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El Cerrito Swim Center
Categories: Active Life Swimming Pools Active Life Beaches Swimming Pools, Beaches [Edit]
7007 Moeser LaneEl Cerrito, CA 94530
(510) 559-7011
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
24 reviews for El Cerrito Swim Center
24 reviews in English
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Review from mary w.
Berkeley, CA
5/19/2011
I recently decided that it was time to get over childhood traumas and really learn to swim and be comfortable in water and had the good fortune to get signed up for private swim lessons with Shirley at the El Cerrito Swim Center.
Shirley was phenomenal at guiding me through the process, quickly assessing what was blocking me and working around those issues until I got more comfortable. Unbelievably, she had me swimming and jumping into the deep end of the pool after only a handful of lessons. She has a great way of recognizing and acknowledging fears but not really creating a space for you to let them dictate your experience. I highly recommend taking lessons with her.
Generally, the pool is very nice and the locker rooms are nice and well maintained (heated tile floors!). The pool can be a little cold for some people and it can get crowded and loud when there are groups of kids there for classes, but otherwise seems to be a very nice and peaceful place. -
Review from Melissa B.
Oakland, CA
9/26/2011 4 Check-ins Here
This is a super nice pool and facility! I had no idea what a nice pool El Cerrito had until recently. I parked on the street because the lot was full.
There are quite a few kid-centric amenities here, including their own special shallow pool, blessedly separate from the big adult lap swim pool, as well as an aquatic fountain and splash-play structure for toddlers. The playground area is so cute! There's manicured grass and a grill for use in that park-like area, too. That would be fun to do (grill) sometime. Probably have to have that all set up ahead of time, tho. It reminded me of the play structures and 'lagoons' they have set up all over Australia.
The lap pool is very, very nice, with a good pH, and per their web site-
"In order to keep the water sanitary and safe and adhere to health regulations we use liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite), Hydrochloric acid,sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), and calcium chloride."
So, it does have chlorine, but it's far more gentle feeling than other pools I have been to, if that makes sense.
The locker rooms are fair, i was in here after a slew of mothers and children had been changing and showering, and it smelled vaguely of urine. Kinda Gross, not to mention chaotic with all of the yelling kids and high ceilings and tile. There are also plenty of on-deck shower heads. Not enough benches for everyone to put their things in the locker room. They have coin operated lockers, as well as lockers you can use and bring your own lock, as long as you take it off when you leave.
The lap pool, which costs $6 per adult if you're a non-resident drop in, is totally lovely, with gutters, depth, lovely tile, lane markers, pool tools available, a big time keeping clock, not too many people, good life guards who pay attention and are friendly, and decent hours.
I think the schedule is a bit confusing, and at one point I had to move lanes because the Masters team started to swim, and had rights to several lanes, but overall, this pool is a great resource to the community and seems very well run.Listed in: I'd Rather Be Swimming
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Review from debora l.
10/4/2010
Pros:
Outdoors & kept pretty clean - clear water, no leaves/ bugs/ etc.
Kickboards and pool buoys available in good conditions
Usually can have a lane to oneself, or split between 2 people
Friendly people! A great bonus.
Clear lane lines & speed markers
Locker room with some lockers & showers
External showers to rinse before/ after swimming
Open 7 days/ week; takes credit card
Ample parking available
Splash area for kids & slide! super fun.
Cons:
$5.50 per person for lap swim if not a resident (buy a swim pass if you live in El cerrito and save about $0.50 per swim)
4 lanes taken by Masters in the mornings = 3-4 lanes for lap swim available before work hours
Chlorine has a pretty salty taste
No swimsuit dryer or hair dryer in the locker rooms
Smallish (women's) changing area in the locker rooms
Also offers water aerobics, water walking, recreational swimming, and they have a nice website with updated schedules! Love it.Listed in: Where to Find Me, the active life
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Review from Ash B.
San Francisco, CA
7/12/2011
Love the pool itself. That's a 5 star for me.
The lower star number is for the parent tot swim classes. What a bad way to introduce a kid to the water! My child cried through his first 2 classes and we were encouraged to just basically let him cry and keep going.
There is no introduction to being in the water. You just pick your kid up and at class time, get in the water holding them in your arms and spend 30 minutes singing songs and making arm gestures while holding the child. It is too deep for them to stand and there's no way for the kids to explore on their own. The teachers say that the goal is for the child to follow the teachers arm signals.
I think maybe at some point, once my son is introduced to the water at his own pace, in a space where he can play and explore, doing the songs (or some other kind of lesson) would make sense. But i thought he'd never want to go back to the pool after the first 2 classes.
Thankfully, a couple days after class #2, we went to a rec swim, hung out in the baby pool and let our son play his way, he had a blast!!! He was laughing and trying to blow bubbles and getting soaked. It was a totally different experience and a way better way to get used to being in the pool.
So for the new swimmers, I wasn't feeling like parent tot classes were the way to go. At least not for my son! -
Review from Trumom R.
CA
6/22/2007
"Monkey, airplane, soldier.
Monkey, airplane, soldier.
Monkey, airplane, soldier."
