Bud Kearns Memorial Pool

I love this place and go up there to swim all the time.
Their hours have recently improved and I have been taking a lot of advantage. It’s never too crowded and even when the kids come in for their lessons it’s not too bad. I guess that might change with the Summer season coming up though.
The staff is very friendly and the pool is clean. The building is very nice and has a unique historical feel. I wouldn’t hesitate to give it 5 stars if they were to renovate it but this is a perfectly good swimming pool for being a public location with cheap fees.

I’ve been swimming here for over 5 years. The staff is always courteous and friendly. The pool itself is over 80 years old. Very charming. Decent outdoor shower facilities are available and plenty of parking. The pool manager, Todd, is great. Sometimes I bring my lunch and grab a lounge chair, after my swim.

I live two blocks from this pool and have only been able to successfully swim here once. They are always closed at random times (when their posted hours say they should be open)
I even call ahead to make sure the recording says they are open at the time I’m planning on going. I walk down there and … They’re closed.

Great pool, great spot, terrible family hours and incredibly rude staff.
I love this pool because it is warm and has a great shallow end for my 6 year old. I just love this location with the tennis courts and playground nearby. I find the facility simple, clean, inviting.
So, no complaints at all about the facility itself.
But it is run just terribly. There are only a few hours per day for recreational (family) swim… usually during peak sun hours. We are never greeted in a friendly manner at the front desk. The lifeguards all act as if they’d rather be anywhere but at work. If the pool closes at 4, forget about trying to change your toddlers into dry clothes in the locker room. You will be harassed by college-​age staff that they are not getting paid to stay any extra minutes beyond closing time so you need to get the *** out.
Maybe this place works well for lap swimmers. But don’t expect any warm fuzzies if you bring your kids here.

For the last few summers I have been taking my kids here for swim lessons. My 4 yr old has been in class with Gabe this summer and he is the best! He is great with the kids, and a wonderful teacher. The facility is Spanish style and very charming. I feel so fortunate to have the pool so close to home, and the classes are affordable.

I guess in Southern California people can afford to be ridiculously picky about their outdoor pools. I’m from the midwest, where outdoor pools are few and far between and most facilities (indoor and outdoor) were built prior to 1980 so yeah.
Despite being old the facility is quite clean. If you cant tell the difference between old and clean, this probably isnt the place for you. And yes there is an open air locker room but if you seriously think someone is up there in a helicopter spying on you, you should probably also check and see if your reflection is drowning in the pool and jump in to save it…
This pool has a fantastic location, easy and ample parking — which is a big deal for me as I don’t go to certain places because I know parking is going to be a nightmare.
The guards are friendly and on top of it, instructors seem good too. I really appreciate guards that enforce all the rules! Pools have rules for a reason!
For being a rec pool in a prime location it’s never really that crowded. Again, if you need a whole lane to yourself all the time you may want to invest in your own endless pool.
For a $ 4 or $ 2 drop in fee, I say this pool is a great deal! My only wish is that they were open earlier/​later.

This pool is very cute and charming. The staff is awesome and not bad to look at either ;). The water is warm, pool is clean, cheap to swim, showers are clean and warm water. What more could you ask for? Best place for everyone in the community, of all ages, to get together and have a great time. My two children were in their swim lessons for summer and all the teachers were fantastic!

Great local outdoor swimming pool. Yes it an older pool, but don’t let that deter you because it is kept up well, very clean, and always nice and warm (on a very hot day sometimes too warm). Nice staff, but since a lot of them are seasonal and the hours and swim times change with the seasons you may get the wrong information if you call them and ask them a question. Yes it can be a pain from time to time, but aside from that they are ALWAYS helpful and nice and as long as you are respectful.
I don’t see a lot of kids at this pool unless swim lessons are going, so that’s always nice. I’ve never had a problem getting a lane, and never had to deal with rude, loud, splashy swimmers during rec swim.
Not sure what everyone is complaining about with the locker rooms. Yes they are open air, and don’t have a roof covering them but come on we live in sunny San Diego! To be honest I like that they are open air because they would probably be super disgusting if they were covered and moist all the time. Besides I would rather look up and see trees and a blue sky, then some generic drop ceiling any day!
On another note: OH MY GOODNESS a LOCKER ROOM where other people can see you changing? So barbaric! (note the sarcasm). My suggestion is that if you have a major issue with possibly being seen naked in a locker room or any other designated changing area… well a public pool just might not be for you in the first place.
Rusty Lockers where you have to bring your own lock? Big deal.
Basically if you aren’t a total snob and you’re just looking for a nice, clean, friendly, local pool to exercise in or take a dip on a warm day this place will for sure fit the bill. No it doesn’t offer any fancy amenities, and it could use some sprucing up here and there but come on people it’s a PUBLIC POOL in the heart of the park! What more do you really need?

