I’ve been moved by the spirt of the Peaceful Tribe, so I’m going to do something that is against my base selfish nature…disclose the location of an excellent, under-utilized, inexpensive pool. I’m doing this in the hopes that others will follow, and as a result, slowtwitchers will get the inside scoop on where the good, lap-swimmer friendly pools are located.
My pool is located in Oregon, Wisconsin (about 5 miles south of Madison). I’ve been a member of this pool for about one year, and I’ve NEVER had to share a lane with more than one other swimmer. Althought there are some older ladies who “walk” their laps, this poses no problem at all if there are only two people per lane. The vast majority of swimmers during lap swim are actually doing laps. This pool works very well if you’re doing intervals or drills, you can go as fast or slow as you want without disrupting the “flow” of the lane. The other night I went to to a night-time lap swim (8-9pm), and I had the whole pool to myself. Just me and the lifeguard.
My annual membership to this pool (as an Oregon resident) was $75.
The only downside I see is that lap swim times are somewhat limited. MWF 5:45 - 7:45am, also one-hour evening time slots Mon-Thu. Saturday from 12-1pm.
If I go to the pool Wednesday and all the lanes are filled, I’m going to be real pissed at myself…
My wife made us switch gyms recently because our new gym has a day care facility that she is comfortable with. It works well for me because my local pool is shut down untill summer and my old gym pool does not belong in the “good pool” thread.
The new gym (Spectrum, Howard Hughes Center, L.A.) has something that may only exist in Los Angeles, individual lanes. That’s right, a pool with 8 skinny lanes where noone shares. Split these lanes? Only if you go over and under. So far I have always been able to walk in and get a lane. My lane. Me. Mine, all mine. No one else…
They do have a sign up about not swimming for more than 30 minutes if someone is waiting. Yeah right.
24 Fitness in Houston, all locations I have tried are good. It is very rare that I have to share lanes. There are a couple water aerobics classes but other than that it is 24x7 lap swim. The pools are not competetion quality, they are a little shallow and only 3 lanes but they are deep enough and they are 25 yds. We’ve managed to fight off the geriatric crowd and the pools are warm, but within lap swim limits. Price is good and if you can fork over the cash for a 3 year prepaid membership then the price is fantastic.
About the old people at our pool:
One older woman at the pool would literally give you the shirt off her back. She has gotten out of the pool when the other lanes were full just so I could swim without waiting. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.
There is an oriental man who doesn’t speak english but we always exchange a smile and a wave. He sits in the hot tub for a while then rinses off and gets in an open lane. He puts a wet washcloth on top of his head and does a funny little dance while in the lap lane. He gets out of the pool and then repeats the entire process for about an hour. He is always very considerate of lap swimmers. One more thing you have to love, he wears flesh colored speedos!
Awesome lap swimming. 25 yard (or 25 meters depending on config) 10 lap pool. 76-77 degrees year round. 7 feet deep throughout (so no walkers.) While the two local youth swim teams do meet there, any other time is open season and I never have problems getting a lane and the only time I’ve had to share was one day I was there during the above mentioned youth swim team practice.
Nassau county Aquatic Center, New York. 50 meter and 25 meter pools. Open from 6am to 10pm, 7 days a week for lap swimming. Share a lane; what are you kidding?!
Kits pool in Vancouver, BC. 137.5 metres long, saltwater so no chlorine stink and it’s outdoors!. Huge crew of good, serious swimmers. But it’s only open in the summer…
Yes it is! But I’m now living in Singapore for the next 1.5 - 2 years so have to “make do” with a 25 metre pool (though it is right outside my condo window).
The pool is in Eisenhower Park in Great Meadow. Most people should know where Eisenhower Park is. So just ask for that. Once you get to the park, you can't miss it. It's just off the Meadowbrook Parkway Near Old Country Rd.
The pool was built for the Goodwill Games in '98 I think. Just doing a workout, you feel like you are in the olympics.
The daily non-resident rate is $10. That's high but it's worth it to see what a world-class pool it like.
The pool at Club W in Albuquerque is also excellent. Not only have I never had to share a lane but I’ve only rarely had to share the entire pool (note: I swim from 1 -2 pm weekdays only, I use a different pool on the weekends). It is a therapeutic pool so they keep the temp in the upper 70’s (77 - 79 usually but they do the temp in the mornings so I think it is actually 81 or so when I swim). The pool at Defined Fitness in Rio Rancho is nice if you swim early (4:30 or so) after that the HS swim team comes in which is too humbling for my tastes.
The Holyoke MA YMCA, in a very poor urban area has 2 fantastic pools. The regular pool is 8 lanes, has great lifeguards, and tons o’ hours. Only downside is no masters, but the new aquatics director is working on that. There is also a little therapy pool, 4 lanes, warmer.
A big cross-section of the community uses the Y, with lots of elderly and families, as well as younger people. Everyone is very respectful of times and purposes. I have had to share a lane once in three years, and that was only because I was too lazy to get there earlier, and swam while the youth swim team had practice, so lanes were reduced.
All the other areas of the Y are great also: cardio, weights, daycare, locker rooms, lots of basketball (of course, Western Mass has the B-ball hall of fame), volleyball (home of), racquetball, yoga, pilates, sauna, and steam.
How about Barton Springs pool in Austin? No chlorine, fresh water, 1/8 mile per length. Like a track 4 laps to the mile. The only downside is it is 68-70 degrees all year long as it is a natural spring. Loved swimming there before moving to NYC.
I second Barton springs. I spent 10 days in Austin last summer and enjoyed it. Not only is it a break from your standard pool but it is free in the mornings!
That pool looks awsome. I’m visiting friends in Austin in the summer, do they lane it off or is it a free for all? I’m guessing no 1/8 mile lane lines. Also how deep is it?
And I was all happy that our county rec center has a 50m/ 25yd pool, only long course on sunday, but still a great pool. Williamson Co. Indoor Sports Complex for all you Nashvillians. (I can’t imagine it’s a secret, the tri club meets there.)
