Has anyone had experience at the Orinda Park Pool? We are thinking of joining but don't know much about it. Are the facilities good for a 1 1/2 and a four year old? How crowded does it get during the summer? Were members generally friendly and welcoming? Thanks for any advice or thoughts you can offer. Maggie

On hot days and on the weekend it can get crowded. But we've often been there with the pool to ourselves, especially after early August when the swim team season finishes up and kids go off on vacation before going back to school. It has definitely not been too crowded for us.

I have not made good friends there, but families there are very friendly, especially the moms hanging out around the ''baby pool''. The pool community is organized around the swim team. I think when my kids are old enough for swim team (and they can join the Little Stingers as early as age 4 or 5) we will meet a lot more people.

I definitely recommend OPP! I can't wait until the season starts. Liz O. ------------------------------------------- We've been members of OPP for about four years, come over the hill from Berkeley, and have been pretty happy with it. People are friendly, the snack bar has gotten more healthy, the pool is great and the weather warm. A few things we didn't know before joining: OPP is very focused on the swim team (as most of the pools in Lamorinda are), and closes at times for swim meets. There are funny ''adult only'' swim times (15 or 30 minutes on each hour, and rules about non-swimmers that you might want to check on having two little ones. However, the lifeguards and staff are super responsible and nice. There are swim lessons too, which are free for non-swimmers. See you there. Can't wait for the season to start