A hidden gem. Go mid-week and you've often got the pool pretty much to yourself. SF's lucky to have it.

Just a block from Mission Dolores Park, and around the corner from trendy shopping and restaurants on Valencia St, I would have never guessed that there was an outdoor pool right there in the heart of the city. The building itself could use some updating. The locker rooms definitely have *character*- there is all kinds of wood paneling, and orange and red tiling in the showers and walls. The shower area itself was confusing- there were 3 showers in a small, very dimly lit (and orange-tiled) room. Although the locker room was obviously outdated, the only thing that was truly missing that other SF city pools included is a swim suit dryer.   The pool was busy compared with other SF city pools I have visited; I was surprised to see 2-3 people per lane. It was a smaller pool (4 lanes, 30 yards), with narrow lanes, and it did feel crowded. Some were waiting for swimmers to leave before hopping in for their swim- my lane mate complained about running into the entry/exit ladders when swimming near the wall, and I did get breaststroke kicked.   Apart from the number of people, it was such a treat to swim outside right in the middle of the city.The Mission Pool is a hidden gem best meant for anyone who is comfortable with no-frills locker rooms, and is looking to get outside to enjoy a casual swim. read more

Mission Pool - Swimming Pools Near Me - San Francisco, California

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The pool offers a pleasant outdoor swimming experience with four lanes of 30 yards. The staff recommended I come when the place opened for lap swimming, and the lanes (fast, 2 medium paced, 1 slow) filled quickly. I might go 25 minutes into the session next time. The pool could be cleaner, and the life guard team should be cleaning the bottom of the pool of debris. The filter system is fair; I had to deal with hair strands around my hands on several occasions. Not everyone wore caps. The lane lines discs are small in size, so the water was choppy, worse than open water swimming according to one swimmer. I agreed. I question the focus of the lifeguard staff: music played loudly, one guard was tanning in her bikini on the deck (off duty, she should have been on the grass out front or elsewhere), and the guard holding the rescue float was jamming out to Lizzo and other tunes, dancing with his eyes closed, singing along. A second guard seemed to be staring into the pool standing under the umbrella, needing to jump over equipment if he needed to get in the pool. One of them should have been walking around as the lanes were full. I didn't fear a drowning but a collision that the guard wouldn't see. No one was ready for action. Experienced swimmers could hold their own here, but I'd suggest newer swimmers look at other public pools before jumping into this one. read more

Mission Pool - Swimming Pools Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I've been living in the Mission for a long time and came to this pool for the first time just recently. It's wonderful! The pool staff (especially Charles!) creates such fun and uplifting energy. And big bonus for playing great music. The patrons of the pool were very kind, and the overall atmosphere was cheerful and welcoming. It made me feel so grateful to be part of the Mission community. read more

The pool is gorgeous the staff is delightful on certain days but they could get an attitude check!

TLDR: Check the schedule on your website before coming here. It's super cheap and has the amenities you'd expect. Bring a lock if you want to store away your valuables. Entry for 1 adult is $7 or you can get their 10 entry pass for a discount. It's a great deal for an hour or more of swimming. They offer Lap Swim and Family Swim, which you'll have to check their schedule online for the exact times. We made the mistake of showing up in the 30 minutes between the sessions and had to wait. They have slow, medium, and fast lanes for lap swim and it's usually not too crowded if you go in the afternoon. Family swim, however, is when they divide the pool into 2 sections and it's great for beginners or people learning how to swim. They have showers and lockers here! You just have to bring your own lock to use the lockers. A lot of people just leave their items on the benches by the pool, where they can keep an eye on them. They also provide kickboards during the sessions. Overall, very friendly people and a great place to get some laps in. read more

