On Thursday, April 28, the renovated Lynnwood Recreation Center opened to throngs of jazzed families. The hit of the night was the new leisure pool area, a name that doesn’t really do the space justice. It’s more of a fun water park, with waterslides, plus a lazy river, volleyball court, water playground and family hot tub.
In fact, my family likened the new facility to the Great Wolf Lodge … yet smaller and a lot cheaper. My kids, ages 4 and 6, were thrilled. They dropped by periodically to throw two-word phrases at me: “Super cool!” or “Getting soaked!” They joined the other kids in waiting for the 50-gallon bucket atop the playground to fill and spill its contents over their heads, screaming with delight.
The place was packed to its capacity at the opening. The older kids formed a long line for the two waterslides, while the younger kids splashed around in the playground, using the slides and spraying each other with water. The waterslides snake their way outside and back in, and are popular with teenagers.
The blue body slide offers those in line a glimpse of its riders through translucent panels. Kids have to be at least 40 inches tall for this ride. The green inner tube slide, for kids 48 inches and taller, spits its riders out in the lazy river so they can continue their water journey. Unfortunately, my youngest was a bit too short for the slides, so I promised to take them another time, when it wasn’t so packed and my oldest could give the body slide a whirl.
We enjoyed the family hot tub together that evening, which is kept at a balmy temperature for little ones. Speaking of temperature, if you aren’t getting wet with your kids in the leisure pool area, make sure to dress lightly. It’s hot in there. But for those in swimsuits, the temperature is perfect. I can’t wait for sizzling summer days when we can take advantage of the new outdoor playground, which is linked to the pool and allows families to go back and forth as they please.
A large lap pool, diving board, adult hot tub, sauna and warm-water wellness pool are located next door to the leisure area. In all pools at the center, children ages 6 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. We swam around in the wellness pool with lifejackets. I love that my kids’ teeth never chattered. There were some teens playing water basketball in the lap pool and several older children bounding off the diving board.
The family locker room is one of the greatest new amenities at the center. It houses several lockers and seven individual rooms with their own toilets and showers. The men’s and women’s lockers rooms have also been renovated.
Once I finally got my kids out of the pool, we were able to tour the rest of the facility. In all, the renovation adds more than 16,000 square feet of space, and cost about $25 million. The expansion features a new cardio and weight room with state-of-the-art equipment, including the first machines I’ve ever seen with wheelchair accessibility.
There are brand-new racquetball courts and a new fitness studio, which will play host to youth fencing and parent/child exercise classes this spring as well as a variety of adult fitness classes. Outside the center, new public art and a cobblestone reflexology path near the entrance greet visitors.
The admission prices at the center are very reasonable. Families pay per swim session at most community centers, yet a daily family rate of $13 allows use of all the Lynnwood Recreation Center amenities for the day – the lap pool, leisure pool area with waterslides, hot tubs, sauna, weight room and racquetball courts. There are annual passes available as well.
In my family’s opinion, the leisure pool area alone is worth the price of admission.
