North Beach Swimming Pool

Not bad, everything is good. I just had a nice swim there this morning from 8:39 — 9:30. Clean, not crowed, and nice location. warm pool is pretty good, but the cold one is a little cold for me, I probably gonna do warm pool all the time~ they also provide lessons for different lever, around 60 $, the regular adult lab ticket is 6 $ per time. Scrip ticket is 52 $ for 10 swims.
There are something you need to know before you come. First, bring exact change (cash only). Second, bring a lock. Last, slipper and bath towel.
Good luck :))

Oh man I love this place. I’ve trained for two Alcatraz swims here and its my fav. of all the pools in the city. The lifeguards are not only friendly but are willing to give (short) advice on technique as well. The sauna is almost my favorite part. The huge windows make it gorgeous to be there on cloudy sf days.

Beautifully maintained with an immaculate pool and locker rooms, this great pool is easily accessible to the Financial District and of course, North Beach.
I chose this Parks & Rec pool because the time for weekly swim lessons jibed nicely with my little boy’s school schedule, despite the across town jog that a half hour barely allows.
I expected parking to be extremely «challenging» but it’s usually a simple spin around the block to find a free street parking or a meter, at least at this shoulder time of 4pm.
(Even with the Central Subway dig going on right behind the building, I know, you’d think it’d be impossible).
Instructors are dedicated and the manager wants to see kids build confidence and learn how to swim.
Everyone is very respectful to the children and they give extra attention and help to kids who need more one-​on-​one instruction.
I’ve heard the pool is one of the warmer ones in the Parks & Rec network: it’s kept at a balmy 86 degrees so if you’re looking for a bracing/​refreshing dip, this may not be your spot.
Parents aren’t allowed into the pool room (and you must remove outside shoes if you want to enter for a moment) but you can watch the class through the glass wall but there are only a few places to sit or even stand.
Between the number of parents and the tropical temperature inside the building, many parents spill out onto the sidewalk to wait.
All and all, it’s another well-​run Parks & Rec pool with the added benefit of its proximity to awesome North Beach restaurants, the North Beach public library (need to return a library book, it’s a half block away) and Trader Joe’s just up the street.

they need to find a HAPPY MEDIUM with the air quality/​situation there.
i once complained about them leaving a draft, and now they HAVE ALL THE WINDOWS & DOORS SHUT
in a room FULL OF OVER 40 people breathing HEAVILY for swim class, lap swimming for over 4 hrs, and chlorinated body stew evaporating into the air.
it was half a step above putting a plastic bag over your head.
it was DISGUSTING. most suffocating experience EVER. EVEN WORSE THAN IF THEY HAD RAISED THE POOL TEMPERATURE TO 80 like balboa park (once again because of senior citizens — thanks alot octos) does because THE AIR QUALITY IS OTHER PEOPLES’ heavy BREATH. incredibly gross.
they say it’s because the senior citizens complain about the temperature during their pool aerobics, but damn, I had to pull myself out of the pool every half lap to go and BREATHE THROUGH A CRACK IN THE DOOR leading outside
i’d rather freeze my balls off than have such incredibly BAD brain cell killing levels at that pool.
it was the pool’s equivalent of an old person’s home.
jesus
— — — –
truth: cold pools help athletes recovery ten times faster, after a hard workout at the gym, swimming in a cold pool will help you heal like X Men’s Wolverine. Amazingly fast.
this is what the cold pool at North Beach has taught me.
the warm pool is fine for people who want to lounge, but for the athlete, a cold pool is a godsend for sore bodies.
Incredibly invaluable & rare.
thanks for keeping your pool cold! (and introducing me to something brilliant)

Super Awesome pool! I live in the North Beach neighborhood and i have been going there for over 8 years now.
Friendly staff members, pool is always kept clean and sanitize, one of my favorite to go pool in the city.

It looks a bit tight from the outside, but it’s actually quite spacious on the inside.
There are two pools, one cold and one warm. The cold one is 77 °F, which is a few degrees colder than «perfect» temperature, but after a lap or two, it’s actually very comfortable. I also like that its length is a standard 25m instead of 25 yards, so it’s a tad longer. The warm pool is really warm, so it’s good for a relaxation soak after the workout.
I would have given the pool a 5 star review, but I didn’t like their locker room/​shower facility. There are no private showers, and there are no shelves to put your toiletry items. I also made a mistake of not wearing my flip flops around so walking on the floor felt a bit gross (and I’m not even that anal about cleanliness). There is at least a «hair dryer» which is a hand dryer that’s higher, so that’s always nice.
In comparison, I like Hamilton pool better, but I’m think this is a pretty good public pool if you swim a lot. The location is also more convenient for me. Also, definitely check their website for schedule before you go.

Fun, friendly, clean and it’s located in one of my favorite parts of town. After a relaxing swim walk over to the newly renovated library to discover a new author or read something from a familiar one. Finally, ready to nourish your body? Explore the small cafés for something Italian with a glass of wine. Top it off with desert and coffee. What a lovely day! Enjoy.

