Last week, we blogged to you about popular YMCA branches in the Bradenton/Sarasota area. There were so many details, mainly based on reviews, we had to break up the blog into two parts. Here is part two, in which we will cover two more big aquatic centers in the Bradenton/Sarasota area. While not YMCA branches, there are other options for people looking to join a health club or a local Bradenton area pool for exercise. For reference, in last week’s blog, we covered firstly, the YMCA Bradenton Branch, the YMCA Sarasota Frank G. Berlin, Senior Branch and the YMCA Sarasota Evalyn Sadlier Jones Branch. And now, we’ll pick up with the last few.

#4: The East Bradenton Aquatics Center

The East Bradenton Aquatic Center is located at 1119 13th St E, Bradenton, FL 34208, right off Route 41. This is an official public pool under the jurisdiction of Manatee County. While we haven’t been there personally, a quick glance at Google Maps shows it has a water park for children. The pool is plenty long enough for laps, complete with a diving board. What do the Google Reviews say?

Denise H. added photos with her review and five stars, “Love this place. I take my grandkids as often as I can. We always have fun. Lifeguards are great. Kids pool is covered. No sunburns. Socially there’s a lot of diversity, which I love. Just a great time. Summer free lunch bus comes at 1:00pm. Makes up for $2.00 cover charge. A nice place.”

Mike Z. gave a reminiscent five-star review and said, “I lifeguarded and taught swim lessons here for years before the pool facility got the major overhaul you see today. The community, the smiles, the rapid progress so many kids made from being strangers around water to being fast, strong competitive swimmers was simply incredible. When we learned some kids were skipping buying food so they had enough pocket change to swim each day, we risked being fired for letting them in for free. Ah, the good old days.”

According to research and reviews, a few years ago, the facility was in need of an overhaul or a revamp, if you will. Since then, the reviews have improved as a result of those upgrades. Out of 7 reviews (after all, it is a public pool), the East Bradenton Aquatics Center receives 3.9 stars out of 5 stars.

#5: The G.T. Bray Aquatic Center

Wow, at another glance, this entire complex is quite big for a public center. It’s located at 5502 33rd Avenue Drive West
Bradenton, FL 34209—not too far from the Bradenton YMCA branch, as a matter of fact.

(Pictured left is a Google maps overview of the area). G.T. Bray has both an indoor and outdoor pool (with two lengths of lanes) on top of a secondary outdoor diving pool. Tennis courts surround the pools. Even baseball fields are on the north side of the buildings. For a full list of facility amenities, we’ve included them below from their website:

• 8 lane, 25-yard x 6 lane 50-meter pool
• 18 x 18-yard dive pool (closed for the season)
• One 1-meter diving board
• One 3-meter diving board
• 12 foot, 2 flume water slide
• 2-foot wading pool
• 4,000 sq.ft. splash area (closed for the season)
• Handicap access available
• Complete locker room facilities

The 4.8 stars out of 5 stars speak loudly for this public facility. Even with only 11 reviews, it’s clear this is a place worth visiting for exercise or with the family on a hot Florida day.

According to the Google reviews, Chris A. said, “Great public rec department workout center, tennis courts, swimming pools, and playgrounds. One of the best you’ll find anywhere” with five stars.

Another five-star review came from Kathryn B, “Great pool, lots of excellent classes. One of the few public pools that still has a dive well.”

As always, do your homework and read as many reviews as you can. Use this blog to point you in the right direction.

Erik’s Aquatic Care is always here to answer questions you may have as a current or future pool owner. Cheers!