This pool facility is rather dainty, so bear that in mind when visiting. The ladies' change facility has little space in which to work. The shower area is rather compact with three shower heads in total. To be fair, there's no room for more. If it's you and another swimmer showering, then it almost feels a bit too intimate such is the tightness of the space. There's a single shower at the opposite end of the narrow change room just beyond the row of toilet stalls meant for those with mobility issues, but it's often dominated by mothers with children or body-shy folk. I haven't had issue with anyone on staff, but I watched as one of the girls working gave a delighted-to-swim, small child the biggest stink eye for walking through the Fort Knox-like entrance in front of her mother too enthusiastically. This same worker also seemed displeased by the child walking a couple of feet away from the payment window before her mother had finished paying the entry fee. The child wasn't spazzy, wasn't behaving in a manner that made one anxious for her well-being, she was just being a happy kid. I thought, man, if I can see her absolute displeasure at this child's behavior, then so can the child's mother. This was confirmed in the change room. The mother had had a sense of decorum and chose not to engage with the bratty employee. That was probably for the best as had the mother responded, then it could have soured the swim session, or worse, she and her child might have been ejected from the premises altogether. Recreation swim may or may not be as listed on the pool schedule, so be prepared for whatever goes. The other day, the teenagers who work there decided to leave the lap lanes up from the previous pool session in place during the rec swim hour, so that blew. Of course, it didn't suck for the lappers who somehow sussed out that they got another hour of lap swim during the day and came out in droves. The rest of us adults were relegated to a fourth of an already rather narrow pool for our pleasure. If the day hadn't been so windy, then I would have said that the pool trip had been worth it. However, with literally half the pool having been commandeered by lappers and my having to repeatedly dunk under to get away from insistent wind, I wish, on that day, that I had skipped visiting altogether. If you're lucky enough to find yourself at the pool on a warm and windless day when rec swim is actually rec swim, then you'll have half the pool for your lounging pleasure & it will be brilliant. If not, then it may be a 'meh' of a day for you. As my Irish Catholic grandma, who, incidentally, swam at this pool, would say: May you have 'the luck of the Irish' when visiting this facility! **no suit wringer contraption at this site **street parking is scant read more

Mission Pool - Lap lanes set up during recreational swim hour (well, 1.5 hrs). *sad trombone* - Swimming Pools Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Went there around 1pm and had to wait 15 mins until someone left. The lanes were crowded but good enough to get the workout done. No complaints here since it's free and close to where I live. read more

Mission Pool - Swimming Pools Near Me - San Francisco, California

Dirty and smelly men's locker room. Dirty lockers, all of them. Showers oddly situated and claustrophobic. Showers are warm. Smallish pool (4-5 lanes), not much room along the sides. Cold water. Deep end is 8-9 feet. read more

Great place for lap swimming in the mission! Staff is super nice, lanes when I went (4pm Friday) were not too crowded, and pool temp was perfect for the weather. Make sure you check the hours ahead of time because they are sometimes closed between time slots. Overall a great spot and will be coming in again. read more

Love it there its small but does cool you off . After tennis at the park its a great place to enjoy a swim

Clean, crowded, friendly, close to home. Came for lap swimming on a Tuesday from 11am-noon. Each lane had 3+ swimmers. Most crowded had 5. Folks had good swim etiquette and the crowding wasn't too bad. Small women's locker room with shoebox-sized lockers. Bring your own padlock. Didn't venture into shower or toilet area because they were kind of dim. $6 lap swim rate. read more

The week of May 18-22 - various shutdowns, tiny little notes on the door. God fucking forbid they might keep the website up-to-date so those of us coming over from the other side of town might know about this. That would make too much sense in this clusterfuck time of ours. Also - no response from e-mail. They don't answer the phone. Charming. read more

How could you not give this place five stars??? This is a public pool, in San Francisco, in the freaking middle of the Mission!!! I was waiting for the perfect day to try it, and in the midst of our latest heat wave (is it just me or is the Summer of 2008 shaping up to be some good evidence of global warming), I found myself swimming laps right at 19th/Guerrero. Not swimming well, mind you. Horrendously in fact. I have no doubt people were looking at me with disdain just like I tend to look at people hogging the elliptical at the gym who shouldn't be. There are two lanes - fast and slow. There should also be an even slower Jason lane, but the place isn't that big enough. That I was able to experience this for $4 on a warm summer day was completely worth it. 10,000 bonus stars to SPF 85 sunscreen for keeping me burn free. Me, my dermatologist and my mother thank you. read more

This pool is now OPEN! I went to check it out (but didn't swim) and here's an assessment: -- nice outdoor pool, not huge. 4 lap lanes probably, 25 yards long. Temp seemed good, like 82 degrees F maybe. -- locker room is revamped, but not luxurious. Very basic, very small room where there are like 4 showers. Close quarters! Also the lockers are little boxes so maybe bring another lock and use 2 lockers. All that said, I'm definitely putting it on my "Pools of San Francisco" list, along with Hamilton Pool and UCSF Mission Bay. read more

