Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center

Decided to bring the kids to get out some energy. It’s a community center and everyone is welcome to pay a drop in fee and use the various things. My kids liked the lazy river and slide! I’m knocking off a star as you have to pay whether or not you use any part. I paid 7.00 to sit in a chair and watch the kids swim. I understand the point as it would be easy to sneak a workout in unnoticed, but I was in boots and a sweater, hardly workout gear. All in all a great place for families. Definitely coming back and will take advantage of the 7.00 fee by swimming or running on a treadmill!

This is basically a very nice YMCA. If you value a family oriented environment with something in it for everyone then you will like this place very much. They have nice basketball courts, an interesting and creative looking pool with slides and fun waterworks for children (and kids at heart), an art studio, chapel and various classrooms that the owning organization, The Salvation Army uses to teach and worship. They have private changing room areas that lead to a shared, unisex locker room, which is pretty cool and a space saving design that makes the shy feel comfortable. This set up also eliminates the awkward and random ‘naked talk’ that men of a certain age enjoy doing. Bros… If you have spent time in any gym, you will know what I speak of. They also have a decent (not awesome) weight training area and that will be the focus of this remaining review.
The gym is decently sized with a primary focus on machines and cardio equipment, the free weight area is satisfactory (again… okay, not great). They have fitness staff on duty at all times and they will be happy to help or correct form, if needed. That’s great for the novice lifter, but it’s a bit insulting for the more advanced trainer (reference my profile pictures on Unilocal). I was warming up with 35 lbs on the bench press and the trainer came by with pursed lips and know it all attitude to say that collars must be used at all times. lol Okay man, whatever.
If you enjoy lots of rules (see my uploaded business pics) and are a ‘color within the lines’ personality type and feel that rules make things better despite common sense and specific situations, then this is your nirvana! Congrats you have found your home. If however, you seek a more free spirited place to train, are a more advanced lifter and would like more emphasis on free weights and don’t have family or interest in using the pool or other features, may I recommend you find a more meathead friendly place… which would be some other gym. The membership prices seem reasonable, guest/​daily rate is $ 5. I defer to the other reviews that imply that canceling membership may be problematic– I wouldn’t know about that since I was just here as a guest.

Amazing family oriented recreational facility. Have never had a bad experience here, ever. The people at the front desk will turn the TV to the Ducks game for me while I wait for my kids. The snack bar is moderately priced and allows something nutritious for everyone. Clean restrooms, clean pool, clean gym. What more can you ask for? Thank you Kroc Center!

Tons to do for families. Always clean and orderly. The check in can be an unnecessary wait. My kids love toddler fit classes and swimming. Snacks are healthy and reasonably priced.

This is a great gym for the entire family. Lots of different activities, affordable, and I like the workout classes and the set-​up of the machines.

We’ve been coming here pretty regularly for 2 years and here are our highlights:
Child-​watch: can get packed but the staff has always been very caring and professional. They enjoy our daughter and always treat her very well.
Climbing wall — great group of guys and gals who are very encouraging. Again, I often judge my interactions with people on how they treat my daughter and they have taken her under their wing as she has basically taught herself to climb. She’s 4 ½. They are super sweet with her.
Preschool — a lot of people don’t know about RJ Preschool — it’s great. We had a not so great experience with our previous preschool and these folks have redeemed the experience for us. The room is small but planned and organized well. Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Baker and fantastic and have, again, taken great care of our daughter and I am very grateful to them. They are very professional, caring and kind. I highly recommend the preschool.
Fitness area — always clean and pretty easy to find a treadmill — my exercise equipment of choice. At times the staff seems a bit detached (i.e. not super friendly or welcoming) but recently that’s been changing.
Welcome area– When the service is good, it’s great! I’ve been very impressed multiple times, especially with the familiar faces who know us and are very courteous and respectful.
Café — great food options, affordable and fast. Except for one bad experience (which I shared with a staff member and they followed up), the service has been fine. Not exemplary but fine.
Overall I am very grateful to have a place like this for our family to come. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 starts is because sometimes some of the folks at the front desk seem a bit confused and not clear on what the place offers.

The best indoor place in Salem to take your kids for the day. The rock wall was great (even for my 4 year old), and the pools were much more fun than I imagined. They even have a small water slide. Definitely going back!

The Kroc Center has been really popular since it was built a couple years ago. Its a great community center that has 2 great pools, lots and lots of activities for kids, rock climbing wall, waterslide, and exercise area.
The pools are a big draw for families and can get pretty crowded and crazy at times, but kids love it. There is an Olympic size pool for those who want to do lap swims, but during the summer they have an inflatable, floating obstacle course that takes up ¼ of the pool. Its fun.
The exercise area is very nice… lots of treadmills and ellipicals, a big free-​weight area and alot of modern machines. They have trainers on staff too. 2 gym courts for ball and aerobics.
Daycare is there too for parents that want to workout. The rockwall is great for adults and kids too.

I have come to really enjoy the Kroc Center and encourage you to try it. We have a membership for our family of four and it is well worth the price. I suggest checking out their quarterly program guide as they have so much to offer.
My children really enjoy the pool and water features and have also taken swimming lessons. The art room is a favorite and they absolutely love dropping in and making crafts. There are a lot of activities for children.
The locker room area has coed lockers but with private rooms they call cabanas that have their own private toilets, showers, and sinks. Because the facility uses very low flow shower heads, showers can take longer too, so figure this into your planning. If there is a long line for cabanas, there are restrooms if you need to make a quick change or you can always rinse off in the pool showers (in your swimsuit) and use the team locker rooms to change if you are in a hurry.
The facility does not have a sauna or steam room but does have a whirlpool. The weights and cardio are adequate although they can be difficult to access during some high traffic times. It is definitely worth the price of a day pass to try it out.

