The Best Public Swimming Pools in Toronto

The best public swimming pools in Toronto are mini oasis from the rest of the city to get some excercise, relax and unwind. Many have lap pools, designated kid-friendly areas, warmer water options and, increasingly, clean lockers and change rooms.

Here are the best public swimming pools in Toronto.

Regent Park Aquatic Centre

The standout indoor pool has earned rave reviews since opening in 2012. The ultra-bright and modern facility features a lap pool, leisure pool and warm water pool as well as a Tarzan rope, diving board and water slide. With non-gendered change rooms, this centre is a step in the right direction.

Sunnyside Gus Ryder

This one's a great summer pool because if you squint your eyes and pretend moderately hard, it can feel as though you're on some sort of 1960's tropical resort. With views of the lake, sand, beach, and park nearby, you almost feel as though you've left Toronto when spending a day at this busy but spacious Lakeshore watering hole.

Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre

This massive sports facility created for the 2015 Pan Am Games is located on the U of T Scarborough campus. It includes two indoor Olympic-sized swimming pools and an Olympic diving tank. They have leisure swims pretty much every day at various times.

Etobicoke Olympium

Another impressive indoor pool, but this one can be divided into two pools using a moveable bulkhead. Beyond the regular free and instructional swim, this pool in Etobicoke hosts water polo, diving, synchronized swimming and more, which offers something to watch if you don't feel like taking a dip.

York Recreation Centre

Imagine a six lane, 25 metre pool with ramp, a separate shallow leisure tot pool with water spray and splash features with ramp and stair access. It's not a mirage, it's this massive swimming pool inside an even larger fitness facility on Black Creek Drive with endless free swims and aquatic programming.

Alex Duff Christie Pits

A water slide! This outdoor pool that majestically overlooks Christie Pits Park's baseball diamonds draws both families and hip late-evening and weekend dippers to its 25m lap pool, kiddie pool, and large hot tub, which is officially dubbed a "warm conversation pool."

Trinity Community Recreation Centre

In Trinity Bellwoods Park, this sun drenched indoor pool space surrounded by windows and shady trees. There's a shallow pool for kids to splash around, and a great big adult pool where both leisure and lane swims happen.  Stick to your lane in this pool, regular lap swimmers take this swimming spot seriously.

Douglas Snow

This indoor pool can be found on Yonge north of Sheppard and features a huge, winding water slide. It also boasts 50-metre lanes and a separate kids pool and a massive ramp to enter, so it's accessible to everyone. 

Joseph Piccininni Community Recreation Centre

This St. Clair and Lansdowne facility with an indoor and outdoor pool is one of the few offering female-only swims. It also has lane, leisure, fitness, and instructional swim, a big slide and colour tile work surrounding the water.

DD Summerville

The outdoor pool next to the beach at Woodbine Park is great for diving. While some Toronto pools prohibit jumping in headfirst, this one begs a little adventure with its 5m and 10m diving boards. The platforms offers a great view of the lake from up there, too.

by Phil Villeneuve via blogTO