"If you stop kicking, you stop moving."
"Go home and have a burrito and a beer."
Just some quotes from the fab folks at the El Cerrito Swim Center.
Thing 1 has been taking lessons there for ages and the great thing is they do them year-round, even in the rain and cold. Yes, it's an outdoor pool, but they keep it warm enough so your kid won't freeze off his cajones in January (OK, yeah, I know, this is California- not much freezing going on.) He loves it there and many of the teachers know him because it's the same young staff year after year (some of them are only there for the summer when they return home from college.) Summer classes are M-F for two weeks- a way for a kid to definitely get back into the swimming thing. They offer PeeWee classes for the little ones (3 and up) so that they can get accustomed to the pool. They also have Parent and Tot and summer camp for kids 7 and up.
Me, I swim too. (The last quote was from the Masters coach.) There are plenty of times available for me, and although I've gone only a few times, I love Masters swimming and the coaching I've received has been great.
Family and rec swim are fantastic too. A ton of fun, especially because they have a water slide. As a former kid who used to spend a lot of time at the pool, I know I've found the place for my kid to spend his summers. -
Review from Zazzy K.
Berkeley, CA
4/27/2011
Big, salty, perfect temp for working out, and almost never have to circle swim. Open tons of hours. Why can't all public pools be like this? Ante up, Berkeley!!
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Review from Chris H.
El Cerrito, CA
7/24/2010
This is a great local pool. The lockers have radiant heated floors, there is a good mix of people using it from young to old, the pool schedule is regularly updated and available through a Google search, the water is treated with bromine (the salty type) rather than chlorine which is a lot easier on your skin, you can buy a ten pass for a reasonable price.
On the down side, sometimes they have swim meets and I always forgot to check in advance and end up showing up on a weekend with the pool packed full of competitors and their supporters, mostly family members and friends. If it is cold, the walk from the locker to the pool can be a little cold but once you are swimming, the water is just the right temperature.
I definitely think this is a great swim venue. -
Review from Lydia H.
Oakland, CA
3/28/2009
I guess I'm a little biased - I learned how to swim there and then I worked there during high school. I recently went back and saw the remodeled pool - it's great.
I agree, it is a little pricey but to me a well kept, olympic sized pool is well worth the money. Plus, Emery (the old guard) never leaves and he's great. And loud. -
Review from Robert V.
Berkeley, CA
12/6/2006
I had know idea the locker room tiles were heated--brilliant! I had noticed how there are never any puddles in the locker room but never knew why.
Great facility. Too expensive--$5.50 for non El Cerrito residents. something like $100 for an unlimited monthly pass. Thats $1200 a year--crazy. I pay the $5.50 and don't go often enough to break the bank. I used to pay $315/yr for the swim center on Long Island. The LI pool had a jacuzzi and sauna. This place has bubkas.
One of the older lifeguards always yells, "yeah!". Whenever anybody converses with him, 'yeah' comprises 50% of all his responses.
If El Cerrito Swim Center were cheaper, I'd go more often. My quest continues for a reasonably-priced pool. -
Review from Jenny K.
El Cerrito, CA
9/11/2008
My Sister Muffin and I used to frequent the El Cerrito Swim Center a few years ago for lap swim in the evenings a couple days a week. We had a great time, but with busy and sometimes conflicting schedules we fell out of our routine. The pool facilities are great, the locker room is newly remodeled and clean.
Now being an expectant mother, I have rediscovered the El Cerrito Plunge, not in the form of lap swim, but Water Aerobics. At first I was a little nervous starting out, but I soon discovered how fun water aerobics really is. Once you get moving and get over how nerdy you may look under the water, it's so fun!! I feel great after each class and the aerobics has helped me maintain somesort of figure during my pregnancy. Our teacher Angela is totally awesome! The music is loud and fun, especially during saturday morning class the past few weeks for Mama Mia sing-a-long! -
Review from L M.
Berkeley, CA
5/16/2011
Overall, I really love this place. The pool is clean. The lifeguards are friendly. Not busy during the weekdays. It's newish and very pleasant. If you come here, especially on a sunny day, you will find it glorious. Also it is a nice mix of people, much more pleasant than the Berkeley YMCA.
The only negatives are that the lap swim hours are kind of limited, and the family swim hours are very limited. The splash park and mushroom are only going during my two year old's nap time, so it doesn't really work for me. A few locker room improvements might be nice like a suit dryer, real sinks with adequate running water, and an alternative to the VERY communal shower (that burns you when someone flushes the toilet). Also, the locker room gets over used when classes of kids come for classes. It would also be nice if someone could do a quick clean during the day to get rid of all the hair in the drains. When I have spilled lotion or whatever I have found it annoying that they don't stock paper towels.
it looks like my complaints are longer than my compliments so again, it really is an awesome pool. I can't believe Berkeley can't get it together to make a pool like this. -
Review from Kimi m.
El Cerrito, CA
10/10/2010
A large sized, clean local community pool with heated tiles in the locker rooms. Down side is that it is outdoors and while it's heated, it can get chilly because of the wind. Also, if you go during the summer you might have to figure out when it's not full of children. Check the schedule.
