The people were nice and the swim instructor was very patient. Both of my kids feel much better about swimming and wanted to go straight into the next class right away! read more

My daughter loves her swim lessons here. Definitely recommend. It's worth it. We have been happy with it.

This could be a really nice pool but the people running it have created at atmosphere that is not family friendly. It is structured to be a senior center pool. Children can not hold on the shoulders of paren in pool. Children can't go outside on patio until 18, even with parent. Children can only swim in shallow end for only a few hours a day, otherwise its for adults only. Deep end entry must pass a lap swim test to enter. Children must be 16 to practice lap swimming in a lap lane. My ten y/o son just finished swim school and they would not allow him to exercise with me. It costs 18+ dollars to sit in a 5 ft pool kiddie section of the pool with my two kids and noodles. The life guards are paid almost minimum wage. This is essentially a great place for seniors. One would think being near a high school that there would be more families paying to enjoy recreational fun but its also next to a graveyard. I think the seniors have taken over the planning committee and are running the pool as a basic lap pool or place to rest ones aging soul. read more

Arcata Community Pool - Taken from their website - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Arcata, California

some of the instructors clearly do not like kids. my 3 year olds first day of swim lessons he fell underwater and couldn't touch the bottom, I was watching from the bleachers where parents are required to stay. neither the lifeguard or the instructor noticed for several seconds!! another student (5 years old) helped pull him to safety. now my son is scared to go in the water. my other child didn't get his end of session checklist filled out because the instructor "didn't have time" so we didn't know what skills he had mastered, what he needed to work on, or what class he would be in next session. I had to ask several staff members what class he would move up to. they ALL told me level 1. turns out the were somehow ALL incorrect. thankfully there was a spot available in the correct session so we were able to move him up. it's baffling the the instructors don't know the correct order of classes that they are teaching themselves. also if you don't like kids..... don't work with them read more

I really enjoy the arcata pool. I've been attending in the evenings. I find the staff to be welcoming. The space is clean, with a comfortable place to exercise and a relaxing spot to wind down for the night. read more

Very nice pool - water is warm and not many chemicals; I think they use ultraviolet sanitizing. Rarely have to share a lane (although getting busier as Covid restrictions are dropped, at least for the present). Hot tub, sauna, and weight room, too. Reasonable rates - annual pass is a bargain. At these prices you get lockers/showers similar to my ancient high school, but very well maintained. Very friendly and helpful staff. read more

I love they do children's swim lessons and my son hasn't had any instructor he didn't like. Victoria is wonderful and is so patient and kind to the kids and parents alike. My son progresses and enjoys the lessons and I appreciate the time and effort and price of the group lessons. read more

At the beginning of the year I took advantage of the year-long membership special and have not been disappointed. Although their "gym" is small, it has everything a person should need. There are several cardio machines, weight machines, free weights, and other things that I use but do not know how to define. I've never had to wait more than 10 minutes to use a machine, and I see people clean the equipment off when they finish. Since I'm not much of a morning person, the pool is usually infested with children by the time I get there. They offer swimming lessons to children in public schools as well as private lessons. Plus the swim club is there pretty much every evening, so sometimes it's hard to get a lane for lap swimming during those times. They also close off the deep end when the open up the diving board, which is kind of annoying, but I think that might only happen during recreational swim hours, which are limited. My favorite thing about this place is the fact that children under the age of 18 are not allowed in the gym or the patio area where the hottub and sauna are, so once you turn on the jets in the tub or close the sauna door you can't really hear the noise from inside the pool area. Some of the regulars in the hottub and sauna sometimes have "interesting" (to put it politely) conversations that you have no choice but to listen to, but overall the older crowd is harmless. I disagree with the previous review that old men sit in the hottub waiting for younger girls to get in...and the reason why the community pool does not cater to the university students is because HSU just spent millions of dollars over the past few years remodeling their own pool and gym, which all students are entitled to use FOR FREE with their HSU ID card. As far as it being "very expensive", they do offer discounts to those who meet certain criteria. They also have passes you can purchase so you can use the facilities as much as you'd like with just one flat rate. They use a special kind of water filtration system so the water doesn't have an overpowering chlorine smell. The shower and locker room areas are clean, although I haven't yet figured out how often they deep-clean the hottub, sauna or shower areas. I would have given 5 stars for this place, but it's constantly crawling with children and I'm just not okay with that. I swim way less than I would like to because there's just not enough room to have lessons, swim club, and open lanes for the public all at the same time. And they should be open for more than 3 hours on Sundays. read more

Great pool for lap swim. Wide lanes, clean water, low chlorine (they use uv light). Basic bathrooms with communal shower

Stopped by to swim with my son. Not realizing it wasn't recreational swim time the young man at the counter informed me it would be 7.50 for myself and 4.50 for my son during recreational swim time from 7:30-9:00. I politely told them I was in the Military and I thought there was some sort of agreement that we are allowed to use the pool. A woman behind the counter stepped up to the counter looked at me and with a snarky attitude shook her head and said only if you're a rescue swimmer. I was a bit thrown off by her attitude and poor people skills. I won't be back because of this girls attitude. Bad business. *****UPDATE***** I Asked around and found out there is no set agreement. I respect and understand that. This does not warrant a bad attitude for the girl working there and piss poor customer service. I won't be back. She was rude. read more

I have been swimming at the Arcata Community Pool for years. They always have the best water quality, and I love that lap swimming is open for adults all day! I also bring my kids here for swim lessons, and have to say that all of the instructors are so knowledgeable! They do an excellent job of explaining things in different ways so that children of all ages learn how to properly use their bodies in the water. Best place to swim in Humboldt County! read more

