Harris YMCA

Well maintained, clean extensive facilities and a great summer camp offering!
I signed my son up for summer camp at Harris YMCA and figured why not get a membership for us both so I could try out what they have to offer. When we joined, he got a free orientation with all the exercise equipment and I got a physical assessment and instruction on what exercises to do. The staff are all very friendly and willing to help out.
I’ve been going for a couple months at random times of day and it’s always been busy but never overcrowded. In fact, I’ve only had to wait once for a machine.
I have yet to try out any of their classes. The classes are on a first come basis and they do fill fast so you’d better get there at least ten minutes early or they’re full. I tried for vinyasa today at 5:30 and the person in front of me got the last pass at 5:28.
Pricing for membership is on a graduated scale based on income :(so I suppose it’ll hurt everyone’s pocketbook more equally.
It’s my first gym membership and I was a little intimidated by the idea but everyone there is great. I even ran into a friend I didn’t know went. Overall, I’d recommend it to everyone!

This is one of the busiest YMCAs in the country! It has a large campus with a dance studio/​teen center, indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor track, group exercise room, weight room, cardio equipment, pilates/​yoga studio and more. They also offer childcare. Harris Y offers classes from photography to adult gymnastics to ballroom to kid’s camps and activities. The group exercise schedule is updated every month, in addition to TRX, CrossFit and Spartan training (additional costs). Be prepared during the evenings (5 – 7) it is crowded, and while there is ample parking, you may have to park further away than you want.

Great Location, as I stated in my tip there is something for everyone. From childcare to swimming lessons to dance classes to fitness and sports. You can’t go wrong with the Harris YMCA! I just wish they had a larger parking lot especially since I was told this is the largest YMCA in the Charlotte area.

Excellent classes, motivating instructors! I love the Zumba classes with Karina, dance & burn class with Mary & Jay, and spin classes are wonderful. I’m so happy I joined! This facility has nice locker rooms, pool, and friendly staff. I enjoy my workouts!

Great pool experience but membership sign up took so long.

My favorite YMCA in the Charlotte area (and I’ve tried 4 of them). The staff were so friendly as soon as I walked in the door. I love that they have a track as well as lots of different cardio areas so you’re never having to wait on a machine. Great place to workout.

The evening cycle classes are great. Particularly on Mondays and Thursdays. The gym area at Harris is acceptable but times are limited due to the number of patrons. The absolutely worst part is trying to find a parking space on a cold winter night and the one you find is pretty far from the door. Again, you have to bring your patience card when visiting this time of day.

This Y is huge. It has two indoor pools and an out door pool with diving pad for competition. The kids have their own building with all kids activities in it. The pool area is huge, we didn’t feel clutter at all for our weekly competition and the temperature are perfect. I didn’t feel like I was in the sauna. The gym gotta be big too. Must come back

This YMCA offers adult gymnastics classes, which is hard to find in Charlotte, NC. I went for a day to see how it was and really enjoyed it. I have only done floor tumbling so far, so I’m excited to see what I can learn on the uneven bars. The coach was very friendly, knowledgeable, and a good spot. The floor is a little less springy than a typical gymnastics floor, but it makes for a better workout.

Wait 20 mins for an elliptical. The weights are limited and they don’t have a lot of machines. Oversold memberships. I just closed my over priced membership and joined fitness connection where everything is new and only 10 bucks a month. The Y is overrated.

I went here on Veterans Day with my son so we could do something fun. I heard they had an indoor water park and went to check it out. We got there a little early (about 9:30am) and the parking lot was packed. When I went in the woman at the desk immediately greeted me and helped me check-​in since I was just checking out the facility and using the pool for the day. She walked me to the locker room and showed me how to get to the pool– extremely helpful. On a cold day the indoor pool was nice and warm and though the indoor water park is somewhat small, it was great for my 3 year old and I. We left about 12:30, just as it was beginning to get packed. A great place to take the kiddies for the day and let them swim!

