Swimming Club Near Me in the Presidio: YMCA Masters at Letterman Pool

The Presidio Community YMCA does most of its swimming away from its main branch. Its pool is the Letterman Pool & Gym at 1151 Gorgas Avenue, an indoor six-lane, 25-yard pool tucked just behind the One Letterman campus in the Presidio. Head coach Dave Moretz runs two masters groups there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, and you do not need a YMCA membership to join one. If you want a swimming club near me inside a national park, with eucalyptus outside the windows, start here.

The pool belongs to the Presidio's Army years. A 1992 National Park Service history of the post records that in the fall of 1960 Letterman Hospital proudly announced the completion of a swimming pool, building 1151. It was the only pool in the entire Presidio, so every command could use it, but the therapeutic treatment of patients came first.

The YMCA itself has a longer history on the post. The Presidio Trust says the Y opened its first facilities here in 1898 to serve soldiers during the Spanish-American War and stayed until 1954. It returned to the Presidio in 1997. More than 20,000 people now use the Presidio branch, according to the Trust.

The Presidio Trust describes the pool as indoor, six lanes and 25 yards, with a separate therapy pool and a hot tub. Members swim laps, take lessons and aqua fitness classes here, and the Letterman Gym next door has a basketball court. The building also houses Y Bike, the branch's cycling program. Hoodline noted in 2019 that the six-lane pool was also open for aquatic strength-training classes, and Yelp reviewers then rated the branch four stars across 121 reviews.

Pool hours run from 5:30 AM to 8:30 PM on weekdays and 7 AM to 4:30 PM on weekends. Holidays change the schedule: on November 26 and 27, December 24 and December 31 the pool closes at 1:30 PM, and the whole branch shuts on November 11 for staff training and on December 25.

Presidio Masters is a U.S. Masters Swimming program for swimmers 18 and over, and its morning block is really two separate hours. From 6 to 7 AM the competitive group swims all four strokes, around 3,200 to 3,600 yards, and a tryout is required. Email Dave Moretz to set one up.

From 7 to 8 AM the triathlete and fitness group swims mostly freestyle, about 2,500 to 3,000 yards, and no tryout is needed. The YMCA recommends being able to swim 200 yards of freestyle without stopping. That later hour is the easier first step for anyone coming from lap swimming, and it still finishes in time for a downtown commute.

Moretz also heads the branch's youth team, and his coaching bio describes a resume built in open water: he swam at Susquehanna University, won the USA Triathlon national aquathlon title in 2016, has swum from Alcatraz dozens of times and has crossed the Catalina Channel. Cary Fulbright, an assistant coach on the youth team since 2005, also trains with the masters group.

Registration happens in person at the membership desk at the Main Post branch, 63 Funston Avenue.

Masters costs $25 a month for YMCA facility members and $65 a month for non-members. A single drop-in is $20, which is the only pay-per-visit price the YMCA publishes for this pool. No day pass price appears on the YMCA site, so for open lap swim outside masters hours, plan on membership.

An adult membership for ages 26 to 66 costs $91 a month plus a $149 joining fee, and young adults 19 to 25 pay $75 a month. Membership opens the 25-yard pool, the therapy pool and the Main Post fitness center, and it also works at more than 2,700 YMCAs across the country. The Presidio Trust notes that no one is turned away for lack of funds.

The YMCA Pacific Aquatic Club, nicknamed the Pirates, is a year-round USA Swimming team that trains here on weekday afternoons from about 4:30 to 7 PM, split into groups from Yellow for younger swimmers to Gold Select for teenagers. Joining takes a tryout. The team races at least one meet a month except in August and runs its own Friday Night Races.

Group lessons for ages 6 months to adults run in sessions through the school year, from $165 for six lessons for members to $216 for the community. A parent or guardian has to stay on deck for the whole lesson. Private lessons are sold as a monthly subscription, $290 for members, and the YMCA warns of waitlists.

Bring photo identification, because the YMCA's code of conduct asks members and guests to identify themselves to staff and produce ID on request, and the facilities are smoke-free. Full facility access is for members 13 and older. If you are not a member, sort out the masters registration at the Main Post desk on an earlier day, since the 6 AM group starts before most offices open.

Lesson rules are spelled out too. Full payment reserves a place in a group class, and a class can be cancelled if three places sit empty. Semi-private lessons for up to three swimmers from one household cost $260 per participant for members and $315 for the community, billed monthly like the private ones.

Muni route 43 stops at Lincoln Boulevard and Girard Road near the Main Post, and the free Presidio GO Downtown shuttle has a Presidio Community YMCA stop. There is paid parking beside the YMCA and bike parking too. The pool sits behind the One Letterman campus, home to Lucasfilm, whose Yoda Fountain, unveiled in 2005, is a short walk from the pool door and makes an easy photo stop after a morning swim.