Good location and fairy clean facility....but why not provide chairs if you can't bring your own? I have frequented several pool around the area and they all offer lounge chairs or regular chairs and tables. It's very hard past the age of 20 to lay out on a towel on the ground. Ridiculous. Hopefully the new renovation coming will include places to sit and spend the day. read more

Gath offers a clean, safe, and affordable community pool and facility, a friendly, respectful staff, and a separate shaded kiddie pool for toddlers/preschoolers. Community pools are a fun place for little ones to have social time with kids their age. My grandchild and I love this pool! read more

I'm reviewing a pool because I'm annoyed at the only other review posted here. A $45 per adult and $20 per child season pass to a community pool is hardly expensive. You can instead choose to pay for individual visits. There are, at any given time, 4 to 5 lifeguards to make sure all the kids are safe (and I'd like to think that's where your fees are going and worth the cost in my opinion). I do agree that there are minimal shaded areas for watchful adults. Overall, the pool is well kept. It's divided into three sections - diving area, lap lanes, and general pool area. I think one downside is that there are only 2 lap lanes. The diving area consumes way too much pool space. I'd rather they close that off and turn it into lap lanes. It's also a small pool so on weekends, it's busting at the seams with squealing kids. Yes, it's $130 for a family of 4 but people spend more money on video games to keep their children entertained for the summer. At least this way, they're getting some exercise in our increasingly obese nation. read more

This pool has been a city fixture for decades - I grew up swimming here, for fun and competition. Conveniently located, with plenty of parking. Surrounded with athletic and play fields, with the Horace Mann playground just up the block. An easy walk for most of the neighborhood. I have always experienced the pool as clean and the staff as cordial. It's a large pool with a shallow section, a middle section that can be used for general swim or laps (25 yards and six possible lanes - usually 2 are open for laps during regular swim), and a deep end/diving well with both a diving board and a water slide. A season pass for a single adult can be a big initial expensive at $45, but since the day rate is $6 for residents, it pays for itself if you swim more than 8 times during the season. The main pool is usually a little on the cool side, and can be downright cold at times. It's been this way for years. Most of the season and days it's more refreshing (running in the mid-70s for a temp) for an adult, but for young children you might have about 10-15 minutes before you end up with a kidsicle. You get used to it, but that first plunge is a lulu! It can get crowded on hot days. C'est la vie - it's a tank of cold water during a hot New England summer. Lots of kids. The parks & rec camps swim here during the week. But if you just want to marinate and enjoy a respite from the heat, don't mind the crowds. Caveat: there's not a lot of shade on the pool deck. More than there used to be, but still not a lot. Unlike, for example, the Y or a health club, it's not oriented primarily toward lap swimming. During general swim, most of the time there's two lap lanes open. The lifeguards are pretty good about shooing out folks who aren't actually swimming laps, but at peak hours you might have to wait a bit if you don't want to circle-swim with 3 people in a lane. There are certain hours designated as adults-only (a couple of days early morning, and usually an hour at noontime on weekdays). The morning hours (8am - noon) on weekdays are typically reserved for swim lessons. If swimming laps are your focus, you'll have to pick your times carefully and be flexible. The water is (imho) great for laps, though - it's clear and cool enough to get you moving and not overheat. The diving boards were probably built at the same time the pool was. These are no weenie plastic planks jutting out a foot over the water - these are cranked, spring-loaded, weather-proof swimmer catapults roughly 4 feet from the surface of a 12-foot diving well. Prepare to go airborne. The water slide is a newer addition and squeaky splashdown fun. Overall, a good value for the money, a no-frills chill experience. There is a convenience store and frozen yogurt shop a short walk away as well. read more

This is the cleanest pool I have been to in the metro Boston area. Not to mention they stay open all the way until Labor Day. Prices are reasonable as day passes for residents are between $4-$6 and $10 for non residents. The rules can be a little strict with no chairs or strollers allowed on the pool deck but they offer tons of seating as well as a good amount of cover from the sun. The staff is accommodating with most requests but is made up of mostly teenagers. New management is in place this year and seems to be making some great changes so far! read more

This is a review of the kiddie pool section of Gath. It is, quite simply, the worst. The wading pool is tiny, overcrowded, and generally filthy. While they charge a nominal fee to get into the regular pool, the wading pool is free, and is packed to the gills with children who are clearly too old for a kiddie pool. My 3 year old daughter still enjoys splashing around here, but I dread taking her. read more

I recently went to the Gath Pool with a student who experiences grand mal seizures. He has a life jacket that he brings with him on swimming trips because of his medical condition. We were denied access to the pool by the teenage staff who claimed that inflatables were not allowed. What!? It's a pool. And they have inflatables in the pool already!! They said that my student could go in the pool without the life jacket (and rely on the lifesaving skills of the scrawny 15 year old lifeguards)--I think not. The best part is that my supervisor called the day before to verify that the student could bring his life jacket in. read more

Great pool, surrounding parks are green, sky is blue. Staff are very pleasant and entertaining with a great sense of humour and a strong focus on safety. Great rates with logical pricing as well as fair and understandable rules. read more

