Northwest Municipal Pool

Open for the summer!
Free Swim Hours:
Sun-​Wed, Fri, Sat: 11am-7:30pm
Lap Hours:
M-​W and Friday: 8am-​11am
(50 meter lanes)
Closed Thursday all day. $ 3 for Residents, $ 4 non-​residents.
Lap lanes are also setup during all free swim hours but only 25 meters long and there’s only maybe 3 lanes open. No lockers or showers. Great parking. Weekday Lap hours aren’t busy but people are happy to share lanes. Lifeguards are super friendly and happy to be there. Bathroom is a single open stall with a sink, no door on the outside but people know to respect privacy.

I love swimming at this pool. It’s big and has multiple lap lanes. It has shade trees and is never that crowded. It does however sometimes shut down for Chlorine issues etc. The lifeguards don’t police the kids swimming across the lap lanes so you have to be alert. The bathrooms are archaic. But mostly I just wish it was cheaper and stayed open longer. 3 dollars is a lot for a swim for me. When it gets hot though in Austin you can stay inside or go for a swim.

Northwest pool is a decent facility with a large kiddie pool, good sized swimming area, lap lanes, and diving boards. Unfortunately the diving boards are rarely open to swimmers because the pool is almost always short staffed. Still, we like the versatility and big expanse of the swimming area. Also, it would be nice if they had a drinking fountain or vending machine (that works), even if it just served water. Access to drinking water in the middle of August in Texas is always a plus (and may even be a necessity). We ran out of what we brought and tried their vending machine but no luck.

I grew up walking over to this pool as a kid and I many find memories. Now I like to swim laps and this is the only city pool I know of that only charges $ 3 and has lap lanes set up during all their opening hours. They also have limited hours for swimming the longer length (50m) but since I work I can only make regular hours which they have about 5 lanes set up for the shorter distance (25 yards).
Only downside is that the bathrooms could be a lot less gross and more maintained (most don’t have doors or have half a shower curtain) Though to be honest I have avoided them since last year so I wouldn’t know if they improved them but they are the same ones as 25 or so years ago it looks like.

I went here bc deep eddy was closed because of the flood. Anyway, there are a decent amount of lanes but they aren’t as long as normal. They are 25 m.
When I got there I asked the guard and he said its 26 laps for a mile like eddy but I didn’t think so because I would be doing 20 min miles.
A mile is 35 laps there.
It’s a nice pool I guess I’m more of a deep eddy guy though.

Lap lanes are typically full of knowledgeable and polite swimmers. Central location lets me get in a nice bike/​swim/​bike workout. Locker rooms are sparse, there’s nowhere to lock anything up and in the evenings an older lady at the front desk will get crabby and not let me bring my expensive bike inside (fortunately she only works in the evening so I try to come mid day).
What other Unilocalers have written is true: lock your valuables. This place gets stuff stolen every day from the parking lot.

Nice older pool in the Allandale neighborhood. Good swimming lanes for lap swimmers. It could use an update with a water playscape in the wading pool area, but I’m sure the City of Austin would never spend money for that type of upgrade. The pool could also use lockers for swimmers to store their valuables. My son had his cell phone stolen out of his backpack at this pool while swimming. Overall a great public pool.

It’s a nice pool with lap lanes for the adults, a shallow end for kids, and a 5 ft section for people who want to just hang out. Sometimes the deep end and baby pool are closed depending on the time of day. I usually swam in the evenings so I guess it was quieter.
It’s not a fancy gym, so don’t expect lockers, a steam room, or fancy showers. It’s a simple public pool. But $ 3 a visit is a heck of a good value for a nice swim on a sunny day.
My only complaint is that they don’t really enforce a swimsuit policy. I just hope those girls swimming in their undies chose a clean pair…

Northwest Pool is a cool place for a $ 3 charge. Just because it’s in a nice neighborhood, it’s not necessarily safe though.
I went yesterday with friends. I typically go a lot throughout the summer. The pool unfortunately, doesn’t have lockers so I had to decide between leaving my valuables in my car or laying out on the grass while I went swimming. I opted for the car.
In 45 minutes flat my new car was vandalized with a window smashed, my house keys, license and credit cards were taken and the thief charged over $ 3k worth of merchandise at local stores.
The cops didn’t act surprised and when the detective came out she noted that it’s about the 4^th reported break in this month alone.
It would have been really nice to either have notices that there have been break-​ins or some safer option, like a locker, for my belongings.
If you’re going to head to this pool take a bike and leave your valuables behind. The alternative isn’t worth the trip.

