The entrance definitely blends into the feel and look of being downtown. I ended up parking on the street and paying the virtual meter because I wasn't sure if they had designated parking but I think there is a parking garage. The welcome desk staff were friendly and greeting people/members as they came in. There are brochures about various programs at the desk as well. I was here to get signed up for an Above & Beyond Cancer class and am really excited about the number of activities available. read more

The pool is super clean and nice! The locker rooms are small though. The staff are nice but it is a little dirty in the gym! read more

Wellmark YMCA - Pool - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

This gym honestly kind of sucks. I am trying to teach my toddler to swim, otherwise I would not come at all. However it's 80 dollars for member swim lessons and 190 without so we figured we might as well be members too if we have to pay that much anyway. The machines are alright for the most part but the staff are not very friendly, and the facilities are often dirty. The showers spray uneven water that is lukewarm at best, there are not very many classes offered, and if you are a morning workout person there have been multiple times my colleagues at work say they have arrived at open and the gym was still locked up. read more

Huge YMCA right in the heart of downtown. Parking was easy, right out front but also has a garage for $1/hr. The facility was massive. Lap pools, racket ball courts, track, 2 basketball courts and tons of equipment. Basketball court did get heavily occupied and definitely a rougher group to play against, but steer clear of that and you'll be fine. read more

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If you want to meet me here, well mark it in your diary that I'll see you here next time I'm in town. This YMCA is kind of crazy. It's absolutely massive and brand new and has so much work out space but takes so long to get from one part to the other. They let me in within a decent amount of time but it wasn't really really quick or anything. I prefer to be let right in, and usually will deduct one star for such an experience. However, I had a great workout here because it's so big, with so many facilities, and a lot of things are brand shiny new. On the other hand, parking is absolutely awful here. And combined with the time it took to check me in at the front desk, and the layout (costing a lot of extra time) and the lack of an exit door over by the locker rooms, this excellent shiny new facility will have to get a 4 from me. But it's very capable of earning a 5 if it tweaks a few things. read more

Wellmark YMCA - #StrongEnoughToLiftThem - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

As a member of my local Y, I am able to visit others when traveling. When in DSM, this is by far, my favorite location. It is well-equipped and spacious. The equipment always is in good repair and I never have to wait, even during peak times. Parking, with skywalk access make it easy to get in and out. The bonus is the hours. The early morning hours work best for my schedule. read more

This is the best gym I've ever seen in my life. I wish I lived in Iowa for it. I was visiting for 5 days and this being there made my trip so much better. If you have a ymca membership you can go in with your card. Amazing read more

I love this Y! It is one of the biggest YMCAs I have been to and has everything I need and more. It's affordable and has garage parking with a skywalk directly into the gym. There are children's programs, wellness classes, and personal training options. I pay extra each month for a fitness membership that includes a private locker room with hot tub, sauna, and eucalyptus steam room inside. This option gives you a designated locker with your name on it and if needed they will even wash, dry, and fold laundry after your workout! They have a heavy bag and speed bag, multiple racquetball courts, basketball court, TRX station, rowing machines, Crossfit training area, and more! I have not attended any group fitness classes yet but have heard they are awesome! Schedules can be accessed online at any time or on the YMCA app. Nothing negative to say about this awesome health and fitness center! read more

I mean, the pool itself is fantastic...if a bit cold since they had to fix the bulkhead and temp. control. It was warmer before they fixed it. Also, the swim team has been taking over late PM lap swim the past few months. The lanes available seem to be shrinking to like four now each time I go. It's loud and sporty, so if you enjoy that, great. Every weekend there's a swim meet or some event so i usually have to go to another Y. It's a hassle and the schedule is not always clear. read more

Man this new YMCA downtown is nice! Great clean facilities that you can get to from the street or the Skywalk! We took a tour of the whole place and dang it's nice! They gave us a free 1 week membership so we are trying it out! Loving the track, 8 times around = a mile! Then I lifted some weights they have both free weights and machines with multiple uses! Lots of bikes, treadmills, and elliptical machines. the space is very open, other then the class rooms which are separate! We then decided to play some racket ball, the courts are great and brand new! The basketball courts, 2 full size were packed so we will have to do that next time! Most classes are free with membership, and they have regular locker rooms with Sauna, and showers, or they have VIP (cost extra) locker rooms with sauna, steam room, hot tub, showers and free laundry service, and private lockers.. It cost more money but if you were going to go big or go home this might be a fun option! I'm super excited about this facility and am strongly considering becoming a member! The member prices are based on income, so come one come all get healthy and have a ball! read more

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Yes very family oriented staffs are very helpful and friendly follow CDC guidelines and enforce social distancing! Thank you YMCA for keeping the community safe:-) read more

I recently moved to the area and have been exploring all the gym options around town. The gym is massive! There are sectioned off areas for weight lifting, cardio, and CrossFit type equipment. This gym will have all the amenities/classes you would need and it is decently priced at $61 a month. Walking through the gym to me it feels/looks/is dated (carpeted throughout is one example). The parking situation is tough - there is garage parking, but you still have to pay a dollar even if you validate your ticket. The locker room is nice with sauna and showers. Ultimately the parking situation was a deterrent for me and I decided not to join. For others that may not be a huge deal. Overall, decent gym for the price. read more

I love the YMCA! Everything here is extremely new and extremely clean. They have multiple weight machines tons of benches and free weights and tons of racquetball courts and even two squash courts. They also have yoga rooms, group rooms, spinning, basketball and a bunch of other stuff. Even the locker rooms are nice with their own dry saunas and separated shower stalls. read more

