Cub Run Recreational Center

I’ve been to 3 different Fairfax County Rec Centers and this has been the best so far, with regards to the pool. Oak Marr comes close second.
I can only speak for the pool, but it’s a good size with plenty of lifeguards. The water is clean and even though they have many classes there, we usually don’t have to wait too long for a lane to open (we mostly go after work on weekdays). The locker rooms aren’t too shabby either. Granted, at the end of a long day after children have been in and out, it’s not the freshest but I do appreciate the shower stalls with solid doors. While Oak Marr may have a bigger pool, their showers only have curtains for doors, and no towel hooks. Water pressure is also better at Cub Run.
Drop-​in fee for adults is $ 8, which isn’t too bad. During the school year, the competition pool is closed in the late afternoons until 6pm. Staff at the front desk is friendly and efficient.

This facility is pretty close to my house, so I stop by often when I can.
Whenever I bring my little cousins, they get very excited about the slides. You can see it from the outside and it looks even better inside. It brings out the kid in me to go on the slides, the whirlpool, little slides with water fountains, and the diving boards. They have a lot of staff to watch by if someone was drowning. The pool area is probably what people come to this place for, but there’s more.
The gym is good since they have one of everything. They seem to always be updating and adding more to their gyms, which is great. I have talked to some of the personal trainers and can say they care a lot about their clients and are passionate to help.
They have a lot of activities for decent prices, so you can find almost anything to do and learn here.
They have good amounts of parking, I can always find a spot.
Lastly I reccomended something to them and actually applied it, they’re open minded and that’s good.
They’ll sometimes give samples and snacks at the entrance.
I reccomend this place!

Nice facility with very friendly staff. This is our first time visiting the pool area and the leisure pool is great for younger kids and there are plenty of lanes for the adults to swim laps in the competitive pool. My kids enjoyed sliding down the slides and playing on the water park. While I relaxed in the hot tub and lazy river and could still keep an eye on them. There are plenty of lifeguards and room for everyone to play and still have a good time. The bathrooms were clean and they have lockers for you to put your valuables. We just left ours on a bench and were fine with that. A nice indoor pool is hard to find, especially with this many activities for the kids. We will be back!

This place is great. They have exercise rooms, group class rooms, the pools, and my favorite INDOOR WATER SLIDES! Had a couple of my son’s Birthday Parties here and have always had a great time. They have private party rooms and are very accommodating. Kids and I had a blast. Well worth it. Even if you just need some time to unwind, much better than waiting around at some water park. Just wait for the adult swim in the large hot tub. It is great.

Went there Friday after getting the kids from school. It’s a little bit of a hike from Alexandria (almost to Dulles airport) but well worth it, especially for the cost of a normal recreation center admission. The center and pool area are huge and almost pristine clean! The kids and their friends had so much fun on the water slides. Our kindergartener was a little shy of the 48 inch height for the slides but loved the lazy river, whirlpool, and the splash area with a mini slide. I also enjoyed the slides and making a human train with the kids while in the whirlpool. The adults only jacuzzi spa was very nice and I still had a view of the kids. Kids also enjoyed the nice outdoor park area after the pool as well. Staff were super friendly and professional.

Always a friendly staff and facilities are generally clean. Make sure you look at their schedule online before using their swimming pool. Only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is because the one time admission fee (I don’t need more than 4 – 6 swims a month) for a one time session is $ 8 as a county resident. $ 8 for 40 minutes of swimming… hmmm

Just finished winter swimming lessons after 4 classes got cancelled. Average instructors at the best except one — David. Unprofessional behavior from instructors including screaming at kids while giving lessons to them. Frustrated aquatics director who is also extremely unresponsive. They are only interested in completing the class and not focused on making the child learn swimming. Would rather pay double elsewhere.

This review is based solely on the swimming facilities and lessons offered for kids. We’ve taken two sets of lessons here and have always been happy with both the instructors and the rec center.
The Kid-​and-​Me lessons allow a parent to go in the water with the kiddo, and 30 minutes are filled with the basics of swimming: blowing bubbles, kicking, paddling arms, etc. There is usually a class or two where the kids play in the splash area or use the lazy river.
Lifeguards are ever-​present and patrolling the waters.
Beyond the Men’s and Women’s locker rooms, there are a handful of «family» rooms for group/​mixed-​sex changing. I’d prefer families with older kids use these if they don’t feel comfortable sending their child in the appropriate locker room alone. Having 6 year old boys in the Women’s room is not my favorite.
Biggest challenges: parking on a Saturday morning can be tough, so give yourself time and be prepared to park far away and walk. Take 2 quarters for the lockers — it’s just $.25, but I’ve had quarters get stuck or lockers malfunction and wished I’d had an extra.

