environment - which includes hundreds of families - on one bitchy old lady who was stuck in the 18th century. I am sorry for that encounter, but in 13 years at the pool I have never encountered anyone like that, ever. I can say that I have probably driven into that parking lot at least 1,000 times (literally), and outside of swim meets, I think once or twice I could not find a place to park. If you have very small kids and expect a spot to be open for you right next to the entrance, that won't happen often when it is hot. (But where is there always convenient parking in the East Bay?). People like to complain about parking at the pool, but it really is not a serious problem unless it is one of the hottest days of the year. Swim team is an absolutely awesome way to spend the summer. No, it is not a competitive swimming program, and it is not advertised to be (it is clearly a summer recreational program with lots of social events), but my kids are very good swimmers and both are also on the Miramonte High School team. The kids on the OPP swim team who attend Berkeley High are some of the best swimmer on that high school team. There are about 300 kids on the team each year, so individual attention is usually not available during swim practices. You sign up for swim lessons with the coaches to get that individual attention and those lessons are generally fantastic. There have been two coaches in our 9 years (there are approximately 25 coaches each summer) that have not been super nice, one of whom was mentioned in another review. He is gone, and the other who was not patient was fired. I don't know why one reviewer said that only children of "parent volunteers" get attention. Honestly, that is not even possible. Every family has to volunteer (unless your kids are also working as coaches) every summer so every child is the child of a volunteer. Of course you get from it what you put into it. If you do a lot for the team and you and your kids are there frequently, you and your kids may feel more connection with the coaches. I have never, ever heard anything about the board being religious. Honestly, this seems like some paranoid conspiracy theory. I am sure a few attend church, but that does not mean that the pool is controlled by religious fanatics. Believe me, I would not be at this pool if that was the case! No one has ever tried to ban speedos or bikinis. That is ridiculous! Many of the boys wear them for swim team. I am sorry people have had to wait to get deposits returned. Please remember that membership, like many aspects of the pool, is run entirely by parent volunteers. I am sure those running membership were busy with their jobs and their children and your needs were not at the top of their priority list, which I suspect caused the delay in your check processing. We absolutely love OPP and I was so sad to see these mean spirited reviews. read more

From the very first time I set foot on the OPP grounds I wanted to become a member. I grew up in the East Bay and have been to a great many community pools over the years, and very few of them have the natural charm and beauty of OPP. Full disclosure: I'm not only now a member but I'm currently serving on the OPP board. OPP started out as a lake, and was developed over time into the multi-faceted recreational facility it is today. Nonetheless, it still feels like it belongs where it is: nestled on the hillside surrounded by oaks. It's a gorgeous place to spend a summer afternoon, as the pictures posted by other Yelpers clearly demonstrate. It's become a focal point of our family's summers, and at this point I can't imagine life without OPP. Just like at any large community facility there are challenges from time to time, but in my experience they are few and far between, and the huge positives vastly outweigh the occasional negative. After all, it's a community pool, not a for-profit health club. I think at least one (and possibly two) of the super-critical reviews below is from a particular ex-member with an axe to grind. While many of this person's assertions are overblown, especially ridiculous is the absurd comment about OPP being run by an ultra-conservative religious group trying to prevent females from wearing bikinis!! Not only untrue, but a really weird untrue thing to claim in a Yelp review, don't you think? As for the OPP community (which is not limited to Orinda residents, btw), I've rarely met a friendlier group of people. Come on out and join us. read more

I am writing this review to give new families heads up. We joined OPP based on reputation. We wish more people had shared their experiences so I'm writing this to share ours. We were members for 2 years before joining swim team. We had hoped for a positive experience but it was not. I volunteered for an event but last minute we decided to go on vacation and I had to cancel. The social chair and event chair decided that I was irresponsible to cancel out on the volunteering and issued a fine of $300 plus I was to pay their friend $200 to take my volunteer spot. It was not in the rules and certainly felt like some bullies picking on the new kid. No one ever apologized to me for that incident. My au pair also told me that during the summer when she took the kids to the pool, no mom or older girl would acknowledge her b/c she was clearly the au pair. She was only 19, someone's daughter and sister too. I wish it were a more welcoming and inclusive environment. We opted to quit rather than expose our kids to that culture. We did meet some wonderful people there and we wished there were more. There were problems with babies not wearing diapers and popping in the pool. The bathrooms did not separate toilet from shower/changing area so sometimes it really stank in there. It was generally warm there in summer and a better place to swim outdoors than in Oakland or Berkeley, and I believe that's why a fair number of Berkeley/Oakland families join. Best of luck if you join. And don't sign up for any volunteer spot unless you are sure you can be there. read more

Our family has been members for 6 years and we are a "Park Pool For Life" swimming family. Pool and grounds are the best in Orinda and a causal and the family-friendly atmosphere is a welcomed respite from the chaos of life. Stringrays swim team has become more competitive over the past couple of years with the addition of strong technical coaching staff. OPP finished 4th overall out of the 9 pool OMPA league. If you are interested in great technical swim team opportunities balanced with family-friendly social environment, OPP is your pool! read more

See all

Great pool club for people like me who just want to hang and aren't trying to prep their kids for the Olympics. Great snack bar (only downside is it is hard to know when it will be open- if the place is pretty empty it may not be open during standard hours which change all the time). Wonderful night events for members with music and food. Great beginner kids swim lessons. They have a basketball half court, play structure and ping pong table. The lifeguards can be tuned out or blow a whistle out you every second for who knows what reason. Oh well I guess. Kiddie pools on both sides that are beach walk in score. read more

