About
The YMCA of Alaska Lake Otis, situated at 5353 Lake Otis Pkwy, Anchorage, AK 99507, USA, is a comprehensive community fitness and recreation center. It features a modern fitness area with cardio and weight equipment, an indoor track, studios for various group exercise classes, two indoor swimming pools (a lap pool and a program pool), a hot tub, and a sauna. The facility also offers extensive youth programs, including swim lessons and childcare services, catering to diverse community needs.
The Lap Pool at the YMCA of Alaska Lake Otis is maintained at 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Program Pool is kept warmer at 86-88 degrees Fahrenheit. The whirlpool typically operates at 102-104 degrees Fahrenheit.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? The reviews for the YMCA present a mixed, though largely negative, perspective. Positive feedback highlights the gym's cleanliness, friendly atmosphere, variety of cardio and strength equipment, competitive membership prices, and a strong sense of community. The Child Watch workers are especially praised as wonderful and caring. Conversely, significant criticisms include unhelpful staff who provide poor guidance, leading to frustrating experiences for new guests unable to locate facilities. Other common complaints involve overcrowded and dirty locker rooms, frequent equipment malfunctions (especially treadmills) with slow repair times, and a pool schedule that prioritizes water aerobics, leaving lap swimmers out of luck. A particularly distressing review details an incident where a child with autism was removed from a swim class without prior notification, privacy, or a second chance, due to other parents' complaints, pointing to a lack of empathy and professional conduct from management.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
-
Good for Children
-
Accepts Credit Cards
-
Accessible Entrance
-
Accessible Restroom
Reviews
Listing Reviews
August 19th, 2025Ellee Telford
Very clean and friendly gym! I am impressed with the variety of cardio and strength equipment. Definitely all you need to get a great workout. Also can’t beat the YMCA membership prices!
June 3rd, 2025Gabby Bocko
I love the facility and the sense of community that the YMCA has more than anything. However, the best part of the YMCA is how wonderful and caring the Child Watch workers are. I don’t know what I would’ve done as a new mom without them being so kind, both to me and my son. My son adores them, and it feels really good knowing he has more adults in his life that look after him and he can trust. They’re the gem of the YMCA.
July 11th, 2025Brooke Vigorito
Terrible! The staff don’t help at all. I asked the front where the “youth workout room was” because the lady at the front told me my kids could workout in the “youth room.” I literally just signed in as a guest and it was my first day. They told me “go upstairs” I asked the guy upstairs at the desk “where is the youth area for my kids to workout?” Told him that it was our first day and that the lady at the front told me to come upstairs for the youth room. He told me “go downstairs and talk to the front” at this point it was completely just frustrating that no one would help or actually tell me where said “youth room” for my kids to workout in was and or show me where it was. Literally my kids and I just left without working out. Extremely frustrating to come to a place to workout and the staff won’t get off their butts to actually tell you and show you where stuff is. We never found the “youth area” that they told us about since no one would show us after asking 3 staff members about it.
April 2nd, 2025Keith Washburn
Overcrowded dirty locker rooms , if you want to lap swim forget it the pool caters to water aerobics swimmer are just out of luck even though we pay the same. Equipment is frequently out of service especially the tread mills and they are slow to fix. On the bright side the the employees are very pleasant and helpful to bad they are stuck dealing with the mess given to them by the management that could care less about the people that actually pay to use the facilities.
June 5th, 2025Mariana Rivera Gonzalez
I just experienced such an awful situation at the YMCA of Anchorage in Lake Otis. My son, who is autistic, and his neurotypical sister were both enrolled in the preschool swimming class. The first class was last Monday, June 2nd, at 6 p.m. My autistic son was very excited, and yes, I admitted he didn’t have the best listening ears, but he loves the water. So we showed up today to the class after talking to him about the importance of listening due to safety. He was ready to listen this time. We arrived 15 minutes early, and he sat quietly and waited for his lesson to start. As we walked to his instructor to take them to the pool, she told us that we needed to see the manager, Steve, who showed up right there at the poolside and started to talk. He told us that we needed to get him into a private lesson because the other 2 parents complained, and they were about to pull the kids out of the class. Remind you I have both kids right there in front of him while he says that, both in swimsuits and ready to go to their class. The YMCA team couldn’t call me or email me earlier; they couldn’t do this in private, even when they had 48 hours to do so. The other two parents were right there too, smiling and taking pictures of their children while they were in the pool. They didn’t give my son another chance. The manager, Steve, didn’t even want to observe the class to see if my son was listening. There were no signs, there were no prior emails or phone calls, there was no privacy, and he spoke those words in front of my ready-to-swim children. I’m hurt, I might be overreacting, but this could have been handled so much better.
Leave a review
Opening Hours
| Sunday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 5:30 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 5:30 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 5:30 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Thursday | 5:30 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Friday | 5:30 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Saturday | 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
Drop Us a Line