This is the closest Y to my house. I am happy with it overall.
I usually exercise solo. The Harris Y has a ton of services, and the facility houses a wide variety of fitness equipment and space. If I want a quieter workout, I can go to either the 2^nd floor running track, where there are a few machines, or to the adult women’s locker room. I often stick with the main fitness room.
I am lucky that I can usually go at one of the least busy times (2pm-​4pm weekdays), but I lose out on being able to take classes (at least ones that are not aimed toward seniors). Classes I’ve taken at other times of day: Cardio Strength (probably my favorite), Mat Pilates, Beginner Pilates, Cycle. They’ve all been fine. It’s a crap-​shoot, like everywhere else, when it comes to how good the instructor is (or how compatible they are to your style).
Employees are nice. One of the workers in the café went waaaay out of his way to get me a room temperature water one day. I just thought I’d try asking if he had any sitting around, waiting to go into the cooler. He said, «let me check,» and went all the way to the storage room in another part of the building for me. Totally didn’t have to do that, but it was super nice.
I’ve seen the Y personal trainers and fitness room attendants swoop into action whenever someone is in trouble on one of the machines or with the free weights. I’ve seen this happen twice now, and they’ve been great about helping the person quickly.
Wishes for improvement:
— The steam room in the adult women’s locker room is in terrible shape. It looks like it could be used as a filming location for the next Saw movie sequel. Missing floor tiles, Missing plastic caps on the plastic bench leg ends, light fixture hanging from the wall with bulb exposed, 5 pounds of caulk and rust surrounding the fire sprinkler head on the ceiling, stained wall and ceiling tiles, failing grout, door deposits rust stains on the floor, etc. The steam room would normally be my favorite part of going to a fitness center, but it’s not in this case.
— I’m always a little disappointed when walking into the Y on beautiful, sunny days because there are few windows. I wish the main fitness area was more open to the outside.
— The desk where you swipe your member card, borrow locks, get balls, etc. is a little too casually run for my taste. The people who work behind the desk often get into long conversations with members or fellow employees, and I have to but in to get what I need. The chattiness is cute and everything, but it gets annoying after a while.

I was not a fan at first. I do lots of yoga and like cardio/​hip hop classes. I went to a bunch of yoga classes around 4:00 and found them to be very slow. Great for some but I like a more challenging class. But then I finally asked someone and they said the harder classes are usually later. Now I found my favorites. There are SO many classes you really have take some time to find the right ones. My favorite class is Ivys cardio funk. So fun! There are endless camps for the kids and lots of pools, a great slide and a fun splash wading level pool for the really little ones.

This is a great YMCA! The outdoor pool is nice, but I’ve mainly used it as a gym. The free classes are great – there is a huge age range that attends a lot of the classes. The gym equipment is plentiful and well-​maintained. They also installed TVs on the cardio machines back before that was standard, which was a great improvement!
Only down from five stars to four because it gets CROWDED between 5:30 and 7:00. So much so that I try to avoid it at that time, which is a shame because that’s often when it would fit best into my schedule. Also, sometimes the summer camps have a way to overwhelm the pool on weekdays in the summer.
Overall, a great place for people of all ages!

Recently joined the YMCA and this is my «home» ymca. I LOVE the equipment and ‘most’ of the staff. I have hit the gym (been a member about 30 days) at very varied times but have settled on 5 am for strength training (mon/​wed/​fri) and 3pm (ish) for cardio (Tues/​Thurs/​Sat). At either time it isn’t overwhelmingly crowded.
I will say at 5 am (and I assume other times) there are plenty of meat heads in the weight room — grunting, slamming weights, flexing in the mirror. I also find it entertaining to see the fashion show that occurs in the weight room (I like to ppl watch between sets). I have NEVER seen so many coordinated work clothes in my entire life. Matching shows, pants/​shorts/​shirts and often times hats. None of this bothers me, it is just entertaining.
I have not met anyone very friendly there and I assume that is because it is the «SoPark» area — but since I don’t go to the gym to socialize I guess it doesn’t matter.

When my wife and I first moved to Charlotte we thought that our apartment gym would suffice. After about a month of that we realized that that would not be the case. So I did some searching and stumbled upon Sports and Fitness. It was really reasonably priced per month and it had a lot of the basics. I worked out there with friends for close to a year, but that gym didn’t really provide a lot the inspire me to go over there, plus it was pretty far from home.
An apartment friend of ours encouraged us to give the Harris Y a try since it was nearby. We were skeptical at first, but took a tour one Sunday and we were hooked. We signed up that day and haven’t regretted our decision a year later.
It’s nice and spacious with a good selection of machines and weights. Basketball courts, an indoor/​outdoor track, a bunch of free classes, and a nice Pool area. We love it. The staff there is really friendly. The monthly rates are affordable for all that they have to offer. It’s also great for families.
Naturally, like most gyms, there are peak hours that can make things pretty busy. But I’ve been to the gym at all hours and it’s never that bad. You may have to tack additional time to complete your workout, but i’ve definitely been a member at gyms where it’s worse. And if you have a nice gym with great features the crowds are almost unavoidable.
My wife and I like it a lot here and we’d definitely recommend the Harris Y.

