1. Eugene YMCA, 600 East 24th Ave., 541-686-9622, EugeneYmca.org.
2. Outside, all of Eugene and Lane County. Enjoy!
3. The Yoga Place, 4730 Village Plaza Loop, ste. 130, 541-654-4475, YogaPlaceEugene.com.
Walk through the double doors at the Eugene YMCA and you will be struck by one of two things: There’s either the bedlam of happy children everywhere or, if the Oregon Ducks are playing football, you will feel as if you have most of the 75,000-square-foot facility to yourself.
Either way, the Eugene YMCA — which opened the doors to its new facility on East 24th Avenue in December after 68 years on Patterson Street — is a jewel for the community, and in just shy of a year since the doors opened, EW readers have noticed, voting it the Best Place to Get Fit.
In fact, the community has been coming to the new Y in droves since December. Brian Steffen, the Y’s CEO since 2018, notes that membership has skyrocketed this year from 7,500 members to 17,500. The infrastructure has to keep up, and Steffen adds that the employee roll has gone from 210 people to 350 this year.
“It’s been wonderfully busy since we opened up,” Steffen says, adding that the wide variety of programs and classes as well as opportunities for children has made the Y an accessible one-stop wellness center in Eugene. “That’s a key for the Y. It’s about the heart of serving our community.”
A quick run through the Y’s website reveals a slew of activities and classes in the expanded aquatics and fitness centers. There are two basketball courts and an indoor track, not to mention upward of 17,000 spots available in group wellness classes. Children after school can be dropped off for two hours at one of two drop-off sites, and Steffan adds that there are now classes in support of people caring for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s loved ones.
And Beth Casper, the Y’s vice president of community engagement, notes that the Y now has a teen strength program and, partnering with Lane Council of Governments, civics classes for teens as well as a ham radio class, and there’s Dungeons and Dragons for middle schoolers. — Dan Buckwalter