Regent Park Aquatic Centre

This place is pretty clean, and has 2 very large family dressing rooms. There’s family change rooms inside and lockers available to store you stuff (bring your own lock). The pool itself is really large and has sections of people of all ages. There was a waterside, and ropes for swinging and diving for older children and the young at heart. There’s a wading pool area for the babies. It’s often busy. There’s an opportunity to host birthday parties here. Something to check out if you’re are looking for options.

This place is good for kids. It has a nice water slide, a wading pool, a swing rope. and a small diving board (for older kids).
The change rooms are unisex and I guess it was designed so that families could stick together. It solved the problem of say. a dad taking his young daughter swimming and having to worry about leaving her alone in the women’s changing room or brining her into the men’s changing room. I think trans people are also comfortable in the unisex toilets. The only thing that I did not like was that the place had no individual shower stalls so you couldn’t really wash/​shower properly. It was also a bit weird to soap up in front of an entire audience. The shower area is completely open and exposed to the swimming pool.
I did not see the practicality of the open, all-​glass concept. Anyone from the road can look into the changing rooms and the swimming pool area. But because the pool also has an all-​female swim session, they have to invest in blinds to cover ALL the glass windows so that no one can look at the women swimming in the pool. The all-​glass concept is just not practical.
The pool is heavily chlorinated, more than other places I’ve been to.
The place has lockers but you must bring your own lock.

I think this pool is great.
I have been going to the lane swim in the mornings before work. They have three sections of lanes: slow, medium, and fast and most mornings the hot tub is one for a nice cool down.
I have also just been to my first aquafit class and I loved it. I went to the ladies only class, but they also have coed classes. The instructor was fun and enthusiastic and I got a great workout too. The range of ladies was from 20 to 60 years old and all levels of fitness were represented.
I highly recommend these drop-​in activities!

A fantastic place to go swimming! Bright and modern, the architecture and attention to detail and design makes this community center aquatic center a standout. There are windows everywhere, and with a large football field in the foreground looking west, along with a skyline of the downtown core, the view is incredible. The change rooms have benefited from an open design aesthetic and lack the typical labyrinth feel that some pools have. The overall cleanliness was also impressive. And everything’s free, including the waterside and swing rope. Check it out!

I came here during the summer with my younger brother because I wanted to check out the facilities. My first impression was how big the place was. Placed in the middle of the construction of new condos and old houses this brand new aquatic centre definitely stands out. At first when you walk to the main desk area you already feel the openness of the centre. There is a piano and I believe a room that wasn’t occupied at all. The change rooms are HUGE and long. What is interesting about this centre is that the change rooms are unisex. I find it really awkward only because I’ve been conditioned to using a women’s change room. But I guess this is revolutionary in a way to maximize the usage of space and allow more to enjoy the aquatic centre. I love that there’s a slide, whirlpool, water falls, Tarzan swing and a diving board. For those who have children there is a seperate area for younger children so that they aren’t overwhelmed by the big children running around. There’s music that plays that keeps the atmosphere lively. This centre also offers free class like aquafit!
So if you’re in the area and have free time definitely check this place out and enjoy it!
–CL
PS the only problem about this aquatic centre is that it doesn’t offer parking and that you’ll have to find it on the side streets which might not be ideal.

To me an aquatic centre needs three things — hot tub, sauna, steam room. Regent only has one of these (hot tub/​whirlpool) and it wasn’t open when I went. not so good. Overall it’s kinda smaller than I expected when looking at it from the outside. I’d probably call it a pool over a aquatic centre. It does have a waterslide though.
It’s kinda cold also, the children’s area pool was running at 32C or so according to the life guard and the air was pretty cold. I guess that’s fine for the older kids but our little one got cold.
For a new building I expected ionized water instead of chlorine — my eyes are burning!
It’s nice that it’s free admission and it’s right by the transit stop so that’s good.