Went to a birthday party hosted here recently and have to say that I’m fairly impressed with the facility and kind of jealous. I may not have checked everywhere available in Montgomery County thoroughly but from what I know there’s no indoor pool facility in Montgomery County that compares to this in terms of the facility and cost.
The indoor leisure pool has a little playground structure in it that includes a slide that goes into a foot or two feet of water. Which is perfect for toddlers and they had a blast on. The indoor pool in Germantown does have water slides but they go into deeper water, so probably isn’t a great idea for younger kids who can’t swim. The Rockville pool does have a similar and more elaborate structure but is next to the outdoor pool and I’m not sure what the rules for it are.
Life vests are readily available. And they have some nice playground equipment outside, but maybe better suited for older kids because they go kind of high up.
The gym in this facility is pretty impressive as well. Where it has all the basics that you would need in a gym. Some of the equipment looks maybe not the highest end of the equipment but at least they offer it. It’s been a while since I really looked at all of the gyms available through the county and local governments in Montgomery County, but nothing I saw compares to what this gym offers, especially when taking into account the access to pools as well. I have to admit I haven’t checked out some of the gym facilities around Montgomery County in more than 15 years but did explore some of the local pools and community centers within the last five years or so.
The lobby area has a neat little cubby area that contains nature related things like a turtle shell, a skeleton of a back, shells, etc, for kids to explore and look at.
The cost of membership might be kind of pricy for an individual but there is more value in it once you look at memberships for two people or families.
The price for birthday parties is pretty good if I understand it correctly. At this center the total is about $ 110 that includes admissions for 12 swimmers:
The rates in Montgomery County looks like its $ 100 for the rental PLUS admission fees for anyone going to the pool area, both kids and adults:
One area I found kind of lacking was that the shower area was kind of limited. At most other pools I’ve been to, the showers are along a wall in an entire room. The locker room here is huge but they only have one row of shower stalls along a wall and are very cramped in the stall as well.
I’m not fully familiar with this area. ie if this is considered standard for the area or there are better places around at similar prices. And am not sure how crowded this place gets. But I hope the people local to here know what this place has to offer and takes advantage of having it available to them.

I came here for a baby shower, so I didn’t get to see the whole facility. But it looked really nice and clean. There was a workout room right when you walk in which looked full of lots of equipment. We were in one of the multipurpose rooms that was clean and open. Off that room was a play area with a nice playground. This place has a huge parking lot and is in a good location.

I always enjoy coming to Cub Run RECenter. I’ve been coming here since I moved to this area 14 years ago. I used to bring the kids to the pool and for birthday parties when they were younger; I’ve taken classes here like yoga and zumba; most recently I started using their workout room when other facilities became too expensive. Yes, they are the most reasonable in the area when it comes to the high cost of joining a gym.
The facility is always clean and attractive. Some of the equipment is starting to show its age a bit, with slightly rusted parts but nothing that would be dangerous. So it’s just aesthetics. I see new equipment in there as well, so it seems they do update as much as they can and when necessary. They have all the same variety of machines that the high priced places have, so why pay more? I did notice they don’t play the «pumped up» background music like at LifeTime, which I kind of miss since it motivates me. But I understand that music is a personal choice, and if I want that music to keep me going I’ll bring my iPhone and a pair of ear buds. There are televisions scattered near the treadmills that can keep you amused while you get your heart pumping. If you have a music player with a radio, you can tune in to the frequency to hear what’s happening on the show you’re watching. All of the equipment was in working condition and the area is spacious.
There are two separate pools, one is the family pool complete with water features and slides. The other pool is strictly for laps and swim team competitions. Both are always in great shape, large, and clean. There is also a massive hot tub that looks like it could hold 20 people.
The locker rooms are also kept in good shape and you can get a locker for 25 cents. They are a little tricky to work when you don’t know how, but once I asked someone it was easy. Signage would help for those who can’t figure it out (like me!).
Aside from the pools and gym, there are rooms available for parties and classes. With membership, there is a full schedule of drop in classes. What’s not to like?

A large recreational facility that includes a grand pool area. One that features two water slides and a water playground. This is the highlight of the entire facility for me because I’ve been bringing a very large group of children here for years. They have such a blast!
The leisure pool includes a 30ft high slide that exits the building in an enclosed tube, a 20ft high slide with an open tube, a hot tub, a swirling vortex, a smaller version of a Lazy River, an open shallow water area and a water playground area for the wee ones. It’s also patroled by numerous lifegaurds around the entire perimeter, including each slide. I always feel like there are plenty of eyes on all the kids, at all times.
Because it’s indoors, the fun here can be enjoyed year-​round! The price for non-​member drop in pass isn’t unreasonable either. So go ahead… make your kid’s eyes light up like the 4^th of July when you tell ‘em you’re taking them swimming in January!

