Keokuk Aquatic Center

I’m from out of town and I was looking for a place to do lap swimming. The website says lap swim from 7 – 9 a.m. I arrived shortly after 7 a.m. and the building was locked up, lanes were not set for lap swimming. Right before I left an employee arrived and said that the website that I had found the information on. .. this site.…was incorrect and lap swimming is not available. However I could come back at noon and there would be a lane available, first come first served. The facility looks clean enough, just bummed that I couldn’t get my workout in. Bummer number two is the YMCA pool is closed for a month for maintenance. Next closest pool is in Fort Madison.

Keokuk is a nice enough place — small, Midwestern town, with an industrial base. The downtown has seen better days, and the city seems to be challenged economically. So, I was very surprised to find this gem, tucked away in northern Keokuk, on our visit to the area.
Nice, clean pool. Simple. A slide with two chutes to choose from. Two diving boards — a high-​dive and a ‘regular’ board (yes, very technical terminology). Basketball goal with a couple of balls. The ‘kiddie’ area had a couple of fountains, a zero entry side for easy access. One of the fountains is perched atop a 3′ tall climbing apparatus, shaped like a gentle hill, emerging from the water, and upon which are 3 slides and a stair way — all four features, also included a 2′ x 4′ cushion pad, underwater, bolted into the floor of the pool — in case your little one slips and would have otherwise hit the floor of the pool too hard. They gave this accessibility thing, for young kids, a great deal of thought, and I am impressed.
Granted, it was a weekday, but the temperature was north of 100-​degrees. The pool was busy, but not crazy. I felt very safe with my kids scattered across the various activities.
There is a concessions area, and it was tucked around a corner — not out in the middle of everything, screaming out to my vulnerable kids, who would each then join in its chorus demanding satiation by way of some worthless snack or sugary drink. As a parent, I was very grateful. As a marketing guy, I’d scream foul. This raging conflict was quickly subdued — the parent /​family CFO won in this case. Unfortunately, though understandably, visitors are not allowed to bring in food or drink. Finally, ticket prices were reasonable. For our visit, $ 3 for kids and $ 5 for adults.