Gator Acquatic Center is a great alternative for swimming this summer

Gatorm_Pool is an option fr cooing down this summerPhoto byCheryl E Preston

What to do about swimming?

The pool where my grandchildren normally swim is undergoing repairs, and Splash Valley is only open Thursday through Sunday. I wondered where I could take them on a Tuesday morning, and their uncle suggested The Gator Aquatic Center.

This facility is owned and operated by Roanoke Valley Swimming, Incorporated (Virginia Gators.) It is located at 1130 Overland Rd., off Colonial Avenue SW, between Fishburn Park Elementary School and James Madison Middle Schools and adjacent to Virginia Western Community College.

A fun alternative

The cost to use the indoor pool was only $5.00 per person, and you could swim between 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. They had plenty of floats and flippers and my grandchildren had a great time.

During our close to two-hour visit, there were only four other individuals..They were in the specified swimming lanes and not in the water with us. They arrived and left at differnt times, so it felt like we had to pool to ourselves. The only drawback is that no lifeguard is available, so you enter the water at risk.