YMCA Fairfax County Reston

About

The YMCA Fairfax County Reston, located at 12196 Sunset Hills Rd, Reston, VA, is a comprehensive community center offering a wide array of facilities and programs. It features a wellness center, group exercise studios, an indoor pool, a gymnasium, child watch services, a sauna, and outdoor fields and courts, serving the community's fitness, family, and recreational needs.

The facility includes an indoor pool. Specific temperature details for this particular pool are not publicly listed on their official website. Generally, YMCA pools are maintained within comfortable ranges, typically from the low 80s Fahrenheit for lap swimming to the upper 80s for warm water or therapeutic activities, to accommodate various activities and user preferences.

What are people saying (AI review summary)? The gym receives mixed reviews, generally praised for its modern, well-equipped facilities including a large pool, sauna, steam room, basketball courts, indoor track, and extensive cardio/weight areas. Childcare and a teen center are also noted as positive features. However, significant downsides include persistent maintenance issues such as long-term inoperable saunas, dirty facilities, and broken locker locks. A major and recurring complaint is the gym's excessively high temperature due to low air conditioning, particularly in summer. Staff interactions frequently draw negative feedback, with multiple reports of rude, condescending, and unhelpful front desk personnel and lifeguards. Group fitness classes are largely criticized, with many instructors described as lackluster, unprofessional, or 'terrible,' though a few instructors are commended. A serious safety concern is raised regarding violent incidents in the parking lot involving the local homeless population, which reportedly led to management canceling some programs. Additionally, one reviewer expressed discomfort with the gym's social atmosphere, perceiving it as 'very Gay' and not suitable for straight individuals, leading them to cancel their membership.

Location

Gallery

Amenities

• Accessible Entrance

Reviews

Listing Reviews

June 28th, 2025

Daniela Prieto

Most of the staff are friendly but this gym is way too hot, especially in the summer. I don’t think they make the temperature in this gym tolerable at all and it’s one of the biggest reasons why I don’t like coming here anymore. Even if they save money for having the AC low-they lose more customers bc of it so is it really worth it? Also something minor but one of the machines has been out of service sign November 2024 with a sign that reads “will be fixed soon” lol

August 4th, 2025

a k

The young woman at front desk on Monday mornings is extremely rude. Very condescending over a miss communication. Not sure about over staff but her attitude alone made me cancel my membership

October 31st, 2024

Mary Long

It's a nice gym with a big pool, sauna & steam room, basketball courts, indoor track, large weight area, and two (three with room divider) classrooms upstairs for the group fitness classes. These are excellent physical spaces with big mirrors and a nice view in a beautifully architected, modern building. They have childcare downstairs for both small children and teenagers in the teen center. There is an additional room for Pilates downstairs with full reformers, etc, another for meditation and chair classes, and lots of community services. Management is a little weird since the summer: they've changed it and discontinued some programs. Many of the group fitness instructors are lackluster and I stopped going for this reason. Also, it's very Gay which is just not my scene. I stopped going and got a membership at another place. If you are looking for gay ballroom dancing for women like lesbian ballroom dancing, go. I would not recommend this for straight people. I'm Not Gay. Many of the dance / Zumba instructors were super weird. Some classes were so bad that I walked out. There's one Asian girl who teaches whose class I really enjoy, but an odd culture that didn't vibe with me. The Pilates Classes were so extremely terrible I almost walked out, but didn't to save face \ not be openly Rude. They were honestly so unprofessional as to be offensive, like I've never seen such low effort, carelessness and excuse making In a group fitness class. Utterly awful. Two Pilates / Stretching instructors in referencing here, both women. I would literally never go back to either one of those women's classes in any gym on the planet. That means, that between like 9-12 scheduled group fitness dance/Zumba/ballroom/yoga/Pilates classes per week, there's really only one or two tolerable instructors to choose from, meaning the Asian lady and the one who does body pump weightlifting. I abhor and reject everything else! It's really that bad. Bad, careless instructors. So, you're left with doing workouts on your own on the equipment, or else trying a jiu jitsu or one of the Asian arts classes like tai chi with swords. They do have spin classes which I've never tried because I prefer to ride or run/walk at my own pace. Lots of bikes.and stairsteppers. Lots of nice clean equipment. Just not many great instructors. The equipment is new and modern and clean. They have nice tai chi classes and apparently, jiu jitsu but I've never tried that. Body Pump Good. Violence Notice: There is a weird homeless population in Reston that hangs out in the Target parking lot across the street from the YMCA and also behind the YMCA in the woods / nature trail. These people have gotten very violent --> which is what caused the management to cancel some of the programs this summer. Fairfax County cleaned out all the homeless camps this summer but those people had no where to go, because it wasn't well thought out, so they end up hanging out here where they get a lot of free food and panhandle near by. We have been attacked and jumped in the parking lot by these violent black thugs with knives! Outrageous, for one of the richest counties in the country. I guess the city kicked them out but never gave them somewhere to go: it's mismanaged. Sadly. It's a very nice facility with beautiful views and a thoughtfully arranged schedule of a variety of classes. I do really like the facility and it's great that there is childcare and a teen center for parents. I think you can get an equivalent or better membership at Lifetime fitness which is more upscale and doesn't have that nonsense. I recommend that or a yoga studio membership somewhere else if you are seeking group fitness classes. Otherwise, the facility is nice for self-led development. Lots of cardio and weights equipment, a big pool (with aquatics classes for the kids), steam room and sauna. Conveniently, there is a city bike rack out front and a train station within walking distance near by. The Chick-fil-A and Chipotle / sandwich shop next door make it nice to grab some after workout meals and protein.

May 22nd, 2024

Alexander Busch

Amazing facility, not so amazing staff. I’m going for the gym, sauna, and pool, which are fabulous. I rarely interact with the staff, but it’s never particularly pleasant when I do. A lifeguard was insistent that I was too young to be in the sauna and that I was under 15… I’m 22. Not sure why he felt a need to argue with me about that, but he gave up after a minute or so and left me be. A front desk attendant all but screamed at me to come back and scan my pass again because it didn’t show up the first time. I did and she didn’t even make eye contact or say a word, just looked back at whatever she was doing on her computer screen. No confirmation that it went through or anything, she just pretended I wasn’t there. I’d recommend the Y if you enjoy free weights, cardio, yoga, swimming, and sauna/steam rooms. I personally can’t attest to the classes offered nor the child care services, but from my interactions with the employees I wouldn’t be rushing to sign up.

September 13th, 2024

Alexandr Draganov

Three stars, because there are good and poor experiences. On the plus side: good equipment and good fitness classes with dedicated, nice trainers. On the minus side: they cannot make the maintenance work. Here are three examples: 1. The men's sauna was inoperable for months. When they finally fixed it, the floor tile remained dirty. It still is dirty. 2. One stall in the men's shower was taped off and had an orange cone for many months. 3. Lockers have nice code locks, but many of these locks don't work. (I suspect they need new batteries.) Each time I have to check lockers to find one with an operable lock. Maintenance is not a rocket science.