North Boulder Rec Center

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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?

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.

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!

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!

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.