The newly renovated outdoor pool is awesome! I went during the free community swim day grand re-opening on Wednesday, August 7, but it officially re-opened July 27. The staff is very friendly and all the life guards seem pretty cool. The long length of the pool seems to be 25 yards and there are four lanes for the lap swim. They provide kick boards and pull buoys. I was there during the 11:30am - 1:30pm lap swim and all the lanes were full with at least two swimmers per lane. The water was luke warm, pretty clean, and lightly chlorinated. They also renovated the locker rooms, but it's nothing fancy. As you walk in, there's a small shower room on the side (easy to miss) with 3 shower heads. Then you'll encounter a long row of lockers opposite a long row of benches by the wall that has hooks to hang clothes. There's a lot of space between the lockers and benches so you won't have to bump into people. The largest locker is kind of small and it barely fits my gym bag. If you don't want to use a locker, you could probably tuck your bag along a wall by the pool outside. After the lockers are the toilet stalls and they look very clean (it has been freshly renovated, afterall). Finally at the very back, you'll see two sinks with large mirrors and a handicap-accessible shower next to it. I wish they had a wall-mounted hair dryer as found in some swimming pool locker rooms. I would definitely come back and do some more swimming here. read more

Once you're diagnosed with a debilitating illness, it's kind of hard to maintain your "if I'm not bleeding, I'm not working hard enough" exercise approach. My doctor recommended swimming. Ok, sure. After a few days of sprinting up hills in Noe Valley, I limp the three blocks over to Mission Pool, a mere three blocks from my apartment. Seriously, I look stunning in a one-piece and goggles, and I do a mean breast stroke. But, sweet Jesus, the undivided lanes bug the shit out of me. The naysayers exclaim, "but it's outside -- brr!" Whatever, dudes. I've been swimming outside in Vermont. In May. We may as well be in Jamaica right now. I can't imagine swimming in this pool for recreational purposes in the summer. My skin feels itchy just thinking about it. But I refuse to get fat, dammit! So, I'll see you at Mission Pool. And you, old lady in the floaties - move the frick over! read more

It's summer and the Mission Pool is open! Good things: - outdoor pool - clean bathroom - clean water - 5 minute walk from my apartment - feeling the cool breeze against my skin when I come up for air - seeing the clouds that come off of twin peaks move across the blue sky - memories of marco polo (although I'm in the pool every week, outdoor pools remind me of my childhood and summers in San Diego) Bad things: - no shower pressure - only two lanes - too much sun (I tan very easily) - ex-roommate - ex-roommate! ...I don't think I'll be returning. I waited all year for MP to open but on the two occasions that I've made it this season he's been there too. My first San Francisco roommate experience was great because I met my good friend Kristi G. but it was awful because I met "Nick" who continues to give me the creeps every time I encounter him - even after 5 years! "Nick" was/is? the leaseholder on a rent controlled apartment and lived off of charging his unknowing sub-letters current market prices. I won't go into the other stuff but it's enough to keep away from MP :( *chills* read more

GROSS & SMALL It was a hot summer day (meaning mid-sept and it was over 60 degrees) and I really really wanted to go swimming. I didn't want to go out to the beach and I didn't want to go out of town. So I looked up public pools and found this one. It only cost about 4 bucks or something cheap like that. But when I got there the pool was the size of a living room. It was seperated into two part, the slow swimmers and the fast swimmers. And you basically did laps. The pool was so small that it basically felt like you were going around in circles. And the old men were all around and all their tanning oil/sun block was making a film on the surface of the water. I am never one to give something a bad review, but I would not do this again. I would spend the money and go out of town to a bigger pool. read more

Let me qualify this review by saying that I am a veteran SF Rec & Park pool swimmer. So, all you moved-here from some place where you'd never consider wearing a sweater in July types, who want to complain about paying 4 bucks about getting to swim or that the locker room isn't fancy...WHAH. This is not one of those types of places. This is not a place of perpetual 3 month long oppressively hot days and equally long sticky, still and stifling hot evenings people, ...This is San Francisco and this is the ONLY outdoor public pool on the circuit, and by fortune or good planning it's located queitly nestled in one of the sunniest spots in town, the Mission. Mostly the locals know about it and it's popular in with the neighbors too. I have only used the facilities during the lap swim times and I think swimming here is a treat. (weather permitting) It's a short pool falling 10-15 feet or so short of regulation length (100 ft long x 40 feet wide) and the way the lanes are divided up can be off putting. There are only 2 categories of swimmers; fast and slow, so that means if you are a middle swimmer like me that you really have to push yourself or take it really slow and practice technique or something. At present there are a couple of pools in the SFPR system that are closed due to capital improvements making the remaining open pools a little extra crowded. The locker room is modernish (1980s?), clean and well maintained more so then other pools that I know of. (I haven't swam at North Beach since it re opened but I hear it's nice) The little pool on Linda street is a public pool and its not perfect and is far from fancy or chic, and the parking in the neighborhood isn't good - down right sucks at times, but if you're up for a swim and it's nice in the 'hood, this pool is well worth checking out. read more

