This pool gets super crowded in the summer, but so do all of the Portland outdoor pools. As a…read moreswimmer, I prefer doing my hour of laps outside when the weather is nice, so I do my best to tolerate the "cons."
The pool is primarily for swimming lessons, and since I consider swimming a life skill, I definitely get the priority. Family swim and open swim is during the afternoons, only til 3:00 during the week, and then 7-8:30 evenings.
Lap swimming is early morning, from 6:00-8:00 am, all five lanes. At noon, there are only 3 lanes available from 12:00-1:10. During the evening swim, there are 2 lanes from 5:10-7:25. Weekend swims, all 5 lanes are available from 12:00-1:00 and 4:30-6:00.
There are a lot of dedicated swimmers, same people every year. If there are more than 2 people in a lane, you have too circle swim. Often there are 5-6 people circle swimming. Even if every one in the lane is comparable as swimmers, it is challenging! The lanes are marked slow, medium and fast, but speed is relative to who is swimming that day. People come and go so often the lane has people of varying speeds.
Lifeguards are there to watch for drownings, they rarely pay attention or discipline the swimmers who get what I call "swim rage" and intimidate the others in their lane.
Portland Parks ends the season a week before the end of August. Every year it seems like they close sooner in our already short season. Just 2 years ago, they stayed open until September 15th, which all of us swimmers loved because we had all 5 lanes for lap swimming everyday.
The showers and bathrooms are what you would expect. I'd never walk in there barefoot. Ever.
There are recliners and seats available. On crowded days, it's hard to get a chair but usually it's not a problem.
All that being said, I look forward to the 2.5 months a year the pool is open and I go every day for my swim.