This center is great for all ages. help get kids off the street and doing good things. I wish we had one here in Modesto.

My father, a longtime member, dropped dead, and I got a membership to accompany my mother to the gym. There was no problem getting a membership but a HUGE issue trying to cancel. I did end up cancelling my credit card because money was so short and the response I was getting from customer service wasn’t what I needed and therefore not helpful. I went ahead and wrote a negative review but then the manager, Julie, called me and said how sorry she was. They had been trying to reach me on my father’s cancelled phone to tell me they had put a stop on the charges in view of circumstances but that they were waiting for written request for cancellation to officially cancel. I still wasn’t happy with how they had handled my issue but they expressed concern for my mother, ill and still a member. It is a special place for her and it is one of the few healthy outlets she has. Another customer service member was genuinely affected and did stand up for me that they should bend procedure in my case. While a frustrating experience their ability to back up and change their ways means they’re a good business with the customer in mind. Thanks for fgetting it right in the end. That’s what counts and what customers look for, in my opinion.

I am a member here and I absolutely love it.
The place is big and clean, and pretty well laid out. It’s not a gym, it’s a community center, so there are rooms off to the side for classes, meditation areas, birthday parties, kids game room, stuff like that.
But a lot of people use it for exercise purposes. There is a big rock wall, but it has particular hours and I mostly see a lot of little kids using it.
The work-​out area is pretty well stocked, but somewhat small if you’re used to a place like the Courthouse or 24 Hour Fitness. Free weights and machines and cardio machines, but all the cardio equipment is hooked up to TV’s, which helps pass the time if you’re doing that.
There is a big basketball gym, that’s split on two sides, and an exercise room for physical classes. Two pools, one «Fun» pool and one competition pool. These will close for events though because, again, first and foremost, this is a community center, not a gym.
The main reason I joined here was for the plethora of classes available. Yoga, pilates, cardio kickboxing, zumba, cardio hip-​hop, weight/​cardio classes, all sorts of things. They’re available on day passes, or free with the membership. They start at different times throughout the week, and there are a lot of them, both mornings and evenings. The instructors are great and really motivate, and it’s a really fun environment. I truly enjoy the guided programs and it really keeps me motivated to keep going.
The initial price is $ 75 per household, and after that it’s $ 25 a month for every adult. I forget how much for kids, but it’s significantly cheaper. That’s really not that much, considering a lot of gyms want over a hundred for sign on, and then have you sign contracts to keep a monthly payment somewhat low. No-​break contracts. Kroc just requires a 30 day notice period and then you’re done, if you don’t use it.
Some people have mentioned the co-​ed locker rooms, but I prefer this to the «random naked old man who hangs out in the locker room» scenario I always seem to run into, both in other gyms and my work gym. The lockers are co-​ed, but the side rooms have a shower, sink, bench, and a toilet, and you can go in there with your party together if you’re comfortable changing together, or one at a time if you’re not. And the employees seem to hover around, so they can rush into a room when it opens up and clean it up. I haven’t been disappointed at all, and it doesn’t give off a creepy vibe at all.
I dig it.

AMAZING price for a gym, and has a standard pool, a kid’s pool/​play area, a workout area, a ROCK WALL, and a basketball court which is usually divided in two for multiple areas to play.
One downside is if you want to walk or bike there, it is somewhat out of the way. But this is the best gym I’ve ever been to. It is also much more casual than some gyms, in a good way.
It is extremely clean, too!

First, I am only giving 3 stars because the first time I went we couldn’t get it. Imagine packing up all the essentials for an almost 2 year old to learn you can only do free swim from 3 – 5:45 (nap time!)
Yesterday a friend of ours invited us in the early morning so we had enough time to prepare.
Pros: The cost was great, $ 5 per person. You could use that all day. So if I went, put child in the daycare (no extra fee), do my workout, then do a family swim session for a few hours, put child back in day care, do a class or relax in the sauna. There is a deli.
Cons: It is way in a freaky part of town. The swim times are very rigid. Co-​ed locker rooms (creepy much? I hardly like sharing a bathroom with my husband.)
All-​in-​all it is ok, I just have to get past all of it’s quirky rules and regs.

Well, we have a family membership here and it’s so worth it. My kids come here to hang out with friends, swim, workout. They even play games and one son is going to be getting guitar lessons here starting in January. To me, this is one of, if not THE, best family place in Salem. You don’t have to worry about the wrong influence on your children if you leave them unattended. Very family and kid friendly place. Better for them to hang out here than at either mall in this town.

Erin B. posted some good items, and I just want to add a few more
More pro’s–
river swim
water slide
kids water slide
hot tub
lap pool
kids camp over Thanksgiving week
kids come home just exhausted
fitness center
price is great
Con’s–
adults can get bored, but isn’t this for the kids.
family style locker room (one big locker room with side rooms to change clothes), long waits, usually wet and messy from the previous family.
location is odd for Salem

The Kroc center is the newest addition to Salem’s family friendly entertainment scene and comes with only a few drawbacks. But first, the pros:
~family friendly
~cheap; $ 5 pp per day if you’re not a member
~tons of parking
~lots of big open grassy places just right for picnics
~pretty cool kids pool
~amazing building; huge and grand
Cons:
~classes and memberships may be prohibitve for some; scholarships available
~check-​in takes FOREVER (if you have never been registered)
~somewhat limited activities on a daily basis. Mostly just pool time and the rock wall to entertain kids.
~odd entrance layout. The rock wall is right next to the check-​in desk.
~weird employees circling the guests in the family friendly locker room. And apparently you can’t wear any cotton anything in the pool, so be prepared to lie if asked.
I might come here again, but I’d be more inclined to do so if their was just a bit more to do. I’d like to make a day of it, but we’ll see.