What it is: The Hope Valley YMCA is now the newest of the four Durham YMCA's. I'll fill you in on all the details about joining the Y in a little while, but first I want to let you know what facilities are there. They have a big outdoor pool with a 2-foot area as well as lap lanes. They also have lots of tennis courts. Indoors they have a room for classes, a meeting room, a playroom for kids 5 and under, locker rooms, and a small wellness floor that has treadmills, bikes, elliptical machines, and some weight machines.
They still have the playground area, but where they used to have two separate areas, now they just have one. On the top level they have a newer play structure with slides, rings, bridges, and all the typical play structure features. On the lower level, instead of the older play area that they did have, there are now lots of picnic tables that are used frequently for camp kids' lunches. If you are not a member of the Y, I think you can still head to the playground. In the summer, camps are sometimes using that area, but if not, it's a nice fenced playground for your kiddos.
Now, if you join the Y, as a family, there are lots more opportunities open to you. Since we just joined a few weeks ago, I wanted to let you know everything we found out. The cost for a family is just over $100 a month plus an initial joining fee. Once you join you have access to not only the Hope Valley YMCA but also the downtown, American Tobacco, and Lakewood branches. Plus, I think it's only about $10 more to have a Triangle memberships to include even more YMCA's in the area.
So, we just joined the Durham branches. We can visit the outdoor pool at the Hope Valley YMCA with the kids, or take them to the indoor pool all year long at the downtown branch. Also, if you would like to work out or head to one of their many classes, you can drop your kids off at the playrooms. The Hope Valley YMCA playroom can take kids through kindergarten while the downtown Durham YMCA can take kiddos through fifth grade during the hours that they are opened. You also get discounted prices on all of their kids' camps and classes.
Personally, so far we have really enjoyed being members. It's great to be able to drop the kids off at the playroom and actually have some time to workout with my husband. Plus, the kiddos really have enjoyed the pools and can enjoy the indoor one (zero entry with small slide) all year long!
What we liked: We like the access to pools and time to workout on our own. The facilities are all really nice and clean. They also have a ton of classes that you can choose from. We've already tried cardio tennis, and I'm looking forward to sampling fit swim and yoga later. If you are not a member, the playground is still a nice fenced area where kids can play.
What we would change: Since there are so many camps at the Y in the summer, there are kids using a lot of their features including the playground and pool. While it did make the features a little more crowded, it didn't stop us from using them though. In addition, parking at the downtown Y can sometimes be a bit tricky at times.
Website and other important information:
Website: http://www.ymcatriangle.org/hope-valley-farms-ymca
Address: 4818 S. Roxboro St, Durham, 27713
Hours: Vary according to branch and particular area
Photos:
No comments:
Post a Comment