Anonymous
06/28/2025 07:59
Subject: Swim Clubs like Little Hunting Park - How do they work
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to Virginia - this will be our first time living in Virginia or the USA, so some things that may be very common seem quite foreign to me, so I apologize if any of this is obvious.
How exactly do swimming clubs work? A colleague recommended we join one since very few people have home pools, but the one near our house - Little Hunting Park - seems to have a very long wait time (3-4 years according to the website). Does anyone have experience with this club - is that number mostly accurate or partially marketing? Or is that the wait to become a full member but they may make you a trial member beforehand? I am used to public pools where anyone can go to swim, so the idea that I may need to be on a waitlist for 4 years and may not even live here that long has me very confused. Aren't there a lot of military in the area who get transferred to different places faster than that, so by the time they are off the waitlist they have already moved?
Also, how much does a place like Little Hunting Park cost? I can't find any information on the website - is it 100s of dollars or 1000s of dollars?
If you look in Burke/Fairfax Station area, you will finding excellent summer pool communities with good swim teams and no waitlist. (I could not tell whether you are definitely landing near LHP or not.)
Agree with this - also Springfield and Annandale outside the Beltway.
It can be kind of like shopping for a car. See which one can make the best deal for you and your family.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 10:10
Subject: Swim Clubs like Little Hunting Park - How do they work
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to Virginia - this will be our first time living in Virginia or the USA, so some things that may be very common seem quite foreign to me, so I apologize if any of this is obvious.
How exactly do swimming clubs work? A colleague recommended we join one since very few people have home pools, but the one near our house - Little Hunting Park - seems to have a very long wait time (3-4 years according to the website). Does anyone have experience with this club - is that number mostly accurate or partially marketing? Or is that the wait to become a full member but they may make you a trial member beforehand? I am used to public pools where anyone can go to swim, so the idea that I may need to be on a waitlist for 4 years and may not even live here that long has me very confused. Aren't there a lot of military in the area who get transferred to different places faster than that, so by the time they are off the waitlist they have already moved?
Also, how much does a place like Little Hunting Park cost? I can't find any information on the website - is it 100s of dollars or 1000s of dollars?
If you look in Burke/Fairfax Station area, you will finding excellent summer pool communities with good swim teams and no waitlist. (I could not tell whether you are definitely landing near LHP or not.)
Agree with this - also Springfield and Annandale outside the Beltway.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 08:28
Subject: Swim Clubs like Little Hunting Park - How do they work
Anonymous wrote:Riverside Gardens has no wait list and no boundaries
When you go to the “Join” portion of their website the only option is a form to join their waitlist for $100.
Anonymous
06/26/2025 07:40
Subject: Swim Clubs like Little Hunting Park - How do they work
Riverside Gardens has no wait list and no boundaries 
Anonymous
06/07/2025 19:12
Subject: Swim Clubs like Little Hunting Park - How do they work
OP are you already set on a house/neighborhood?
Waitlists and pool vibes vary. Generally the further out, the cheaper the neighborhood, and the shorter the waitlist. We are well outside the beltway and our waitlist is maybe a year, with some pools around us having no waitlist at all.
Ours is not fancy but we have a pretty good swim team and nice wholesome programming.
Nice place to cool off after work too.
Waitlists and pool vibes vary. Generally the further out, the cheaper the neighborhood, and the shorter the waitlist. We are well outside the beltway and our waitlist is maybe a year, with some pools around us having no waitlist at all.
Ours is not fancy but we have a pretty good swim team and nice wholesome programming.
Nice place to cool off after work too.
Anonymous
06/07/2025 18:17
Subject: Re:Swim Clubs like Little Hunting Park - How do they work
Yes unfortunately waitlists can be very long. There are public pools but they can be a bit crowded and usually don’t have swim teams. In the summer, there is a big swim team culture in this area that can be very fun if your kids are interested. And generally it is just very hot here in the summer so kids want to go to the pool with their friends which is why your friend is recommending you get on a list quick. If you are military you can look into ft Meyer. I think you can even if you aren’t military a they have a swim team.
There ARE pools with shorter waitlists. Forest hollow swim club in Annandale has a few spots left this year, has no initiation fee and costs about 6-800$ a summer depending on how many family members you have. That’s a bit of a hike from where you mentioned but Alexandria is tough for pools. There just aren’t enough in the area for the amount of people. So most get on a lot of lists. And for immediate Forest hollow or agreed Burke or kings park west neighborhoods have tons of pools so you get right in. So if that’s important to you. I’m sure there are others those are just what I know
There ARE pools with shorter waitlists. Forest hollow swim club in Annandale has a few spots left this year, has no initiation fee and costs about 6-800$ a summer depending on how many family members you have. That’s a bit of a hike from where you mentioned but Alexandria is tough for pools. There just aren’t enough in the area for the amount of people. So most get on a lot of lists. And for immediate Forest hollow or agreed Burke or kings park west neighborhoods have tons of pools so you get right in. So if that’s important to you. I’m sure there are others those are just what I know