This pool is not free Unilocal needs to take it off free pool search

Really fit people. The water us perfect temperature. In the summer they have extra long lanes in the morning for lap swimming. Haven’t been to a better pool other than deep eddy.
The lanes are big and the site-​seeing is usually pretty nice ;) Anyway, I come here for the laps and there seems to be some pretty hardcore athletes in this area of time (which met my expectations).
It seems that they close the pool in the fall and winter — is there anyway we can get a petition going to keep this place open? It’s such a nice pool and there are always people here… I don’t understand how it can not be doing well enough to stay open all year.
I don’t want the joy to end and have to wait until next year :*(

I was really torn between one star or two on this. We have been going here off and on most of the summer because the friends we meet live in Dripping. Most of the time we have not had any problems but this week was completely different. The reson for this is the bee infestation that they have at this pool.
Even if you aren’t allergic, who wants to get stung? Unfortunately my youngest is somewhat allergic but my friend is severly allergic… as in anaphylaxis allergic. At one point, I stopped counting at 10 bees swarming around our picnic table. We do bring fruit and drinks for the kids but we are VERY careful about not making a mess and putting everything away so as to avoid the bees. Of course not everyone else is which makes things worse.
In any case, can’t they spray on their off day??? When my friend brought up the bee problem to two of the lifeguards, in reference to why she wasn’t willing to eat ice cream at the table, they got down right nasty with her.
So needless to say, we will be finding a different meeting place unless something is done and done quickly. It just isn’t worth the risk.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO BEES, AVOID THIS POOL!!!

The word in all my mom’s groups was this was a pretty cool pool to go to. I finally got to check it out this week and I have to agree. This pool is pretty great for the kiddos who are not of swimming age. They have a good size pool that goes from one foot to two feet. My 21 month old loved being able to touch the bottom and move around herself while sitting in her floaty.
It has shade most of the way around it and a small pavilion with bleachers for people to sit.
They are sticklers about food here. Food is only allowed in the picnic areas. I understand why! It looks like my bag had crumbs in the bottom of it and the ants attacked it. They are biting ants too so save yourself some calamine lotion and keep the food well sealed and at the tables.

$ 2 for adult and $ 1 for kids admissions are not that bad! Great place to do during summer!!! My daughter loves going there. the pool has a diving board. I like doing laps there for exercises.
The only drawback about this pool is that they do not allow food on grassy area. But that is not the main issue.

I’m a lap swimmer and on weekdays this is one of the best places to swim in Austin. On weekends the pool can get dirty and I’ve had problems with the lifeguards allowing people to hang out or play in the lanes while lots of lap swimmers are waiting. The kid’s pool is great for kids.

I spent many early mornings training here when I swam USS. It’s a beautiful pool, and the lanes are awesome. The pool is perfect in the summer.

Diving well, lap lines, shallow end for kids. This old timey designed pool is one of those Austin gifts. Have a birthday party for your kid, swim laps or enroll your son in swim lessons. Baby Pool. Not super shady.
swell I’d say.

$ 1 per child, $ 3 per adult. Huge Olympic size pool and the diving boards (when operational) are fun. Large kiddie pool as well. Lots of grass and trees, but seating is a bit rough. Bleachers get incredibly hot and uncomfortable and there are only a few benches. There are some covered tables further back though. It would be wise to bring some lawn chairs or blankets if you plan on doing any real sunbathing. The pools are clean and life guards are on top of things, sometimes too much. My daughter was splashing by herself today and 2 of the lifeguards freaked out and thought she was drowning. She wasn’t screaming or anything, just splashing her arms so she could keep underwater while playing with her goggles, but I’d rather them over-​react than not pay attention. Overall this pool rocks and I live close by… only reason they lost a star is they really need to upgrade the sitting/​sun-​bathing equipment. They also have swim lanes (though annoyingly in the center of the pool instead of the far end) and a snack and drink machine. I’ll be back for sure.

This is a hidden gem in the Allandale neighborhood. It’s not readily visible from shoal creek blvd, and you have to drive through a windy neighborhood street to get to it. I came here with two of my co-​workers and their toddlers and absolutely loved it. There is a huuuuge lap pool with multiple lanes and a little kiddie pool. The pools are kept impeccably clean, which is why I do not mind paying the $ 3 entrance fee. We waded in the kiddie pool with the toddlers and didn’t swim in the larger pool because 1) I can’t swim; and 2) the kiddies don’t know how to swim either. The kids absolutely loved it and I can’t wait to learn how to swim so I can swim in the larger pool. I’ve been planning to take swim classes for the last two years now, but still haven’t gotten around to it… maybe this summer!
This is a great place to spend a lazy, hot afternoon during the summer. I recommend bringing lawn chairs, as Liz B. mentioned, there really isn’t much seating other than bleachers near the kiddie pool. I, too, thought it was great that you’re allowed to bring coolers and food into the pool area.
I can’t wait until the blazing heat comes back!

I went to Northwest pool for the first time a few weeks ago. I live less than a mile away, so its a great neighborhood pool where I can take a dip on a hot summer day.
One negative– no lawn chairs! Are most Austin pools this way? You either had to lay our your towel on the concrete, or in the grass which was filled with little sticky things that stuck all over the towel. So if you have a lawn chair, bring it!
I saw that people brought coolers, too, which is nice.