Listed in: El Cerrito, CA
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Review from Jay W.
Washington, DC
8/30/2009
I've been playing water polo here with East Bay Masters since March, 2009. The facilities are clean, the staff is helpful, and the Center runs a number of programs of benefit to the community.
What I like specifically about this pool is that the lifeguards on duty are courteous, and are good at getting everyone out of the pool when other programs are about to begin. Additionally, staff recently assisted us in putting up and tearing down equipment for a recent tournament. Thanks!
The only downside I have noted is that the children's pool sometimes seems a bit too crowded. I guess that shows just how cool this pool is... -
Review from Edi B.
Vallejo, CA
9/8/2008
Yes this will do.
I didn't think that El Cerrito had enough sunny or hot days to constitute an outdoor swim center but they have one.
It's nice.
The day I went it was for a birthday party for a bunch of 4th graders. They had a great time in the main pool. There is a seperate lap pool but no one was in that.
People were layed out all over the place. I think that because it was the only sunny day of the year all of El Cerrito came out.
I got a parking spot in front but the rest of the lot was full. -
Review from Peg S.
5/6/2010
Nice, clean, local pool, with showers and lockers. On the morning I went, already 2 people per lane (separated into slow/med/fast) and seemed that at least half of the lanes were taken by some swim team. I'll have to go more often to see if there's times with fewer folks, nothing stresses me out more than Michael Phelps like pressure in the pool. $5.50 for drop-in lap swimming (various passes also avail). They've also got recreational/family swimming, aqua aerobics, water walking, and swim lessons.
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Review from Sarah H.
Berkeley, CA
7/27/2010
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! The pools are really big and clean! I took swimming classes here for $48.00 with 5 sessions. The teachers are really nice and boost up confidence levels. I can see myself coming here for future swimming. I do wish the stalls were separate since there is only one stall that every one shares. I do find that older women take a really long time showering and i did see a shaver with shaving cream! Can they just do that at home??!!
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Review from sylvia e.
Kensington, CA
2/1/2008
Beautiful pool in the great outdoors. No membership required, clean dry locker rooms, separate warmer kids recreation pool, water aerobics classes 6 days/week. Need I say more? Oh ok, I will. The microclimate in El Cerrito is milder than at Strawberry Canyon Pool (in the Berkeley Hills, the nearest outdoor family/lap pool I can think of ). Pool and deck are really clean, very well maintained at all times. If you ride your bike here you just park it in view of the pool, no need to lock it up.
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Review from Food L.
Takoma Park, MD
9/8/2010
We enjoy this pool and it's friendly lifeguards and staff. My five year old prefers the plunge because it has a larger and shallower area for her. Staff needs to be sure that the correct swim times are given out when people call. We were given an incorrect time for rec swimming - probably due to the fact that the schedule changes very frequently. The result of that trip was two girls in tears. Generally we love the swim center, giving the four stars.
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Review from MM M.
Berkeley, CA
7/8/2010
Nice, clean, good facility. The only way it could be better was if it was indoors and had more lap swim hours. As far as outdoor rec center pools go, this is the best. All the other swimmers I have met there are super friendly and laid back. I will definitely be there on sunny days -- the cold days I need an indoor pool!
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Review from Tracy A.
Oakland, CA
12/23/2006
This is where I took my first swim lessons WAY back when. Later on in my swimming career I even joined the swim team here. Also, forever ago. My favorite stroke was the breast stroke. Alas, the swim team was not for me but I still have many fond memories wrinkling up in the water at this fine swim center.
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Review from Ines T.
San Leandro, CA
3/26/2010
As a resident of El Cerrito, I barely frequent the pool. At 9 1/2 months pregnant, the pool was the only place I could relieve my aching joints and swelling feet and ankles. They have a slow shallow lane open from 10:30-1 for water walking. You can find schedules on their website.
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Review from Joselita T.
San Pablo, CA
5/18/2009
They have recreational lap swims on weeknights 6-830PM and on weekends for $5.50/person. Great place to do your laps. They have long lap pools, which are heated and of different depths. There's also a kid's or family pool that are shallower and has mushroom miniature falls and water slides. Fun place for the family and people there are very friendly. Showers and lockers are available. Just bring in you own lock and soap.
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Review from Kisha G.
Oakland, CA
8/3/2009
I have been taking my kids (now 6 and 9) here for a few years to learn to swim and as part of their summer activities. On Saturday they announced they wanted to go swimming. So I squeezed into my bathing suit and trucked up to this place only to find that they can swim on their own without me...this is why they get 5 stars cause I didn't want to go swimming and didn't have to...so, I sat and read my book while my babies had a grand time in the pool with the other children (and some adults) the lifeguards were attentive and enforced the rules regularly it is always clean and the community of people who use the pool are very nice.. I was very pleased.
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Review from David S.
San Francisco, CA
6/7/2009
The pool's clean and so are the locker rooms; however, whenever I go the pool is crowded and people aren't in the right lane. The lifeguards recently put up slow, medium and fast signs, but don't seem to monitor the lanes very well.
