About
The State College YMCA, located at 677 W Whitehall Rd, State College, PA, serves as a vital community hub offering a wide array of programs and facilities for all ages. It typically provides access to a fitness center, gymnasium, group exercise classes, youth sports, childcare, and various aquatic programs in its indoor pools, focusing on health, wellness, and community engagement.
Specific pool temperatures for the State College YMCA are not widely advertised publicly. However, typical YMCA facilities often maintain their lap pools between 78-82°F (25.5-27.7°C) and their warmer instructional or therapy pools in the range of 86-90°F (30-32.2°C).
What are people saying (AI review summary)? The reviews paint a mixed, yet largely critical, picture of the YMCA. On the positive side, the facility is commended for being well-equipped with a wide range of machines, free weights, and cardio equipment, often surpassing other gyms. It is considered 'adequate' and offers comprehensive amenities including lap and therapy pools, various classes, activities, and child care at a reasonable price, leading some members to consistently return despite trying other gyms. Staff, particularly lifeguards, are consistently praised for being kind, professional, and helpful. However, significant negative feedback focuses on two main areas: management/leadership and pool availability. Leadership is described as inadequate, making decisions based on fear and optics, rather than understanding and developing people. Higher management is accused of being disrespectful, overworking and underpaying staff, neglecting employee well-being and air quality in pool areas, and prioritizing money over people. The youth leadership program specifically suffers from inconsistent direction, poor conflict resolution, and favoritism, failing to inspire or develop participants. A major point of frustration for members is the extremely limited open swim hours, with the pool frequently closed for events, making it inconvenient for those with regular work schedules and leading to disappointment and cancellations.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
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Parking Lot
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Accessible Entrance
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Accessible Restroom
Reviews
Listing Reviews
September 10th, 2025Brandon Cammarano
Very nice YMCA with plenty of machines, free weights, and cardio equipment. More well equipped than most.
August 14th, 2025Yueru Chen
Update: After some reflection, I’m still disappointed about the limited pool availability, but I want to be fair in my rating. The staff—especially the lifeguards—are always kind, professional, and helpful. My frustration is with the scheduling, not the people. Original review: I joined the YMCA mainly to swim, but the open swim hours are extremely limited and not friendly to people who work regular business hours. Almost every time I come, the pool is closed for yet another event. Today it’s closed again for a “movie night” — on a sunny Sunday afternoon. You can host a movie night in countless other places, but I can only swim in a pool! I’m cancelling my membership because the facility I’m paying for is almost never available. I even met someone who drove a long distance for rehab and was turned away. This is a huge disappointment and shows poor consideration for members who rely on the pool.
August 7th, 2025Tiffany Zinn
Higher management at this location is disrespectful and does not care about their employees or members. They treat staff horrible. don't care about air quality in the pool areas, over work and underpay staff and don't care about the wellbeing of their staff members, they only care about money. If you care at all about employers treatment of staff I would look anywhere else for a gym. Would give a 0 star if i could.
June 19th, 2025L Fagen
Leadership at this facility is less than adequate and is cause for deep concern. They make decisions out of fear and because of optics, rather than diving into situations, understanding context, and developing people. Though the CEO will tell you he has 27 years of experience, you wouldn’t know this through interactions with him; it’s not exemplified by a confident, intelligent, empowered staff; and it’s certainly not evidenced by robust programs that teach-coach-mentor young people to become future leaders. While I had high expectations for a program designed to cultivate youth leaders, I have unfortunately found the quality of leadership and guidance provided to be lacking in several key areas. Effective leadership—especially in a youth-centered initiative—should be rooted in integrity, clear communication, consistency, and the ability to inspire growth. Instead, what I have experienced reflects the opposite: inconsistent direction, poor conflict resolution, favoritism, and an overall inability to lead and develop people. These issues have undermined the program’s stated mission and, more importantly, the trust and morale of its participants. It is disappointing to see such potential wasted when young people are looking to this program for mentorship, clarity, and inspiration. Leadership is not about titles or authority—it’s about service, humility, and responsibility. If these foundational elements are not being modeled, then the program is failing in its most essential purpose. I urge you to take this feedback seriously and to engage in honest reflection and corrective action. This includes evaluating the current leadership team, offering training in ethical leadership practices, and listening actively to participant concerns without defensiveness or dismissal. Young people deserve better. They are watching and learning not only from what is taught, but from how those in charge conduct themselves. Please ensure that what they learn from this program equips them to lead with integrity—not entitlement.
April 25th, 2018Kris Keimig
I'm sure you can find a gym with newer equipment, better classes and more amenities... But here's your bottom line: its adequate and supports a wide range of needs. The place is never too crowded, the equipment is good enough, it's got a lap pool and a therapy pool, it's got classes, tons of activities (including basketball courts and outdoor hockey rink) and it's got child care, all at a pretty good price. The North club might have better equipment but it doesn't have child watch or a lap pool. Fitology might have better classes but it doesn't have the weight room and pools. ... I've left to try other gyms a bunch of times but I always come back.
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 5:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 5:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 5:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Thursday | 5:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Friday | 5:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Saturday | 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
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