This is a very well-managed facility with a polite and professional staff. Yes, it is a touch expensive, and I think they would benefit from reassessing their fee schedule. Nonetheless, for the money, you get a very nice pool for lap swimming, a small gym that offers most of what you need, and a relaxing setting to enjoy a hot tub or sauna. Reviews of this place need to take into account that they serve a wide swath of the community (schools, special needs, all age groups, party rentals, etc.) which is quite a challenge. Some suggestions to improve the place would include a suit-spinner, as well as creating a more garden-like haven for the patio. The latter could be done affordably and would be a tremendous draw. Overall, these folks do a tremendous job and we are fortunate to have such a facility available. read more

Growing up in Humboldt county, I loved mermaids, when my dad made me a swimming tale for the pool of neoprene I thought my dream came true, but staff made me take it off feeling it may be a hazard to other peeps. Even when I assured it was a soft without a mono-fin. That was when I was 8 . Now older ,when taking laps I was told to exit the area, told I was not allowed in the hot tube or sauna due to the fact that I was not visibly over the age of 18. Laps for me get the best exercise and performance for my personal goals but was told to accompany the crowded kitty pool instead where you must not wear any swim gear that I had brought. Neither wear them in the "deep pool" that you had to exit every 25mins due to the diving board opening. When educating the staff of a biohazard, I was surprised at the results. Staff refused to clean the poop released from a child throughout the kitty pool because the bitter results would be to warn everyone and have them leave, too much hassle right? Therefore the rest of the day families swam around in #$%& particles... The showers and dressing rooms are nice and clean, birthday parties are held there often but over all the experience located at a high school wasn't worth my money. read more

Very expensive. Does not cater to the huge population of University students on a budget. They have a good sized hot tub that is usually occupied with old guys waiting for college girls to take soak... I take my business elsewhere read more

Horrible Experience my daughter wanted her birthday here and I made reservations. I was charge a deposit instantly. When I arrived the power had gone out and nobody notified me I was there with all 30 guest and the pool was closed. The staff had no solution just the party is cancelled. The staff is incompetent they took my credit card number right but not my phone number wrong. I called a few days later for my refund which will take 3 weeks by mail . The staff is so rude. This is not a trust worthy place to do a party. read more

Horrible. Do not take your kids here, they stopped us from taking pictures after our fourth session despite the fact that all other parents had been taking pictures every session then we were not allowed to stand on the wall because it was a fire lane. The staff is rude and are not capable of following the same policies from one day to the next. Taking my kid to healthsport. read more

Fun & affordable place to bring the kids on a rainy day to get them (&yourself) some exercise.

I've been here once but am definitely planning on returning soon. My friend and I checked out this spot in the summer and found that a day pass for an adult was reasonably priced at $8.00. We enjoyed a relaxing swim in the deep end and even played with a couple of the mini basket balls that the facilities provided. The pool has all the equipment you would expect for play or exercise. However, our favorite part of the visit would have to be the spacious hot tub they have outside in the patio area. It was very relaxing just to be able to sit and soak in the quiet outdoors. Can't wait to go back and try the sauna. read more

I love the Arcata Community Pool! So many different groups benefit from the pool. Young swimmers, old swimmers, disabled swimmers. fitness swimmers, pregnant women, recreational swimmers, swim team members, master's swimmers, life guard training, Coast Guard training.. It is open for lap swimming 15.5 hours a day. Swim lessons, scuba, kayak roll sessions - they have it all! It is such a wonderful asset to our community.. Give it a try! read more

Today we tried again and this place is ridiculous. We arrived right at 1 pm and my son and his friend got right in to the little kids' section. When we arrived some orange, blue and green balls were floating in the water in the little kids' section and the kids played with them for maybe 3 minutes. They then started playing with my son's dive toys. Ten minutes after they had touched one of the balls, a self righteous and rise lifeguard felt the need to come over to me to say "the balls need to stay in the deep end" in the snottiest tone of voice I've ever heard. I told him that it wasn't our problem that they were already there. Hey arcata pool if you are horribly organized about your inventory don't yell at me about it. A while later some white kids were playing with the balls in the same section and the lifeguards didn't say a WORD. Disorganized and rude? Check. Judgemental and mean? Check. Racist toward natives? Probably. Like a lot of other reviewers, we are fleeing to Health Sport as fast as our native legs can carry us! Almost every staff person at this pool manages to make us feel unwelcome. I have been using public pools for many years and my son's sport is swimming but we will never come back here. A very negative place. read more

This is the most frustrating place to bring my children to swim I've taken it for past 4 years an dealt with it an they're rude customer service I don't feel is fair I want it to be heard my youngest 5 year old has worked very hard to learn to swim to be able to go on the slide recently has gotten can swim above an under water with no struggle the Arcata pool picks an choose who they allow on there slide an are extremely rude about it my daughter has left in tears for the last time, stick to what ever rule u choose to go with many months ago Arcata pool said if the child is 4 foot tall or can swim can go on slide now they say must be 4 foot tall due to a liability the other child in line was older age 10 jus as small as mine who got told she couldn't go on it I'm so frustrated I spend alot of $ each month bringing my 3 an there friends often to go out to swim to be treated unfair healthsport here we come from now on the only one we will go too read more

Nice staff, great lessons and comfortable atmosphere. Pool is very comfortable, the swallow end is prefect for kids

The staff at this pool is incredibly rude and on considerate. The pool is over crowded and the children's swim classes are structure less jokes. Save your money and go elsewhere. Literally any body of water will be a better experience read more

This pool is a wonderful asset to our community. I go there frequently to swim laps and appreciate that I do not have to fit my schedule into a specific time frame. Lanes are always reserved for this. This pool meets the needs of all. Thank you Arcata Pool read more