Inver Grove Heights Community Center

I am glad to say I am a member at this facility. The Grove Aquatic & Fitness Center is a great place to come if you want to change your life and get into good heath and fitness. The membership prices are a good deal compared to the local competition in terms of the value you get. You even get a discount if you are a Vet or a senior. The Trainers here are all top notch and I have worked with a few of them personally. Most if not all are NETA-​CPT certified. Many have other verifiable certifications and I don’t need to list them here as you can meet the trainers on their website. The address:
It will give you complete information about everything they have to offer here including the prices for membership. There is fitness, learning and fun for all ages here. I happened to be in my late 50s and feel perfectly comfortable working out here and taking many classes and seminars to help me make changes in my life. This is truly a place for all ages… young to old, fat or fit, we’re all here to make changes in our life PLUS have fun doing it. After a good work out there is a co-​ed clean whirlpool you can enjoy to ease your stress. The big pools offer all kinds of opportunities to enjoy the water for both the kiddies and the older folks. Plenty of men, women and bros work out here together as well, so everyone is not only welcomed but feel comfortable being there. The place gets busy and sometimes the cleanliness could use a little help but it is not a major problem. The rather small sized men’s locker room/​shower area and floor sometimes needs more cleaning… and the locker room (the men’s anyway) is starting to show some age and wear and tear… but it is adequate for a community fitness center. If you are looking for a place to join I would highly recommend The Grove. Give it a try sometime as a guest.

This is a great place to bring the family on a cold day! The diving board is nice because they’re multiple levels for the kids. Very inexpensive! Indoor water park area is average, but the hot tub is nice for the adults! The waterslide is cool too.

I can’t believe I’m the first to review this community center but it must be a well kept secret. It’s just a bit south of 494 on 52 to the 80^th exit and one block on the right.
We originally stopped in for a disability conference and were pleasantly surprised at the very cool water park and another kids gymnastics business on the opposite end.
We like our own community center in Eagan but the water park in IGH makes it our new preferred destination for our boys #2 and #3 who are ages 3 and 2 respectively and palindrome-​ly.
The water park has a zero edge entry for little kids and lots of things to play on and under. The room is very toasty and the water is equally warm. They have a kiddie slide and a bigger slide as well as another larger pool for doing laps. Lots of tables and chairs for adults to sit and relax if your kids are old enough to be semi-​independent. A bunch of mostly uninterested teenage lifeguards watch the pool area but that’s not enough to take a star away from this center. They have weeknight discounts too.
One of the greatest things here? A family locker room with individual locking stalls and their own personal showers. I was a little leary at first, I don’t know about the women’s rooms but trust me you want to stick a fork in your eyes to avoid looking at some of the guys who walk around guy’s locker rooms without a towel. But the family locker room is a completely great idea and kind of European feeling we thought. Every other place we go will be compared to it now. Though coming back into the locker room from the warm pool area felt like we were walking outside in the winter by comparison. How about heating up the locker room a bit? Again a small thing.
There is even a fitness area with several machines and TVs right near the shared locker rooms, smart move.
We’ve told our neighbors about it and we’ve been back a few times already.
Best tip — Mon through Fri, 5:30 until close (7:30) twilight admission is only $ 4/​person, babies up to 1yr are free!
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Edit to original post.
My editor and wife reminded me of one thing that drops my rating from 5 down to 4 stars: The back corner hot tub is rigidly enforced as 16yrs and older. I forgot how irritated that made her and I agree it’s pretty dumb. I totally understand about the big water slide having a size limitation but a hot tub? The entire giant room is filled with kids of all ages and our two little guys got a little chilly toward the end. So my wife thought it would be a good idea to let them warm up a bit before we went back into the very chilly dressing room. No go, she was told and then was ordered out of that area. Really IGH? I understand barring unsupervised kids but barring kids with their parents just to warm up a bit? Makes no sense — even the Waterpark of America in Bloomington lets kids in the hot tub there.