I'm giving this super-modest community center a whopping 5 STARS. If I could give it a 10, I really would! It's totally old-school and that's why I like it. I used to work in the fitness industry for well over 10 years. In my former career, I was as a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, and also part of the fitness management team. I've been to facilities all over the USA, including South America, Europe and the Caribbean. I have quite the insight about fitness equipment, brands, what motivates people, and so forth. My point is, this modest facility has everything one could possibly need, but without all the overly- pretentious- unecessary-fluff and without the weirdos. They offer plenty of cardio options. The ellipticals were modern, in perfect condition, smooth and well maintained. Treadmills were smooth. Recumbent bikes and spin bikes were available. As I was checking in on yelp, there was a Spin class in progress. Folks were respectful on the indoor track. Interactive sports was a whole vibe! There were several pick-up basketball games happening, like 2 or 3 going on. And folks were talking plenty of smack! I was low-key watching the basketball drama as I was walk-jogging around the indoor track. Totally entertaining and hilarious. It was awesome! 2 Pickleball games were happening as well as volleyball games. In another room there was also a bunch of tables, I think it was a ping-pong room...?? They also offer an indoor skate night. I have no idea what that means or when it happens, lol!! I just saw a bunch of signs for skate rental, and a bunch of racks which housed thick plastic covers for the floor, I guess to make it smooth for indoor skating?? They have a machine weights circuit, a free weight/squat and leg press room, another weight room with dumbbells and other free weight exercise machines. There was an area for group-ex classes, so lighter dumbbells, steps, stretch mats, bands, weighted bars. I used this area to use the hand-held weights, cool down and stretch. And plenty of space on the side of the indoor track to do your own thing. I saw folks practicing volleyball, pickleball, and just independent exercises. This "community center" truly has it all and seriously, competitively compares to other fitness facilities in the area. It may not be as sleek, posh, and modern as your overly-priced $80 - $200 per month facilities, and lacks towel service, steam room, sauna, and locker rooms. However, the equipment is the same! And you have an indoor track, which most gyms do not offer and plenty of social and interactive sports. I came on a Wednesday evening after work, and it was not overly crowded inside. Outside parking was a pinch tricky, but I was able to secure a spot. I enjoyed working out here. I would like to come here once or twice per month, to offset the monotony of my current X-Sport, recently bought out by LA Fitness gym membership that has a lot of run-down, broken equipment for months without repair. It reminds me of going to the campus gym in my college years. Very nostalgic! Anyways...highly recommend. read more

See all

This facility works for indoor track events. That's one major part of this center. It is strange that this is connected to a couple schools. There's a community center. I'll say it definitely needs to be upgraded. Time is back in the day there, with outdated options for especially young folks. There is good parking here. Before you laugh, Arlington is known for this being a major challenge. For once you can pull in, without a meter or parallel parking! There's some okay basketball hoops here. Also little kids will enjoy the climbing and playground equipment. This is a family friendly place. My hope is they will update it in the near term. read more

See all

A nice facility for a workout. Roomy, plenty of ventilation, a reasonable amount of equipment.

Very nice facility when they are open! There are hours of operation but they vary almost daily. One cannot go by the posted hours and must call the facility prior to see if they are open, or open in that part of the center you are interested in using. Very frustrating. This week I went there twice only to find they were closed contrary to posted website hours. Keeping public informed is not a priority. read more

Great community center to get a non-competitive game of pickup basketball going. There's also soccer, tennis, and games of Quiddich? Plenty of parking, it felt fairly safe. read more

Inexpensive, clean, but the downsides are they aren't open on Sunday's. Some of the equipment is old but you get what you pay for. There's some discounts for 55 years and older. The parking is decent and it's fairly safe. There's free pickle ball there too! read more