This review is for the pools only. They are probably the best /​largest /​most elaborate with the Fairfax rec center system. Lots of fun for kids and grownups alike. For the grownups, a large hot tub is conveniently located near the kids’ swimming areas.
So here’s why I gave this place 3 out of 5 stars: the Nazi lifeguards. What a bunch of clueless idiots. They patrol the pool areas fanatically, constantly blowing their whistles at every perceived infraction (like spotting kids having too much fun). I especially enjoy watching them get frustrated when a very young child doesn’t respond to – or even notice — when they blow their whistles to get that child’s attention to «correct» an «infraction.» No common sense or good judgment in this bunch.

I’ve been going here for something like three years. The price is fairly typical of some of the higher end gyms and they run %15 percent off discounts ever few months. You can buy either month, quarter year, or year long packages at a time.
I go in the mornings when it opens and it is generally not crowded and I have my choice of barbells to work with. I can do deadlifts here (unlike planet fitness) and use chalk. There is only one squat rack, which isn’t terrible when the gym isn’t crowded. I wish there were at least two though. There is also a platform that you can use for rack pulls and zercher squats in a pinch.
The choice of two pools (one god kids and one for adults) is nice. I’ve found the staff generally very helpful and nice — at least the morning crew as they are the ones I generally interact with.

We come here with the family on a regular basis. The kids love to go crazy in the water slides and the lazy river while the adults really enjoy some work out in the lap pool and some rest in the whirlpool. The admission of $ 16 for a family is real value for money. The facility is always nice and clean and there is soap/​shampoo in the showers. The only drawback is the sound volume in the pool which can be somewhat overwhelming, especially on a school holiday or a snow day. Don’t forget to bring a quarter for the locker.

I use to come here to the gym a couple years ago and it wasn’t too bad. It’s kinda weird with people standing in front of the windows waiting and staring at you while you trying to work out and probably laughing. However, it’s clean and spacious. I’ve taken some classes here like zumba and the instructors are very nice and they are pretty good at what they do. I have also been here for an infant’s swim class and the instructor was amazing.
The pools are very nice. They have a huge lap pool and on the other side are the slides and play area for kids and a hot tub. It’s usually not busy unless you go in the morning on weekends. That’s when they have all the swim classes and birthday parties.
They have some big rooms in this center for birthday parties too where it’s big enough for a table and kids to run around in. The staff is awesome, they are all mostly young but they are very good at customer service. Never had a problem here.
The value is great for a drop in for the pool and gym. The gym memberships are actually not even outrageous as you’s think. They do have discounts for students also.
It’s obviously going to be crowded with people because who doesn’t want to go to the pool all year round? Kids are going to be everywhere, so you can’t expect a pool all to yourself unless you go at non-​peak hours. And of course if you go at busy times at the gym, what can you expect? Everyone wants to go after work.

We just had our 4-​yr old’s birthday party here and the experience was EXCELLENT.
The staff was phenomenal, the price was reasonable, the ‘party room’ was set up and ready to go on time, and the pool was clean and perfect for the kids! The staff cleaned up after us and were always asking what else could be done.
We got to play in the indoor pool for 1:15 and then had the party room for another hour. The larger party room opened up into a huge playground with 2 large structures which was ours to use as we pleased.
When we were in the pool we were very happy to see how ‘on it’ the lifeguards were. They were never sitting and staffed well. They were nice but very focused on their job. The pool also offers the kids floatation vests at no additional cost in various sizes.
We will be back!

Loved it. I’m a lap swimmer so by me being here and just having the peace of being able to change quickly and not be overrun by kids was exciting for me. Much better than others that I’ve been to.

The crown jewel of Fairfax County Recreation Centers. It’s awesome! Let’s review…
The bad…
*Indifferent, young staff. It should not take more than 5 minutes to scan my id & collect my $ 8.
The good…
*Workout equipment that’s in pretty good shape, newer beautiful building, awesome swim options.
**I visit for yoga class, cardio equipment, or laps in the pool. This past weekend we brought our preschooler to play in the kid’s leisure pool (while we took turns going down the adult slides!) It was 2+ hours of happiness. :)
Oh, yes, we’ll be back.

Ehh this place is only okay. I might be spoiled and used to the phenomenal gyms of Southern California, but I still expect more than half the treadmills to work when I want to run.
There’s typically a line to get in (the swipe system is laaaame) and it’s insanely expensive ($ 4.50 for students, $ 6 for everyone else).
At least the equipment is new-​ish. Minus, obviously, the treadmills.