The city's free outdoor pools reopen for the season on Thursday, June 29—just in time for what's predicted to be another scorching summer.
The good news is swim programs—cancelled last year due to a lifeguard shortage—are back, with general swim hours running from 11am to 7pm, including a break for cleaning between 3pm and 4pm.
Above 110th Street, there are currently a total of seven 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.
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.
Central Harlem 124th St and Fifth Ave
Perched on a slope the middle of the park, this intermediate 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.
7. Highbridge
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."