I reviewed this a few years ago but have been going more often, so I felt the need to update. I still can't bring myself to give it more than 3 stars, even with the added shades. It is a nice, clean pool, so it has that going for it. But, if you're looking for a place to swim for exercise, look elsewhere. My husband bought a membership to train for the swimming segment of a triathalon. Unfortunately, there are a ton of restrictions on when there is open lap swim. During the week, there is no lap swim on Tuesdays and the other weeknights only has lap swim from 6pm and dusk. During that time, the lifeguards tend to not to enforce the lap only lanes, so if you're trying to swim for exercise you're kind of out of luck. It's been such a disappointment that we are frequenting Crystal Lake instead (thank goodness the membership is good for both locations!) where there are less time restrictions and there is more space for swimming laps. There is even a map in the building there to tell you how long the laps are, in feet. My husband has stopped going to Gath Pool because lap swim was so tedious, but I still go there to use the (free) kiddie pool. We really like the kiddie pool. The kiddie pool is fun and cute, but it gets slippery on the blue area. My son has slipped going into the pool twice this summer so far and once hurt his foot pretty badly. So be careful! read more

I brought my 2 children to this pool fairly recently with no issues (6 and 2 yrs old.) And yes, my daughter is fully potty trained. My children and their father just got themselves into the pool when a female teenage employee walked up to us and said that any kind of diaper is prohibited in the pool. I told her that I understood and my daughter doesn't wear diapers so that's that. She walked away and went inside. Shortly after that, I walked into the bathroom with my daughter so I could use the facilities and my son stayed with his father. Once I left the stall, that same employee was in there "washing her hands". I went outside by the pool and my daughter jumped right in. That same employee came back over to us and saying that I need to take my daughter to the kiddie pool. She accused me of breaking the rules saying my daughter is wearing a diapers, when she was not. I told her that I want my money back then and we would go somewhere else. She told me that I could call the next morning and speak to her boss if I wanted my money back. I said we've been here for a whole 10 mins, so I either want a full refund or we will continue to swim here. Eventually she gave me my money back. But I've never felt so insulted and harassed in my life. I am a life long resident of newton and have never had any issues. Just trying to enjoy an afternoon at the pool with my kids and ignorant teenagers ruined that. Gath pool should hire better staff who know what they are doing. I will not be returning and I will encourage all of my family and friends to avoid it as well. read more

This is a no-frills public pool. Facilities are basic but adequate. Overall, good value if you just want a place to take your kids on summer afternoons. The main pool is never super packed, probably because you have to pay to get in. Why does this place lose stars? First, the water is cold. I'm hoping that since they fixed a leak last summer that they don't need to continually be filling the pool with fresh (cold) water every day. Second, the hours for open swim could be better. It's pretty much only open in the afternoons for open swim. I will say that these hours (open in the afternoon) seems to be something that is the case at all the other local public pools around, last time I checked (e.g. Connors nearby in Waltham, Weston's pool, etc.) If you're looking to swim for exercise, this probably isn't the best place, and you're better off at the YMCA 10 minutes away, but it does have lanes for lap swimming, and I think there is lap swimming time available earlier in the day. Third, I wish there were more seating/shade, but it's not terrible. A membership to the Gath also gets you into Crystal Lake, but the deep end test at the Gath doesn't count over at Crystal Lake, so you would have to do the dock test there (which IMO is much harder). Parking isn't usually a problem, and it's easy to walk to Yogurt Beach afterwards for a treat if that is your jam. read more

Gath pool is a spacious, clean and fun pool! Lifeguards are friendly and keep everyone safe! My niece takes lessons in the morning and loves them! Then back to pool after lunch for free swim! Enjoy everyone! read more

As a former lifeguard I know good guarding when I see it. Let me tell you the lifeguarding over at the Gath pool is treated more like a science then a summer job. Their scanning is quite sufficient and their whistle blows could be heard for miles around I haven't seen guarding like this since I was a kid. I was fortunate to experience a save by a young boy who was definitely familiar with the gym. His entry was text book and he handled it like a pro, I was flabbergasted as he stayed cool as a cucumber making his save. Lastly I would like to add that i think it is a great thing that they add God bless America at the end of every announcement, I love this country man - roll tide read more

The Gath Pool is a well-maintained, clean public pool. The water is very clean, a bit warmer this year as a problem leak was fixed so it no longer needs to be continously replenshed with cold water. There are also two large shade areas with benches which were put in last year. Plus there is a fun water slide for those who have passed the deep end test. We had been a member of a club pool but the price was so much higher and didn't make sense once kids started into day camps. Gath is nice for a quick swim after camp or on weekends. Also the wading pool has also been enhanced with a shade area and spouting alligator (I think that is what it is). The locker room is fine and industrial, my only complaint is that it could be brighter, the lights are pretty dim. For a public, low-cost pool, this is very nice. It is not a club with lounge chairs and loads of picknicking so if that is what you want, this is not it. read more