City of Thornton Parks & Recreation

This rec center has it all. It has served the community for a very long time. You can swim, play basketball, racquet ball, lift weights, run track, and cardiovascular activities. They rent rooms for birthday parties, give classes on various subjects. There are many activities for families here. They provide gender bathroom as well as lockers if you need to change. They offer multiple ways to pay for usage. Whether it be by the day, monthly, yearly or even offer a 20-day punch card. They offer tours of the facility. The indoor track was a pleasant surprise.

Our family feels like we’ve hit the jackpot with the Margaret Carpenter Rec Center. We actually prefer to go to this location, it’s a little quieter, and not only is it nearby, but their child watch is our absolute favorite part. My son has always been very clingy, but we’ve been coming here for nearly a year now and he LOVES the teachers and friends he’s made. He talks about Ms Kristy (but really every teacher there is so kind and patient) and loves telling me about his time there once I pick him up. The punch card system works, but a family membership made the most sense for us. My husband makes use of the gym and equipment, maybe some day I will too, but for now it’s a great 90 minutes of work or peace for me for under $10. We also love their pool!The wave pool can be intense for little ones, but their small play area and slide is a favorite for my 2 year old. It’s truly become a little community center for us, getting to know others who happen to be there around the same time as us.

No Signs. No warning. No announcements. No info on any city webpage. Just closed on a Friday night at 7:45pm when it says it is supposed to be open until 9:00pm. Big Fail !! Grrrrrrrrr

Good: A nice facility to lift weights/workout and swim as well as steamroom/sauna/hot tub, there's also basketball and racketball courts and I believe pickleball and pool tables. Well maintained as far as amenities. The workers at the front desk are almost always pleasant and helpful. Bad: Some of the lifeguards (my guess is mostly comprised of high schoolers) can be very rude. My only real complaint is the swimming pool area is monopolized or closed completely for large portions of time for swimming lessons (for tots) and a very aggressive (older people) group that only does laps like they are training for the Olympics. I'm not sure what it is for but they can be rude as well. Ugly: I've noticed some of the changing rooms need to be checked more often for hygienic reasons. People leave the grossest things behind. There have been used bloody tampons/pads and huge gobs of hair and for some reason fake eyelashes or worse left in the showers (family rooms) on more than one occasion, additionally the family rooms are almost always monopolized by single people which causes a logjam for actual families with little to no regard to time spent in said rooms.

I was purposely given incorrect information to get me to come back. Before leaving, I specifically asked if I still had one day left on my prepaid account and even asked the staff member to double check. I was told yes. When I returned, I was rudely informed that I had no days left and the staff attempted to make it seem like the mistake was mine. This could have been handled with honesty and accountability, but instead it turned into poor customer service and an uncomfortable interaction. Very disappointing experience.