Berkeley YMCA

About

The Berkeley YMCA, located at 2001 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, is a community hub offering a wide array of programs for all ages, including fitness facilities, group exercise classes, youth development programs, and aquatic activities. It typically features a well-equipped fitness center, gymnasium, and multiple swimming pools.

The Berkeley YMCA commonly features two distinct pools: a lap pool, generally maintained at a cooler temperature of around 79-80°F (26-27°C) for exercise, and a warmer recreation or therapy pool, typically kept at approximately 88-90°F (31-32°C) for comfort and rehabilitation.

What are people saying (AI review summary)? This YMCA receives mixed reviews, often praised for its good equipment, value, and general cleanliness. Some patrons also highlight friendly and helpful front desk staff. However, significant issues include severe overcrowding, particularly between 3-5 PM when high schoolers are present, making equipment access difficult and creating a busy, sometimes chaotic, atmosphere. The facility is frequently described as cramped, with small rooms for weights and cardio, and small locker rooms. Additionally, it is not considered family-friendly, lacking programs or spaces for kids and parents. One review strongly criticizes the staff for rudeness and issues with a broken payment system, leading to a recommendation against joining due to poor management.

Location

Gallery

Amenities

• Accepts Credit Cards
• Accessible Entrance
• Accessible Restroom

Reviews

Listing Reviews

April 8th, 2025

SIL ROH

I really try to like the Y in Berkeley. BUT Everything is geared towards high schoolers,which is okay, but kids and families are squeezed in between 3 to 5 and a couple of hours over the weekend. There are no dance or yoga classes for kids. Parents can't take their kids in any room other than the pool and probably basketball. I only choose the y because it is close to my home. I wish there was a Y for families. Where parents can take a class together with their kids or where childcare is offered.

May 3rd, 2025

Eliseo Pachuca Lazo

Id give this a 5 star if it weren't for the fact that it can get pretty congested. If you go before ~3pm its a lot better, but when the local highschool and other people come in, you'll have to work in on basically all the equitment. They do have all of the standard equipment you'd find in a gym. Variety isn't an issue, its just volume. I would not recommend this place if youre anxious about working out in crowds.

March 30th, 2025

Osmedy Vera

I been to the down town Oakland one on a regular and this one in Berkeley is cramped. The free weights machines room is small. The cardio is all over in small rooms. The locker rooms are small too with tiny lockers. They do keep it clean and the staff is friendly.

January 11th, 2025

Haejin Lee

I’ve hesitated to write this review for a while. But the situation was so bad that I decided to write this review out. I’ve been going to this gym for over a year now. But there are so many issues here. The workers are extremely rude. Their system is broken. My partner and I have been issues with their payment system. This happened a total of 5 times. They would inform us that the payment has gone through online but when I would try to get in the entrance I would be confronted in a unkind manner from multiple workers that I had insufficient balance. Today was my last straw. I had confrontation and I would just take insults but I don’t want to have bad energy in a area I’m trying to better myself. I recommend to not go to this gym it’s badly managed, busy always due to high schoolers that also throw around equipment.

January 22nd, 2025

Jon A.

tl;dr: Solid YMCA with good equipment and friendly staff. Watch out for kid hours; overall, it is great value for money. This YMCA gets the job done. The gym area is well-stocked, especially with that dedicated powerlifting room. The front desk staff is cool and helpful, and having indoor bike parking is awesome. Most machines work fine even if they're not top-of-the-line, and there's plenty of space for them to upgrade in the future. Just a heads up, avoid coming between 3 and 5 p.m. unless you want to deal with a lot of kids doing their P.E. stuff. Other than that timing issue, you're getting good value here. The clear posted hours and straightforward amenities make it easy to plan your workouts. For what you're paying, it's a solid choice for getting your fitness on.