I don’t know why it took me months to find this place!
Place: don’t let the name YMCA, deter you from entering this place (since I was skeptical at first.). A nice tour around the place, will get you hooked. I liked the different places and rooms used for certain workouts (weight room, treadmills, cycle room, gym for various workouts, multi-​purpose room, and studio).
Price: Surprisingly affordable. Just make sure you ask for the Yplan that is based on your tax income, and it could be a lot cheaper per month.
Perks: indoor pool, showers, locker room, inside the locker room workout, sister gym at the Harris Express (if you want a more updated feel), huge gym, run/​walk track above the gym, with more treadmills and ellipticalls, weights, cycle classes that are intense.
What I love?
Zumba! I never had so much fun and motivation from Irina — she kicks serious butt.
Cardio Funk with Andre is fun. Although with a big class in the gym, it is hard to hear some non-​existent instructions. But of you go routinely go every week — you will be caught up. Love the songs and dance moves that gets you groovin’!
Pilates with Lisa is relaxing. I like her form of teaching and I understand the concept much more so.

The Harris Y is clean and family oriented. This Y happens to be right next to my house so I visit quite often. I love that there is equipment in the women’s locker room so most days I don’t have to step outside my comfort zone.
The cycle, athletic conditioning, kettlebell and strength training classes are top notch. The yoga and Pilates classes are good — but I prefer the Dowd Y as the teachers tend to push you further and challenge you.
I have to give a special shout out to the instructor Jill, whose classes are ALWAYS a challenge for all genders and body types — but she keeps it fun and always does the work with you.
Harris Y is über kid-​friendly as it’s in Southpark… but as someone who doesn’t LOVE children under my feet and crying while I’m PUMPING IRON, they have never once gotten in my way. Viva la resistance!
I definitely recommend Harris to anyone who is a Y member!

If you are not from the area, just the very mention of «The Y» invokes images of outdated facilities, worn out equipment and a sketchy membership base. A visit to the Harris Y in Southpark should erase all such visual associations.
Like other metro Charlotte Ys, the Harris has abundant floor space with relatively new cardio and strength training equipment. These pieces are largely leased so as to ensure they stay up to date and in good repair. Large studios are available for group exercise classes of numerous different varieties and there are basketball courts for both kids and adult leagues. There is also a nice fitness-​themed café with smoothies and other light fare, and even a gymnastics studio. Clearly the metro Ys looked at their competition and have come to compete. Yes, the membership price can be a little high in comparison, but if you want plenty of options to get your sweat on and enjoy an organization that has proven staying power and plenty of social options, then the Y wins hands down.
The Harris is a family Y, so they have programs and options specifically for children. They also have both family-​oriented locker rooms and facilities for adults only. Bottom line: if you do not want to be bothered with little ones running amok, you can get away at the Harris.
For me, there best selling point is both the indoor and outdoor water parks. These facilities could rival just about any country club pool in the county. Indoors is open year-​round and has 2 pools, one for fitness and the other for fun. This includes both a huge water slide and kids-​friendly climbing options with shallow waters.
The outdoor facility includes both a kiddie pool splash park and full size pool with both fitness lanes and plenty of room for recreational waders. A deep end complete with multiple water slides makes sure everyone stays happy. Life guards are always on duty and do take the job seriously. No swimming at your own risk here– smaller kids even have to complete a swim test to earn access to the water slides and unattended entry into the full size pool. The surrounding concrete pool deck has abundant chairs for sunbathing and covered tables for finding a cool spot to escape the sun. A drink machine is available, but I see many folks bring a small cooler with drinks and a snack for all-​day pool lounging.
Outdoor pools are only open Memorial Day to Labor Day, far too short for the Carolina summer, but when you have the chance, do go and enjoy. The rest of the year is for inside, and luckily the facility is nice enough to keep the workouts enjoyable.

Where I come from the «Y» isn’t held in high esteem because not a lot of care goes into the facility. However, that is not the case in the Carolinas! Quite the opposite, the YMCA values plenty of equipment, cleanliness, and supporting people’s health and education!
I visited the Harris branch earlier because I’m thinking about a membership. The thing that I really liked was that the membership allows you to go to any branch… talk about mobile convenience! They have indoor and outdoor pools, multiple rooms and space for cardio equipment, lots of weight machines, indoor track, and basketball courts. Now if the workout side of healthy doesn’t win you over, maybe an onsite coffee and smoothie café will speak your language. Seriously, that is dangerous.
Another huge perk is that they have lots of aerobic classes and they have special classes (which you pay more for) such as ballroom dancing. How fun! In general, the main classes (e.g., yoga, spin, etc.) are included in your membership. Your kids can even sign up for various camps too. No application fee or contracts… bonus.
I may run into you here… or another branch… I’ll keep you guessing because I can!