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NYC's Free Outdoor Pools Open Tomorrow—Here Are 8 to Visit in Harlem and Washington Heights

  • Jun 26
  • 2 min read

New pool in Central Park, New York City
The new Gottesman Pool at the Davis Center in Central Park.

The city's free outdoor pools reopen for the season on Saturday, June 27—just in time for what's predicted to be another hot and humid summer.


General swim hours are from 11am to 7pm, including a break for cleaning between 3pm and 4pm.


Above 110th Street there are currently a total of eight free outdoor pools run by the NYC Parks Department.


Here's where to find them all, from south to north:


East Harlem E 112th St and First Ave

One of uptown's three Olympic-size pools funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), it first opened in June of 1936—and is still going strong.


Central Harlem Davis Center in Central Park, 110th St and Lenox Ave

The pool in Central Park is back open as part of the new Davis Center, complete with a beautiful public building tucked into the landscape.


East Harlem E 124th St near First Ave

This intermediate pool was transformed into a Cool Pool in 2019, including bright new paint, outdoor furniture and umbrellas.


Wagner Pool in East Harlem
Wagner Pool in East Harlem

Central Harlem 124th St and Fifth Ave

Perched on a slope in the middle of the park, this intermediate-size pool feels pleasantly removed from the busy urban grid.


West Harlem W 129th St and Amsterdam Ave

This intermediate pool was the first in Upper Manhattan to get the Cool Pool treatment in 2018, including colorful new paint and furniture.


East Harlem Fifth Ave and E 135th St

This small wading pool—it's 40' x 20' x 3'—sits next to a renovated playground.


Central Harlem Bradhurst Ave and W 146th St

Nestled at the base of hilly, tree-filled Jackie Robinson Park, this Olympic-size WPA pool offers more shade than most.



Washington Heights Amsterdam Ave and W 173rd St

This huge WPA-funded pool became famous in 2021 after appearing in a musical number in Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights."

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