Swimmingly In Los Angeles

December 14, 2008 4:55 AM

Where are there good public swimming pools in Los Angeles area?

I am looking to get into a pool for a daily swim and am wondering what public or privately owned pools are available in Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Westside area? Also, is there such a thing as non-chlorinated pools?

posted by goalyeehah to health & fitness (6 comments total)

I used to go to the one at Valley College.
posted by brujita at 8:52 AM on December 14, 2008

Most LA gyms have pools and charge ~$30-80/month. I was a member of LA Fitness and 24 Hr Fitness up until earlier this year and I payed about $38/mo. Equinox and other gyms are fancier and pricier, but I found the laypeople gyms to be just fine, both with Olympic-sized pools. Check out the YMCA, which may be even cheaper.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:23 AM on December 14, 2008

An Olympic-size pool is 50m long; I doubt the gyms had Olympic pools.

Anyway, a good place to start on pools with lap-swim times is Swimmer's Guide, which lists pools around the world. Gym pools are usually terribly kept and if you don't want to join a gym for other reasons, you'll probably end up spending less just going to public lap swim at a stand-alone pool.

Finally, yes, there are pools that use bromine or UV as disinfectants. If you call the pool, they should be able to tell you what kind of system they use. While many prefer bromine to chlorine, some are allergic, so keep that in mind for your first swim.
posted by dame at 9:59 AM on December 14, 2008

Also, the LA Parks Department Aquatics listings.
posted by dame at 10:03 AM on December 14, 2008

Westside? UCLA! Here's a link to the availability and costs associated (as a member of the general public you can buy a pass). Please note a few of the pools are undergoing construction right now (notably Sunset Recreation Center) to expand them.

UCLA also definitely has Olympic-sized pools, though to my knowledge none of the pools are non-chlorinated. It also has fairly decent changing rooms, lifeguards on duty, and separate lap versus general swimming sections.

If you'd like more info, feel free to MeMail me.
posted by librarylis at 11:19 PM on December 14, 2008

Check out that year-round facilities page from Dame, since a couple of those pools aren't listed on the Swimmer's Guide.

We go (as often as possible) to the one on Sepulveda, just north of Santa Monica. Call ahead as they're sometimes flaky with the hours/programs available.

There's also the Venice High pool on Venice.

Both are big enough to swim laps at.
posted by klangklangston at 12:44 PM on December 15, 2008