The cold pool is the best for adults and teens if you don’t want to be in a pool full of children. The warm pool is really warm, it’s not skin-​itching warm but it’s warm to the point where it feels strange and not refreshing.

Here’s how what is an actually great city pool gets a 2-​star review from me:
–1 Website hours don’t match up with actual hours. Came here on a Wednesday at 2 which was supposed to be the tail end of «unstructured Adult recreation swim» and found the door was locked. Waited half an hour for lap swim.
–1 One hour-​ish lap swim windows. Which are fairly inconsistent. Every day a different closing time, different lap swim times. It’s a pain having to keep track of, and I feel like my sets are rushed. I guess this is to deter campers, but it’s annoying.
–1 They don’t sell the 10-​pack lap swim «scrip books» but they accept them. Well… why doncha sell them? Is that asking too much? Also: $ 6, cash only, exact change only.
That said, it’s really a great pool. You can see the TA pyramid and the St. Pete and Paul Cathedral outside the window. Clean locker rooms, lots of lockers, friendly lifeguards, cold and warm pools and sauna. If you come at the right time, with the right money, and do what you do quick.

I’ve been to a few SF city pools and this is the best one by far. There are two pools here, one for recreational swimming and the other for lap swim. The pools are kept at 87 and 77 degrees, respectively. Most pools are kept at 82, so the 87 feels great! I really wish they would heat the lap swim pool to 80… it would make it bearable to swim in.
The staff are friendly too :)

Very nice pools.
Life guards work very hard to keep eye on children.
They also increase a life guard as the lap pool opens for children.
Clean lap pool and a kid likes a warm pool (too warm for me though).
No private showers, no soaps.
Life guards also keep eye on people whom try to enter a pool w/​o shower.
Sauna: Adults only.
My regular pool is Y at Embarcadero, but I also enjoy this pool.
Clean facility, close to a bus stop. Easy access Cafes at North Beach and Shopping experience in China town.

Friendly staff and clean. Open early enough for someone who wants to be in the office by 8:30am!

Disclaimer: I’ve been spoiled by Southern California pools and I also have high standards for pools.
The North Beach pool is a great facility that may suffer from some sub-​par management. I came here for lap swim expecting an experience similar to the Hamilton pool but I was left disappointed.
Pros:
–Clean locker rooms, pool deck was generally clean
–Lots of equipment to use
–Decent temperature
–Close to bus lines
–Hair dryers!
Cons:
–Strange lap swim setup… three lanes get split into two when there are more than 4 people swimming, which creates wider lanes «so that it’s easier to pass.» As a result you end up confused about where to swim and turn. This setup caused me to leave a little earlier than I was planning because I just got fed up with focusing more on traffic than my swim.
–Super shallow (3.5 ft) shallow end is actually a little dangerous if you’re into flip turns. I’m really short but I stubbed my toe on the bottom when I missed the wall. ouch. Definitely something to consider for the taller folks.
–Condescending signs in the locker room include 3 minute shower limit & 10 second bathing suit spin limit (really?)
–No private showers

Great pool. They sectioned off the deep end where you can dive — A big plus for me!
They have a long shallow section in the warm pool so kids can play comfortably.
One negative are the hours. Be sure to check before planning to go there.

I like this pool. It is not the best but it is good enough for a causal swim when you are tired from working on a computer all day. It has a (hair) dryer, and if you want to use the locker, you need to bring you own padlock.
For $ 5 it cannot go wrong much.

I’ve been to this pool for about 2 – 3 years and it’s my second favorite pool in the city (Hamilton Pool being my first). I’ve taken swimming lessons here and I’ve recently started swimming laps here. They have two pools; a cold and a warm. The temperatures are alright. The cold pool feels really cold at first but you’ll get the hang of it. They have many swimming equipments; which I mostly use the floating boards. For lap swimmers, this place is for you. There is a fast & slow lane so everyone’s a happy bird. Other swimmers are pretty respectful and kind; well it varies of course. The staff are kind as well. They also have a sauna but I never been in there because I’m underage.
What I don’t like it is that on sunny days, it really shines down at the pool from the roof and it literally blinds you. Also the strange thing is that the pool gets really deep; I seem to loose breath when I reach the deeper area. but I guess that’s just my problem. The locker rooms… I’m not a big fan of it. I don’t like how the showers are so «public.» I always see naked people showering which can be really disturbing. This pool compared to Hamilton’s pool, it is very chlorine-​y. From what I learned, Hamilton changed the water so it’s less choline-​y. Other than these… I can’t think of anything else.
The pricing admissions as of June 2012;
$ 5 for adults
$ 1 for Children under 18.
Here is the Summer schedule:

I swim laps at the North Beach Pool a few times a week. The lap pool is 82 feet (25 meters) long and ranges from 3.5 to 10 feet in depth. The water is a very cool 77 degrees, which is perfect for swimming laps but might seem cold if you’re used to other pools in the city. There are only two lanes (fast/​slow) but they’re extra wide (11 feet) to make it easy to circle swim and to pass other swimmers.
There’s also a warm pool (85 degrees) for lessons and rec swim. Compared to the cold pool, the warm pool feels like taking a hot bath. It’s way too warm for me, but many people (especially older people and children) seem to like it.
The hours are very strange and unpredictable, so check on
for the latest schedule. The schedule changes every couple months.
Perhaps the best part of the pool is the sauna. It’s usually set to 195 degrees and is great for relaxing post swim.
Besides the wonky hours, the only downside is the bathroom and showers are sometimes used by homeless people.
For regular visitors, it’s worthwhile to buy scrip tickets online. (10 swims is $ 47) Otherwise, swims are $ 5 (exact change only).

I grew up a swimmer. Not a casual, summer fun swimmer, but the hardcore, twice-​a-​day-​plus-​weekends-​and-​swimmeets type. In terms of pools, I’ve seen everything from the gorgeous Olympic-​style facilities to the absolute shit holes where you question whether it’s safe to get in. And as I’ve gotten older (and am no longer spending 20+ hours in the water), I’ve become pickier in my pool choices.
So…with this in mind, I give you the NB public pool review:
Pros:
— Reasonably priced at $ 5 per swim. Much cheaper than going to the Golden Gate Tennis Club, ClubOne or the Y on a day pass.
— Both pools are very clean and heavily chlorinated. The decks and locker rooms are clearly hosed down regularly. They also have a swimsuit dryer, which is an awesome perk.
— The cold pool is actually cold, which is great for laps. There is nothing worse than trying to work out in bathtub-​temperatures.
— There is a separate (warmer) pool for folks who want to play and for swim lessons… which is great because the two groups don’t have to duel for space.
— The lifeguards are really nice. I ripped my cap one morning and one of the girls let me borrow her spare one.
Cons:
— The 2-​lane division is a waste of space. I read another review here that said they are narrow? The way the stripes on the bottom line up, there should be three lanes.
— The weekday evening time ends a little early for most working people, so plan to go for the 6am or Saturday time slots. It is closed on Sundays (boo to budget cuts).
— Crowds vary depending on what time you go. The early morning swims tend to be less crowded and have more serious swimmers, while the Saturday afternoon session tends to be the more crowded and more casual. Nothing wrong with this, but plan accordingly.
Bottom line: A well-​maintained, reasonably priced pool to catch a workout in North Beach.

I wanted to try something different for cross-​training and decided that the occasional swim would do the trick. The problem was that the pools at my gym (24 Hour Fitness) were getting such negative reviews that I was afraid to go. I read the great reviews about this place and decided to try it last night for the 5:30−7 lap swim.
The cost is $ 5 (exact change) and the locker rooms are right behind you after you pay and then lead out to the two pools. The closer pool is the «cold» pool, but it’s actually a great temperature for swimming. The «warm» pool was being used for lessons, but it’s available for laps at other times. (Make sure to go online and check the schedule because they have specific times for different activities in the pools.)
The lockers are medium sized (not the super long ones you see at some gyms, but not the cubbyhole type either). I’m fine with changing out in the open, but if you’re more modest, there are three stalls with curtains for you. They also have a communal shower area with several shower heads, a swimsuit «spinner» to dry your suit (near the sinks), and a few hand dryers that are warm and strong and can dry your hair a little.
The pool area itself has high ceilings and lots of windows. The pool was divided into Slow and Fast. I’m new to «lap» etiquette, but I caught on that you swim in a counterclockwise direction up one lane and down the other. Most of the people in my lanes were taking breaks every couple of laps and were nice about asking if you were waiting to go before they started swimming.
Since I was swimming laps I didn’t get a chance to use the floaters or the weights, but I did use a pair of goggles when I discovered that mine were broken. (I found them behind the lifeguard up on a box and there were some children’s ones hanging on a fixture next to the lifeguard.)
The location is great. If you get there early and need to while away some time, you can go to the library or swing by one of the cafes. 901 Columbus is really convenient because it’s right at Columbus at Lombard, so I stopped in there for some tea before my workout.

This is my favorite swimming spot in the city compared to all the other public ones. its probably due to this
1. great layout, one warm pool, one cold pool + sauna 18+
2. it is airy with big windows and invitingly clean
3. only 5 bucks a swim if you are 18+ other wise i think $ 2 with school id
4. location location location. its next to a library and smack dab in the middle of the North Beach where all the fine Italian food is at. and in a walkable distance of both Fishermans Wharf and Chinatown.
The only down side would be the schedule because this is a recreational pool there are activities that go on like water aerobics, swimming lessons etc. The floors of the changing room also get a little iffy so remember to bring flip flops and all your other swimming essentials + a lock.