NW alternatives to Wilson Pool?

Submitted by nitacious t3_11qbchb in washingtondc

I live in AU Park, typically would get over to the Wilson pool a couple times a week for a swim. With Wilson being offline for the indeterminate future, I'm trying to figure out my alternatives. The closest alternatives appear to be Marie Reed, Takoma, and Roosevelt.

Would appreciate any feedback on these pools - cleanliness, quality of facilities, parking availability, how crowded (i typically swim around mid-day on weekdays), etc. Keep in mind my baseline for comparison is Wilson, so I'm not exactly expecting the Ritz-Carlton here.

I used to live over by Marie Reed (though I wasn't swimming at the time), so I already know the parking situation over there is a mess. Other than that I don't really know anything about these other pools. appreciate any advice you can provide!

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DannyDougherty t1_jc2srf7 wrote

Takoma has a parking lot. There's not dedicated parking at Roosevelt or Marie Reed (w/ Roosevelt probably having a bit easier neighborhood parking). Also, if you're gonna drive, Turkey Thicket has a parking lot and might be worth adding to your mix.

Roosevelt is a school pool and not a parks one. It used to be open only outside school hours but I think that changed. Might be worth swinging by but being prepared with a backup pool in mind.

As to facilities.

Marie Reed redid the locker rooms and deck a few years ago. It's nothing fancy but a relatively clean, new pool these days.

Likewise, Turkey Thicket redid the locker rooms a few years ago. Again, nothing fancy but clean enough (bonus they have a hot tub if you used that at Wilson).

Takoma is a distinctly larger pool. I've not been since it recently reopened, but it was redone (and had nice locker rooms beforehand). Previously it was short course configured with a bulkhead between the diving well and lap swim area, which meant it was a safe bet even when programs were going on.

Roosevelt is a pretty standard high school pool. You share the locker room with the school. The deck and lanes are in good shape and it's one of the less crowded pools I've been to (though I usually swim in the evenings!) Sometimes you get youth programs, but they tend to stick in the two lanes that are not for lap swim (this can be a pain if you're in the last lane, but generally never has been an issue for me).

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NPRjunkieDC t1_jc2b8ja wrote

Marie Reed, weekdays when school is in session is limited to 6-8:30/9am + 5-8pm or something like that .

It's smaller than Wilson, so usually 2-3 per lane

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DCTom t1_jc6eaqq wrote

Yeah, I haven’t been to Marie Reed since pre-pandemic, but it was too crowded for me…two per lane is OK, but 3 is too much for me…

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AlphaStormyFire t1_jc5g3e7 wrote

Try them all out. My favorite 2 are takoma and turkey thicket. I heard Dunbar is great too.

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AnnaPhor t1_jc4g6vy wrote

Are there any updates on the Wilson situation? I too am missing my weekly swim, and none of the alternatives are properly situated for me.

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mastakebob t1_jc6y91b wrote

Nope. Informally we've heard that dpr doesn't have a contractor available to do real fixes, so they're trynna to patchwork things to get health dept approval, but that things keep breaking (and the high humidity doesn't help).

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mastakebob t1_jc70yos wrote

Wilson gonna be closed for a while, I think. Marie Reed I haven't been to in years, but it was pretty old and run down when I did go, it may have been renno'd since then? Takoma is the 2nd nicest pool behind Wilson. Large, modern. Good water temp, good air. Locker room is a bit run down. I've never been to Roosevelt.

DC Aquatics Club (adult swim team; Masters swimming) swims regularly at Takoma, and will be getting some lanes at Roosevelt this week as a result of Wilson closing. We also swim at Deanwood and Gallaudet, if you're looking for a structured, coached workout with reserved lanes and swimmers of all ages, including social events. Our practice schedule is here: https://www.swimdcac.org/page.cfm?pagetitle=Calendar. We offer 2 free trial swims for prospective members.

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docdc t1_jcdlgzh wrote

What's the skinny on why Wilson is to be closed for so long?

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nitacious OP t1_jcdvq9q wrote

not a lot of info out there. New DCist post out today makes it sound like there's just a lot of work that needs to be done to get back up to code

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