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NYC Pools Open Tomorrow. Here Are 8 to Visit Uptown (Including One in a State Park).

Updated: Jun 29, 2022


Jackie Robinson Pool in Harlem.

The city's outdoor pools reopen for the season Tuesday, June 28—just in time for what's predicted to be another sweltering summer.


While swim programs have been cancelled this year due to a lifeguard shortage, general swim hours will run from 11am to 7pm, with a break for cleaning between 3pm and 4pm.

Above 110th Street, there are a total of seven free outdoor pools run by the NYC Parks Department, plus the outdoor pool in Riverbank State Park, which charges a nominal entrance fee.


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


1. Thomas Jefferson

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.


2. Wagner

East Harlem E 124th St near First Ave

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


Wagner Pool in East Harlem

3. Marcus Garvey

Central Harlem 124th St and Fifth Ave

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


4. Sheltering Arms

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.


5. Abe Lincoln Pool

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.


6. Riverbank State Park

West Harlem 145th St and Riverside Drive

Located in West Harlem's large state park, this pool charges a small entrance fee ($1 for children ages 4-15, $2 for anyone over 16). But how many other public pools have views of the Hudson River?


7. Jackie Robinson

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.



8. Highbridge

Washington Heights Amsterdam Ave and W 173rd St

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

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