If you’re just arriving on campus for the first time, welcome to Iowa State! You’re going to love your time here as you work on your goals academically, socially and physically. As an enrolled student, you are automatically granted a membership to Rec Services. We want to make sure that you know exactly what Recreation Services offers for you, and how to take advantage.
First and foremost – members are granted access to all our facilities. If you’re living in a dorm you may want to identify which facility will be the most convenient for you to visit. State Gym on the far west side of campus is newly renovated and features a skywalk connecting it to it’s partner across the street, Beyer Hall. On the far east side of campus is Lied. Lied is unique for it’s huge main floor area with dozens of basketball courts and turf field. Both State Gym and Lied offer a wide variety of weight training equipment and tracks to run on. There is also a large selection of cardio equipment.
All you have to do is swipe your ISU ID card at the entrance to gain access.
Our facilities are also open early and late to make sure that we accommodate your personal preferences.
We have so much more to offer than just facilities, though! For instance, Iowa State Group Fitness offers dozens of fitness class options each week. You’ll need to reserve your spot in class up to 3 days before class time. You can do this easily online by viewing our full schedule and clicking on the class you want to attend. Remember that reservations open 72 hours before the class time – be careful not to accidently reserve a spot in a class at the wrong time!
We offer dozens of intramural sports as well. You can play as many intramural sports as you’d like as long as game times don’t overlap between different sports. Some sports are played alone but most are in teams or pairs. If you don’t have enough people to fill out a team, or don’t know anybody to form a team but still want to play, we have a solution! You can register as a free agent on the intramural website to allow teams that need extra players to add you to their team. Being an intramural free agent can be a great way to meet new people and make friends!
Some people might be worried that their skill level in a sport is too low to be able to have fun competing in intramurals. Luckily, many intramurals have skill levels! If you love to play basketball but don’t consider yourself to be the most skilled player, you can choose which skill division to enroll in.
If you’re more serious about a sport or really love a sport that’s a little more niche and not offered by intramurals, Sport Clubs has you covered! As the name would imply, these are student clubs based around a particular sport. There are over 50 sport clubs offered at Iowa State. Visit the sport club section of our website to view a full list.
The Outdoor Recreation Program (ORP) has you covered for everything when it comes to, well, the outdoors! From equipment rental to nature trips, ORP has you covered. There is a large amount of equipment that you can rent for a small free from ORP. A lot of this equipment is expensive to buy for yourself, so a rental from ORP is a great choice! You can even rent canoes and kayaks from ORP.
Outdoor Rec also puts on trips several times throughout the semester. Some of these trips could be a day trip to a different part of Iowa, a weekend trip outside the state or even a much longer trip around the country. These trips aren’t free, but the price you pay is greatly reduced from the rate you would pay if you went on the trip by yourself.