By far the best pick-up basketball games I've played in Arlington have been here. Only knock is that you have to pay $5 to play and $10 if you're a non-resident. They are pretty strict with providing proper identification too, though my friends and I've always been able to talk our way out of it. You could also play $115 for a yearlong pass, but there are too many free outdoor courts in Arlington (including two right outside the center) for me to bother with that once the temperature tops 60. I guess it is possible that you're supposed to pay to play at Langston Brown or Walter Reed, too, but I've just unknowingly been a delinquent every time I've gone. At TJ, there are four full courts and a half court, although most times I've seen two courts taken for volleyball (at least on Tuesdays nights and Saturday afternoons when I go; by the way, of the two sports that reward height and jumping ability, volleyball definitely has the better-looking women). On the two courts that remain for basketball, it's clear one has varsity talent and the other is holding JV practice. Lots of good, competitive runs on the varsity court. On the JV court I've seen games go for five full minutes without anyone scoring, and that's too similar to my style so I can't go there. Games are to 11 points or 15 minutes, and there's a scorekeeper/timekeeper who also manages who gets to play next. On Tuesday nights, it's not tough to get into a game. On Saturday afternoons, expect the waitlist to be 30-45 minutes for a varsity game. But if you're looking for some pick-up talent to play against in Arlington, this is where you'll find it. read more

If you're looking for a basic gym at a good price - the gym at Thomas Jefferson Community Center is perfect. It is a great place to go if you want to save on what you pay to join a gym. You can join the Arlington County fitness program for a fraction of the price of private gyms. In addition to Thomas Jefferson, Arlington has fitness centers in a slew of other community centers. The fitness center at TJ has all the equipment you really need: bikes, elliptical, stair machines, rowing machines, and a variety of weights/lifting machines. They even have personal trainers. The gym is in a huge gym (used by the middle school) that has a track, and basketball courts. They even provide towels. The one disadvantage of this place and the Arlington County fitness program in general is that classes are extra (usually $5 per class in addition to cost of membership). read more

TJ skate nights are a wonderful community offering Saturday nights October to March. Families with children ages 5-11 can skate for a nominal fee from 6:30pm-9pm. Refreshments are sold as well. Even great for novice skaters as skating walkers available but cost $5 to borrow...wish they were available to every skater who needs them at no cost as seems like a safety issue. Families who wish to skate line up outside to pay admission fee ($5 to skate or $2 to watch); line moves quickly. Parking free but lot small. Staff very responsive and helpful. They also have indoor bounce house on site, an extra charge. A great cold weather family outing option. Thanks TJ and Arlington County for making this available! read more

Sports galore! This is a huge gym for Arlington. There are four, rubber surfaced basketball courts surrounded by a running track. There is fitness equipment along the southern end of the gym. This place is not that crowded unless there is basketball or roller skating. read more

Thomas Jefferson Community Center is a world class place for everyone. The center equipped with just about everything you really need. I have been a regular user for 15 years. It is spacious with great staffers, great atmosphere for workout under newly installed LED light, decent participants, generous open hours.... Remember this is a public community center in Arlington, Va., it is lucky for Arlington residents having such a nice place to go and for non-residents who will pay a little more, but still a great bargain fee as compare to commercial gym. I want to mention again that this is a truly world class community center, I am a world traveler, I have not seen any community center in all over the world even close to Thomas Jefferson Community Center! You must to see and feel it for yourself. read more

The Art Studio is great! They have special workshops for Girl Scouts (and Boy Scouts) at very reasonable prices. I took my Brownie troop (2nd and 3rd graders) for a Pottery workshop to earn their Potter badge. They had a wonderful time! They made pinch pots to start, then modified them according to their own preferences and added eyes, mustaches, etc. I was impressed with the patience of the staff - and with the imagination the girls showed with so little experience. Every Girl Scout troop would enjoy similar workshops. We paid just $15 per girl, and we asked each family to contribute $5 toward the cost, so the troop paid $10. All the supplies, aprons and tools were provided. Such a deal! read more