I am going to be heading to Boston for a 14 week consulting assignment at the end of this month (though to the end of April) and need help finding a pool where I can train while I am there. I amhoping that there might be some folks out there that can provide me with some guidance. I am going to be staying on India Street (Financial District/Waterfront) and will not have access to a car, so that facility will have to be withing walking/running distance (say two miles maximum).
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
**I did do a search and didn’t see any other threads about this…sorry if my post is redundant…then again you all will be sure to let me know if it is. *
1 LA Sports club HUGE money
2. YMCA never been (Chinatown)
3. BSC have 2 pools within 2 miles not a bad gig get a 30 day pass for 30 then roll to new member then when you move you can cancel because its more than 20 miles away.
Oh yea swim in the ocean.
In the spring/summer we do open water swims at walden pond. Decent running but no hills.
Boston University has a masters group. Very nice pool, I’d check that out. Not sure if that is within your radius. The Harvard pool is also quite nice but that is probably too far for you.
BSC pool by South Station is the closest option to where you’ll be. I used to swim there regularly since it was across the street from the building where I worked so I would go during lunch or after work. Decent pool but it has an odd setup where it is in the basement of the building and has the middle separated by support columns, essentially splitting the pool in half with two lanes on each side. One lane is about 22 yds and the other 20 due to the space constraints, but the pool itself is in good shape and as the other reply suggests, likely your best option from a cost standpoint.
Best pool in the area is across the river at MIT; it’s the only university pool in the area where you do not need to be affiliated with the school in some way in order to use it. Been a few years since I last swam there but the drop-in rate was $12 at the time. Well worth it where it is an excellent facility.
Cambridge Masters… It’s not walking distance, but you can take the T to Harvard Square and walk across the river from there to the Harvard aquatic facility. There are many practice options throughout the week - always a solid workout. Also, you can pay monthly.
BSC in South End has a nice pool with great hours. Open Monday-Friday 5 AM - 11PM and weekends 8AM-8 PM. There are 4 lanes, with large windows so you don’t feel like you are in a dungeon like the BSC in Back Bay or South Station. They also have well maintained spinning bikes if you have shoes with SPD clips if you are looking for a bike to ride.
All the pools downtown suck, plain and simple. Most are not 25yd and have limited lanes (3ish tops). The university pools are great. MIT is probably the most accessible from where you are - take the red line from Downtown Crossing to Kendall Square and its a 3 block walk. They have the most rec time and also have a good master’s program that swims almost every morning, afternoon, and evening. The water is a bit on the crisp side (78ish) relative to the others, but it is a full 50m pool (currently setup as SCY), has a small teaching pool with lanes, and has a second pool facility (Alumni) just in case the team is practicing.
Harvard (Cambridge Masters) is usually crowded but has solid workouts. Can’t comment on BU.
Just a follow up for anyone that is looking to swim while in Boston. I joined BSC (Boston Sports Club) on Atlantic Ave. (near South Station) about two weeks ago and after about 10 days decided to cancel my membership there (last Thursday). The pool is in the basement of the building and is definitely not 25 yds long. It is a good option for someone that has to get there swimming done with no other options, but it just wasn’t going to work for me (very depressing atmosphere). I have joined the MIT rec center with a month by month membership ($100/month, no initiation fees or hidden costs).
The pool is perfect and I will also have access to the entire facility which is amazing (tons of spin bikes, classes, ice skating rink, squash courts, etc.). I don’t think I will use a fraction of what they offer. I highly recommend that if anyone is in Boston for a short time or long term, that they take advantage of the MIT facility ($15 for a day pass).
Cheers and thanks again for all of the suggestions I had received.
MIT will be bit of a hike, but could tie it in with a run, BSC in Copley i think is much better then one in south station, neither great options…i swam in BSC Copley for yrs and it will serve you just fine, at least lanes are 25 yards.
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