Our family has been memebrs for the pool for 5 years, and we are ready to switch! This is not the friendly family pool any more! The pool hired new guard team this year. The manager of the guard raises his voices often when discussing issues, safety rules are inconsistent on daily basis, and not professional! In addition, he often chating with girl coaches while on duty and "take" lost and found items for his own use. What does pool management do? Nothing! Parking is awful. Daily parking is very challenging. If you don't want you young kids walking in the sun when you park far, or worry about dropping off kids while go find a parking space, this is not your pool! read more

Orinda Park Pool is the best! I love the pool! Lanes, kiddie area, and the regular area. The water is just warm enough. I just wish that the snack bar was open more. (It's rarely ever open.) And that they had a hot tub. I mean, whats a pool without a hot tub? Other than that, it's really great. Even if you live in Oakland, its worth joining. read more

This is a great community pool. Love going here when it's not too crowded but that usually means chef Dave isn't there :/ they have adult swim every hour here too. There's a half court for basketball and a couple of ping pong tables, a playground and a volleyball court. Perfect summer spot up in the Tilden park area read more

We love it!! My wife and I joined Park Pool in 2000 before kids and the big upgrade. It isn't nearly as crowded now that there is a gate, but it is on a beautiful wooded hillside so there is not a mall like parking lot. Our kids joined the swim team a few years ago, and it has been a wonderful social experience. It's got to be the tied for if not the most social pool in Orinda. The kids always find there friends there from both sides of the tunnel. It's always a great place to hang out and even more so with kids. Of course over the years, we have run into the occasional grumpy individual or fecal alert, but we don't exclude people and I am glad to know their monitoring for contamination! read more

We joined this pool sight unseen because we were desperate to escape the fog in Piedmont. The pool seemed lovely at first...that is until we got to know some of the people. The majority of the people we encountered were rude and downright unfriendly. We stuck around mostly because we didn't want to pay the fees to join the Claremont and didn't know of any other private pools. By our second year there, our kids begged to join the swim team. The pool is actually pretty and ok if you don't care what the pool managers ( rude) or lifeguards are like (unfriendly- always yelling at kids and quite punitive). But swim team is an entirely different beast. The head coach is very immature and seems to be dialing it in. There is another co-head coach who actually runs a swim team in Albany who is truly one of the meanest coaches my kids have ever encountered. He would yell at them for the most minor infractions...so much so that my kids began hating swim team and never wanted to go to practice. We did notice that the swim team is run by parent volunteers and if you are the child of one of those parents, then you would absolutely get special treatment and could literally get away with anything. One of the reviewers tried to claim that the pool has become more competitive with more technical coaching...I never actually witnessed this. My wife and I are both swimmers and we thought the coaching was atrocious. There are about 7-8 kids per a lane with the coaches barking very rote orders, with no particular attention being paid to any one swimmer. If you care about swimming and your child wants to swim in high school and beyond- this is not the swim team for you. We had talked about 4 other families into joining the pool at the same time that we did, and they have all since sold their memberships for varying reasons- some simply didn't use the pool enough to make it worth the while and others simply couldn't handle all the negatives ( unfriendly people. lots of fecal alerts, bad food at the snack shack, dirty bathrooms, bad coaches, mean parent volunteers...i could go on and on) On a beautiful day last summer, I held a barbeque for some work buddies. There were maybe 25 people at the pool. Within an hour of being there, the lifeguard was yelling at the top of his lungs and jumping up and down poolside like a crazy person. We couldn't figure out what was going on, but it was so disturbing that my friends vowed they would never come back- no matter how much free food I offered them! One last thing worth noting is that the pool seems to be run by some ultra conservative religious group. We have heard through people in the know, that some members of the parent run board tried to ban bikini's for girls and speedos for boys! I personally find this outrageous!!! Also, when we did sell our membership- it took a long time to get our money back with a lot of emails having to be sent. Conclusion: save your money and pay day rates elsewhere- or pony up and join one of the country clubs or the Claremont! read more

This is the best pool to join in Orinda, especially if you have little kids. Ignore all comments from resentful, self-important Au Pairs, who feel like they just wasting time until they become stars or something and who are probably using their cell phone to text when they are supposed to be watching kids. If you can get into the pool, (there is usually a wait list) you are lucky. The sides of the pool are shallow and stepped making it the perfect way to spend your summer afternoons and weekends with your children and create wonderful memories for your family! read more

OPP is a great place for families and swim team for the kids. We've been members for 5 years and our daughter loves and looks forward to every summer as part of the Stingrays. read more

We have had a family membership since our son was 5 and our twin daughters were 1. We love this place and have celebrated many of our children's birthdays here. Over the years, our kids joined the swim team and really love it. The coaches are warm, professional, and care about developing your child as a swimmer and good sport. The summer is filled with great workouts and fun activities. I really cannot say enough about how wonderful the pool is and how our foggy summers in Berkeley are now transformed by this sunny little place. read more

Great pool! It's got plenty of room for lounging, and stations for a family/ friend bbq! There's ping pong, b-ball, and space for kids to run around! I definitely recommend it read more