Great big new aquatic centre in the heart of the ever evolving Regent Park. I love that it’s forward thinking to be a unisex space.
But it also means you cannot shower after whatever class you may be there for without a bathing suit on. I have no issues with nudity myself and would appreciate a space where I could shower to rinse off the chorline from my body. Instead you have to get dressed go home and then shower before bed. Our class ended at 9pm, didn’t get home until 10pm.

Great pool, very well-​designed (ledges along the sides to stand on, recessed handrails too), and exceedingly clean. Had to be at least 15 lifeguards on duty while I was there, too.
The universal change rooms were surprising. You may or may not like them, but there are an ample number of private stalls available too. Also, all the lockers are fully functional (!), so if you’re concerned about your stuff you can bring your own lock. Oh, and the showers were a bit cold, but it helped keep people moving…
Best of all? FREE! I went expecting to pay $ 3-​$ 5, but they waved me right in! I don’t know what the full deal is so you may want to bring some cash just in case, but still, FREE!

Fantastic Pool. Great options as noted. The mixed changerooms are very efficient and clean. Even with pool very busy with families we were able to find a big room for ourselves and 4 kids. Some people will need to adjust and tone down the paranoia a lot. There are tons of lockers to avoid petty theft. Your risk here is no different than any other public venue. The change cubicles are private and secure but if you have a heart attack you will be at as much risk of being undiscovered as you might be in your parked car, sleeping at home or in a public bathroom anywhere. There are lots of guys around without shirts however. Very strange in a pool! Nonetheless I felt as safe and secure as in any other public venue but as noted it is easier for all. Having been a dad taking his daughter to such places it’s nice to see something more inclusive and respectful of privacy at the same time. Showers are plentiful and convenient for all ages. Of course you don’t need to be naked to get a good shower and a follow up shower at home would be smart in any event. The chlorine is as expected very high.

Recently opened, the Regent Park Aquatic Centre is the Mercedes-​Benz of public swimming pools in the GTA.
It’s jaw-​droppingly gorgeous for a public facility. The first time I came across this shining beacon, my friend and I were traveling west bound on Dundas street. To our right lay the mournful scene of a recent casualty of Toronto’s shootings, camera vans everywhere. On the left, a sleek and powerful façade of zinc, cedar paneling and glass juts out of the distance. Through the exposed glass windows one could make out swimmers frolicking happily in the large pools. It was an odd, surreal juxtaposition especially given Regent Park’s historical trappings, but my attention was easily captivated. I knew I had to swim there.
Inside, the facilities are no different. The space is bright, open and light. The front staff are friendly and there are often a couple at a time to service the patrons. What might surprise most pool goers however, are the universal change rooms. There is no segregation between the sexes so families and transgendered folks can all access the stark white and airy change rooms equipped with private cubicles for changing. There are two large change rooms but my quibble is that there are only six private cubicles in each. However, one will find plenty of lockers with varying volume to use, provided one brings their own lock. Another thoughtful touch are the hair dryers: arrayed at different heights on the walls for swimmers of all sizes.
The fancy schmancy futuristic designs does not mean the architects have skimped on the pragmatic stuff. Let’s talk pools. The centre features a 25 meter lap pool, leisure pool for the kiddies, warm water pool with therapeutic jets, tarzan rope, diving boards and, AND! a sizable water slide. It’s an aquatic bounty for pool goers. I like going for my lane swims which will set you back three fifty but I have also enjoyed my visits during the leisure swims. Naturally, the leisure pools will be teeming with kids and parents who will find it hard to resist the sprinklers and umbrella fountain. On the other side, the lane pool is split up into quadrants for various uses: a shallow end, a medium deep end, a deep end for diving and a deep end for users of the tarzan rope. Get up on one of the starting blocks, grab hold, swing, and bombs away! I have to sheepishly admit I found both the tarzan rope and the water slide to be quite fun despite my adult age.
Regent Park has a background as a marginalized social-​housing neighborhood teeming with drugs, violence and poverty. This aquatic centre is just part of many revitalization efforts for the area. From what I’ve seen so far, I’m tickled pink just to have a facility of this calibre in Toronto. Bring on the swimmers!