I LOVE the pool. I was thrilled that it re-opened this summer after being closed for 1.5 or 2 years. I live 2 blocks away and so appreciate that it exists and is open til December! The pool is clean, a great place to swim, cheap ($5 adults; $1 kids), OUTDOORS, solar heated... ALL GREAT. The renovation is beautiful. I love the place. There was a problem which has now been solved: With the new Fall schedule, there was no longer weekday rec swim. I want to thank and commend Recreation Supervisor, Sean McGrew, who responded to neighbors' requests to bring back weekday rec swim! Rec swim is back Tues-Sat 3-4:30pm, at least for Sept. They will evaluate Sept attendance to determine whether to continue rec swim in Oct. Please go! Schedule: http://sfrecpark.org/wp-content/uploads/mission-fall-schedule-full-sheet.pdf read more

I've been swimming here for thirty years.... love this pool great staff, funny... caring... good with the kids.... swimming here is an amazing experience! read more

Heated open air pools are the best, particularly when it's sunny and cold! I love the fact that this pool even exists and that it's 5 bucks a swim. The pool is 30 yards long, which is nice when you're training to swim in open water (pushing off from the side is cheating!) On the downside the pool is pretty narrow and there are only two lanes, fast and slow. If you're a medium paced swimmer, you may get a little discouraged. read more

Important note: An adult swim pass for all SF public pools has gone up to $5 as of Oct 09. Its getting to be expensive, but if you hate being a treadmill rat like me, its a good option. This pool is only open in the spring, summer and fall, but the water is heated, so even on cold days the pool is a perfectly pleasant place to swim. I really like this place for lap swim and the only annoying thing I can find about it is the one weekend lifeguard who monitors the pool a too obsessively and then tries to shout things at people while they are swimming underwater, I learned to just ignore him. read more

Mission District - Mural Stop #1 THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE MURALS OUTSIDE :D Not exactly the POOL & PLAYGROUND itself... My boyfriend and I had an excursion of the Mission District and this was one of our first stop for murals! What an amazing sight it was. Snapping away, my boyfriend noted the details on the front and side of the building, and loved the cute alley to the right. The residential side (across the mural) had cute little doors that were short and painted. This place also had some outdoor basketball courts, so I think I'm going to have to check out what the playground and pool have to offer during the summer... One thing to note: it says "NO DOGS ALLOWED" but there were a few dogs roaming the grassy area in front of the building. Weird... read more

I am soooo happy that i found an outdoor swimming pool that is open for public. The water is heated to perfect, especially in this cold SF weather. The staff is very friendly. Get there as soon as they open. It gets pretty crowded within an hour. read more

Wanted to thank Jesus for being our technician on our pool. He is very knowledgeable and took our calls after hours. Thank you so much

I've been swimming at the Mission Pool for the past year, which is also about as long as I've been swimming. Not that I couldn't swim, was just no Greg LeMond, hey and I'm still not. Anywho. The people there are pretty nice, they've let me swim when I misread the calender and come too early for a lap swim and in general are friendly. The pool is alright, it's full of water and you can swim. It's also an outdoor pool which is nice sometimes, but means you can't swim when there's lightening for some reason. It's usually pretty clean, only a few leaves floating around, and the water is a good temp. There are also plenty of lockers. I'm not crazy about the lap swim hours, too late in the morning to do anything productive beforehand, and the afternoon hour is only an hour, seems kinda short. I also don't understand why they close the pool from like march to may; if they were gonna close it for winter, why not January through March? Sometimes it gets too crowded to efficiently swim a lap without someone getting in your way. Despite all these little things, I like this pool and will probably keep coming here for my weekend swims, besides it's the closest pool to me and there are no hills between my house and it. read more

Love Mission Pool - such a luxury to swim outdoors in the City! Minus one star for whoever decided that painting the sloping floor in the locker room with slick, glossy paint was a good idea. It's wet & slippery enough without adding to the problem. read more