Be aware my 5 star rating is based on the context of a public swimming pool. Of course you’ll find nicer facilities at a club or most membership-​based facilities. Here, this pool and the facilities are certainly old’s cool. However, it is kept clean and I’m admittedly a sucker for historic charm. I’ve yet to hit up that pool and not get an open lane. Temps seem to range from 78 to 83. Showers always seem to be warm before and after a swim. They throw down some aqua aerobics on the deep end from time to time while the kiddos & ‘rents will take after the shallow end. In between are quite a few lanes with the depth approximately 5 feet and a length of 22m which is 3m shy of your typical Jr. Olympic pool. However they have a chart posted on the wall near the pool telling you how many laps you need to log in to get a ¼ mile, full mile, etc. $ 4 per swim or if you sign up for 10 or 100 swims, they’ll toss a discount. I’ve been fine with the lifeguards & staff there but be aware they have to watch everyone in the pool, clean up, ring up folks for fees, take care of light maintenance, etc.

I swam competitively in high school, but now I just swim for fitness and triathlon/​open water. I’ll make this review simple with a pro and con list:
Con:
–less than 25 yards (there’s a conversion sign on the side of the building)
— hours are generally pretty good but there’s random hours of the day where it’s closed depending on the season. like noon– one and 5 – 6. You definitely have to check the pool times on the website/​call before you go the first couple of times.
— gets crowded in the summer but you can usually swim in the open, lane-​less section of the pool if you need to until a lane opens up.
— the changing and showering area is kind of open
— sometimes the pool will be randomly closed, but they usually have signs letting you know ahead of time
Pro:
— relatively cheap, ($ 3.50) and if you buy a punch pass you can opt either to keep it on site or use it at other city pools
— I’ve never had any issues with the staff, and some know me by name (the community feel is awesome)
— swimming is a great workout, and though the lanes aren’t regulation, they are adequate for working out
— standard kick boards, pull buoys, and flippers available for free
— friendly people who will let you share lanes if needed.
*I would recommend this pool to anyone who is wanting to swim to get in shape or train for a triathlon/​open water swim (just add a few laps to make up the difference)
avoid paying for a gym membership in San Diego there’s too many good bike, running, hiking trails. This pool provides a great, cheap, low impact workout.

This is the first public pool I’ve used in a long time, so not knowing what to expect, I expected the worst. The complex seems kind of old but not in bad shape. There were no locks on the lockers and we accidentally left ours in the car, so we just brought our things out to the pool and left them against the fence. My husband swam some laps and I went into the deep end, where a bunch of preteens were arguing about whether one of them actually had a girlfriend or was making her up. The water was the perfect temperature and it was sunny outside, pretty much the perfect day to go swimming. But I’m a little annoyed with the workers there. We tried going yesterday, and we called a little after 3:00 to make sure we didn’t need any sort of membership to get inside, and they told us anyone could come. When we arrived maybe half an hour later, we were politely informed that they were about to close. So why didn’t they tell us that when we called in the first place? The trip was a complete waste. I’m glad we came back today because we both had a fun time. But for future reference, if you close in less than an hour, please mention that when someone calls and asks about coming in.

