A pool that isn't crowded? (Arlington, Alexandria: 2015, apartments, middle schools)

[SentimentalDemon]

I only learned to swim a couple years ago so I'm still very much a beginner in need of practice. Due to sciatica, I've had to stop jogging and I was hoping to depend on swimming for fitness instead, but my experience at the public pools in Arlington is that the warm pools are designated for classes/kids and the serious lap pools are deep on one end and always busy enough that you have to share a lane. I'm way too intimidated to share a lane in a deep pool...I don't have the confidence to swim in water over my head yet, nor am I very good at turning around half way without pausing to put my feet down, plus a more experienced swimmer will end up passing me constantly because I'm slow. When I lived in Michigan, I was able to swim at the local middle school, which had lap lanes that never got deeper than 4ft...sure wish I could find that around here!

So where can a beginner go just to get a little exercise and practice a bit? Are there indoor pools that are less crowded/intimidating at some of the sports clubs around here? Is it worth going out to Alexandria or Fairfax in search of a less crowded rec center? What about the Y? I'm willing to drive a little bit but I don't want to go into DC just for exercise. Thanks!

[Carlingtonian]

The high-school pools in Arlington are good for lap swimming. They're open to anyone, but Arl residents get a discount. Here's the one for W-L HS, near Ballston.

[gomason]

Maybe try the Providence RECenter in Falls Church: Providence RECenter – Aquatics*- Fairfax County, Virginia. The Lee RECenter always had room for wading in the shallow area.

[SentimentalDemon]

Thanks...but you said room for wading. I want to swim laps for exercise, but I either need shallow lap lanes or a place that has enough free lanes that I won't have to share a lane and subject someone else to my horrible swimming skills. So far, it sounds like what I commonly found elsewhere just doesn't exist here. It's embarrassing...I can't get myself out of the pool if I'm not in one of the two lanes that have ladders out.

With Arlington set to build all these new elementary/middle schools in the near future, it would be nice if they considered building some of them with pools with 4 foot deep swim lanes like we had in Michigan. This would reduce the need to bus children to the high schools for the swim portion of gym class, and would be a great community service to seniors and new swimmers like myself, not to mention kids who need the practice but aren't ready for deep water yet.

[gomason]

Arlington is planning on building an Olympic-sized pool in Crystal City: Olympics loss will not deep-six Arlington.

[JfromReston]

You should talk to the staff at some of the pools near you to see when the pool is less crowded. The pool I go to - Reston Community Center - has some hours where the pool is crowded and other times when the pool is nearly empty. The staff at the pool should be able to direct you to a less crowded time.

[Carlingtonian]

Demon: River Place Apartments in Rosslyn (those '50s red-brick ones on the water) has a huge pool that is separated into lap-swimming and lollygagging areas. I *think* they allow non-residents to swim for $3 a visit or the like. (I would call and verify this, though.) Parking is very tough, but if you can find some other way to get there, that's worth a shot.

[SentimentalDemon]

Thanks Carlingtonian, I'll ask a friend who lives over there. Yep, JfromReston, have asked the staff and the best answer I've gotten is basically around the time I have to put my kid to bed.

Oh I know about that awful aquatics center they're planning in Crystal City. I don't want a huge complex with a lazy river and an olympic sized pool. I just want a modest place to exercise. Guess that's too much to ask around here.

[Zack]

The new Wakefield lap pool isn't that deep in the lap pool, though I think the end with the starter blocks is about 6 or 7 feet deep. Washington Lee is deep throughout with the "shallow" end being about 6 feet deep. Anecdotally, I notice that Wakefield is less busy than Washington Lee during open swim times; probably because Washington Lee is next to Ballston which is a pretty densly populated area.

An option during summer is to swim at Upton Hill's lap pool. It's not that busy and is only 4 feet deep throughout. The downside is that it's an outdoor pool and has more limited hours. You will also be watched by those out getting sun.

At Alexandria's HS, the Chinquapin Center, there are lanes that are 4 feet deep the whole way. However I've found that pool to be pretty busy on a regular basis with at least 2 swimmers per lane during open swim times.

I would highly recommend you take more swimming classes to learn to swim the length of the pool, float, and tread water. The county has plenty of classes and they don't usually fill up so you'll get some personalized attention.

[SentimentalDemon]

I found the answer I was looking for, thanks to one of the moms at my kid's gymnastics practice, and I'm going to share it for you all in case anyone else has the same issue. XSport on King Street has lap lanes that are 4' to 5' deep and are shorter than the lanes at places like Wakefield. There are 5 lanes, 2 of which are double wide lanes, and the water temp is just right, not freezing cold nor too warm. I'm told that the busy hours are 4pm-9pm, and that a lot of insecure swimmers like to come in at 5am or midnight so they basically have the whole place to themselves. I went in at lunchtime today and was the only one there for the first 15 minutes. When I left, there were 3 people there. The monthly cost is less than it was costing me to go to Wakefield twice a week too.

Wait, why am I telling you guys this, I don't want the lanes to get busy