In town for a wedding and was happy to see there was such a nice YMCA near my hotel. I was warmly greeted by staff when I entered and given a tour of the facility. It's a nice open space with plenty of equipment and amenities. The pool is the crown jewel. It is a competition level pool and very nice. read more

I've been to a variety of different Y's since I've been a member, but this one is by far my favorite! First of all, it is HUGE. You'll never feel crowded, even if it gets busy. It's a clean, bright atmosphere with tons of different activities. You can lift weights, do some crossfit, get your cardio in with their indoor track or variety of machine options, go for a swim, and so much more... it's kind of like heaven on earth for fitness junkies. The *only* downside is that there's no free parking, so you'll have to find a meter or pay the garage fee (unless you upgrade your membership, but I rarely come to this location so it wan't worth it for me). If they had a free parking lot, this would be the best YMCA in Iowa. read more

Nice ymca but I'm training for a triathlon and the pool is literally always closed due to swim meets yet they have two giant pools. If I drown in this triathlon I'm canceling my membership. read more

Always well kept and clean. Conveniently located in downtown and the staff are so friendly. I LOVE using them for my membership!

I miss the old Riverfront YMCA. Yeah, it was old. Yeah, it was dirty. Yeah, the equipment and machines were on their last leg. Yeah, there were weird smells in the hallways. Yeah, the locker rooms were totally sketchy. But there was something so punk-rock about it. Due to it's dated look and old equipment, the faint of heart never used that location. If they wanted new and shiny, they went down Grand Avenue to Infinity/Fitness World Downtown. The members that came to the Riverfront location WANTED to be there. It was like a secret club. You'd regularly see the same people working out and there was a real calm vibe there. I never ran in to rude or disrespectful members. This unique experience would go on to make me an 8 year member at the YMCA. With the new "Wellmark" YMCA, that vibe has been turned on its head. It's packed with all kinds of members attracted to the "new and shiny." The parking is more horrendous than before. Everything you do is put on display for anyone to see - whether your weight lifting, using cardio equipment or playing basketball. Since this new "Wellmark" YMCA, the management has been too generous with 'financial assistance' in their memberships. The trashy residents that dominate the North, South, and East sides of Des Moines have taken over what was once a lowkey gym. As you would expect with trashy people, these "new" members are so rude and disrespectful. From the young kids to the adults who should know better. I had an adult man walk on my mat I just wiped off so I could use it to stretch myself on. I had a guy comment on the weight I was deadlifting. He told his friend, "Look at that p*ssy weight!" Another time, I asked these two women if they were using a bench as they were standing by it and they just looked me up and down and literally scoffed at me (I'm assuming they thought I was hitting on them). The worst encounter was with a man 40-45 years old and he was built like a brickhouse. I'm a lean guy standing at 5'10" and 170lbs. He was using intimidation methods to get me away from the lateral pulldown bar. There are TWO of them and he wanted to use the same one I was using. He literally put his leg over mine as I was getting up from doing a set. I thought, "Whoa... okay, we're sharing, I guess?" After he was done with his set, the other lat pulldown was in use by another member. I went back to the lat pulldown seat and the brickhouse man put his hand up and told me, "No, I'm using this one." I was completely caught off guard. I was fuming at that point and went to the front desk and spoke with one of the longtime staff members. She knew who I was talking about and she went and discussed the incident with him. That's not all - I am not the only long time member to experience disrespect from these trashy members. There are two courts that can be used for basketball or volleyball. There are two nights out of the week that ONE of the two courts is used for volleyball. Well, the scumbag members who were using both courts refused to leave so other members could not play volleyball. It escalated to the point that management had to come and talk to the uncooperative, disrespectful members and make them leave one of the two courts. I saw one teenage kid tell an employee to "F*ck off!" after the employee instructed him to go the correct direction of the track that circles the gym upstairs. So, if you've read this far, I appreciate you hearing me out. If you insist on using this gym, go in the mornings as the members who attend in the morning are working, mature professionals who want to be there and know what they are doing. The problem members don't arrive to the Wellmark YMCA until 4:15pm... it's like clockwork! Please understand that NOT ALL the members are complete trash. However, out of the 7 years I used the old Riverfront YMCA, I never had one issue. In the 10 months the Wellmark YMCA has been open, I have consistently had issues with other members. The staff is friendly enough, but I often question whether I want to remain a member. The Southside Y is too far and too small. And the Walnut Creek YMCA is full of teenagers and unsupervised children and the weightroom is too crammed/small for all the equipment they have. Out of convenience, I will stay a member as I live 4 blocks away and I am moving out of Des Moines in 6 months. read more

Beautiful facility with awesome pool! We attended a swim meet at the Y. The facility was clean. Friendly staff. Indoor track. Accessible to Skywalk. read more

Great new facility. Was opened in January 2015 so everything is new and clean. They have tons of space that you usually don't see in a downtown location Y. 10 racquet/hand ball courts, 1/8 mile indoor track, 2 indoor basketball courts, great locker rooms, FREE TOWELS, plenty of machines/free weights, tons of cardio equipment. The one draw back as for today, 11/14/15, the aquatics center is another year or so out from being completed. But through the windows it looks like it will be huge. Great news for business travelers, 24 free visits per year for AWAY members to all Greater Des Moines YMCA facilities. read more

Wow. Damn, you did it right. The place is huge, enormous. Everything is brand new. It's so nice in there. The staff is amazing... I can't even... well done, YMCA. read more