Having swam competitively for 18 years I have seen my share of pools. Although the location is definitely dated, I really enjoyed my swim this morning.
It wasn’t crowded, there were plenty of kick boards and pullboys, the staff was friendly and the location was easy to get to. I loved being outside in the sun for my swim, and the pool was at a comfy 80 degrees which was perfect. If I was training I may want it a bit cooler, but with their older demographic I can understand.
Unlike some of the other reviews I did not find the chlorine overpowering and I found the facility to be quite clean given its age.
The major downside is that the locker rooms are extremely dated. They do not have lockers with locks, there were only 3 shower heads, very little privacy and there was barely any cover from the outdoors. Maybe it’s just me… but I find that to be weird.
Other than that though it’s a fabulous place for a sunny morning swim — and a shower at home after.

I am giving 4 stars for the hours. I think it could be cleaned a little better.

It is lovely swimming outdoors at this local heated pool. I do the aqua body conditioning classes which are good and $ 3.50 a class. The showers are also heated.

Horrible staff! They let kids play in the lane lines while you are swimming in them without considering the fact that the swimmer may get injured by the kids smacking into them. Surprisingly the staff likes to yell a lot at the kids in the shallow end but let them hang on lane lines, scream, splash the swimmers and jump into 3 feet of water. it’s loud and ghetto in appearance. The pool water isn’t that clean which is surprising since they demand you shower in their shower facility before entering the pool. the hours are terrible but can’t really hold that against the facility since it’s a county pool. Not worth the $ 4 charge. It’s worth paying an extra $ 6 to go to the Mission Valley YMCA and swim with people including children who know how to behave

The water was warm and refreshing, but the staff was terribly off-​putting. Too many rules for this Dad: no floaties, no water wings, shower before getting in, pay for my 1-​year-​old, etc. It just didn’t seem very family friendly.

I love the Bud Kearns Memorial Pool! This place is the absolute best. I haven’t been to any other outdoor pools in San Diego but coming from Canada where an outdoor pool is rare and often freezing, this place is a dream. It’s heated, normally to at least 82 degrees, and has flexible day and evening hours. It gets busy in the summer with day camps but a swim at this pool is always worth it for the nice, clean water, and beautiful outdoor scenery. I’ve brought many friends here and will bring plenty more!

Call before going. They charge $ 4pp for admission and when I got there a kids game was going on in the pool. Blow horns and screaming kids are not very relaxing.

Good times have been had here. It’s a lovely outdoor pool for when it’s sunny and all you want to do is soak up the rays but you need to do something to shift that laziness-​guilt.
The changing rooms are a little gross… my male friend had a very inappropriate situation happen with an older gentleman who couldn’t contain his ‘excitement’ at seeing my rather handsome acquaintence. It happens though, and it would be rude to blame this embarrasing moment on the stafff or the level of upkeep of the place. Still, they could do with cleaning the changing rooms a little more often so they don’t smell so much of wee.

*2.5 stars*
There are two types of people in this world: those who fall for charm, and those who go for convenience.
Charmers will happily live in a craftsman cottage with a leaky roof and broken furnace and drive around in a 1957 gas guzzling T-​bird jalopy. Meanwhile, the convenience team will happily reside in their spankin new Mission Valley condo and commute in a champagne-​colored Saturn.
Bud Kearns pool is definitely has charm. Unfortunately, that’s all it has going for it. This is one of the oldest pools in the city, and it shows. 1940s era photos adorn the lobby, showing synchronized swimmers in low-​cut bathing suits and white swim caps. The pool is surrounded by the palm trees and grassy hills of the Morley Field Complex, giving it an unusually pretty environment.
The changing room is horrendous and has probably not been renovated since the 1960s– at least. For starters, there is no ceiling. There is a small border of protection for the elements on the inside perimeter of the room. The lockers are old and rusty. The showers don’t get warm. The toilets stink.
The pool itself it not standard length— 22 yards instead of 25, which make things a little more complicated if you are training for an event or want an adequate workout. There’s enough chlorine to give you body dandruff. And to top it off, it’s not even that cheap— about $ 5 a visit, the standard price for a San Diego City pool (they gotta close that deficit somehow). About 2 miles down the road, you can pay the same to use the much better City Heights pool.
I go to BK because it’s the closest pool to my house and I don’t like to drive. It deserves 2 stars, maybe 1. But shit, I’m a sucker for charm.