A nice public pool. Five stars for nice pool, staff, and sunlight; 2 stars for tiny shower area (3 shower heads in small area while much of the space in the building is lost to hallways). Lanes, when I visited, were about as crowded at other city pools (4 people/lane). read more

I was not expecting much from this little neighbourhood pool but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it's small and during lap swimming there are only two wide lanes: fast and slow. The change rooms look like they were recently updated and are usually reasonably clean. All the staff are super friendly and personable. People who swim here seem to be fairly serious swimmers and have good pool etiquette. read more

MISSION POOL IMPROVEMENTS_ PROGRESS CONTINUES February 27, 2013 | by Toks Ajike The first phase of the work (Pool Locker Room Improvements) is approximately 75% complete and it is expected to be complete by Mid March so that the Pool Deck and systems can commence right away.Tile work is ongoing, fixture installation will commence next, interior to follow afterwards. Exterior stucco work will also be commencing. Concrete Slab was poured at the locker room, epoxy flooring to commence after concrete slab reaches design strength. Phase II work which includes all work related to the Pool deck, pool piping and recirculation pumps will commence after Phase 1, in Mid March. This entry was posted in Aquatics Program Alerts, Aquatics Program News, Mission Playground Renovation News by Toks Ajike. Bookmark the permalink. read more

This place was great. Outside, beautiful day, clean water, other chubby dudes who swim even worse than I do. The staff was really friendly too. And $4! read more

This is a decent public pool. It's 25 yards and only four lanes wide, so it can get crowded pretty quickly, especially around 5:30-6:00. The temperature was great--not too warm, but there were a lot of leaves and debris in the water. Locker rooms/showers were basic and kept fairly clean. I kinda wonder how the city was able to build such a gorgeous pool like Sava and then have Mission Pool turn out to just be *ok* after what seemed like such an arduous renovation. I also wish they would designate lane speeds with those plastic signs during lap swim like they do at YMCAs because the lifeguards don't say anything when slower swimmers decide to crash faster lanes just because there are fewer people in it. For the most part though, it seemed like most of the people there were aware of basic lane etiquette (split the lane if there are only two swimmers, circle-pattern when there are 3 or more) and being aware of their speed relative to others and changing lanes when necessary. read more

I have been here twice for lap swimming and it is just perfect. Nothing more than a pool with shower facilities and lockers, but for $5 you can't ask for more. Staff is friendly and the shower area is clean. They could put signs for the lanes; slow/medium and fast, but you can still figure which lane is best for you. After a good swim you can also soak up the sun on the benches provided or lying on your towel. Its my favorite part of the week to come here:) Also the beautiful Dolores park is close by. read more

I've been swimming at Mission Pool for 20+ years. I'm delighted that what used to be a summer only pool is now open year round. I much prefer to swim outside...having this well maintained facility in the heart of the sunny Mission is a Great Thing. The current Staff is friendly and helpful. In prior years I took to calling before I came to make sure the posted schedule was being followed. But lately the Lap Swim hours on the internet have been consistently reliable. One minor complaint: I don't like the current Lane Speeds. ( Slow and Medium for the 'Wall lanes', Fast for the 2 inner lanes) I prefer not to swim by the wall, and find it unfair, that only Fast swimmers get a non-wall lane. But often, especially when it's chilly or overcast, there are so few swimmers that you can have a half lane. read more

I grew up on Linda and I love the Mission Pool. I am writing a review for the sole purpose of pointing out how expensive city pools can be. I went to Letterman today (Presidio) and spent $15. If you're a YMCA member it's free but I'm not and thus the $15. Sure Letterman has more amenities but I could care less. I want to swim laps, that's it. And hey, Mission Pool is $5! Sure it was $1 when I was a kid but the city is broke, what do you expect. read more

We love this place! The staff are super friendly. I like that the wind is blocked off so it's pretty warm. The water and facility are clean. The water is a nice warm temperature and doesn't smell chlorinated. read more

Affordable place to swim laps. There are two 'lanes'. Fast and Slow. So decide wisely, or the guy with speedo's behind you will give you a dirty look. The bathroom is pretty clean. This is not a clubhouse, so they don't have the fanciest bathroom.. but I'd feel comfortable taking a shower here. It can get crowded after office hours though. Don't come here if you're scared of tan-lines... read more

The "lifeguards" are very rude and they look like that should have retired long ago (really, how are they allowed to still be working? I would not let my kids swim there knowing that they are the supervisors!!) Otherwise facilities are good and other staff very helpful and friendly. read more