Hollins PoolOutdoor pool · 1934
Looking down the pool from the lifeguard's chair on an October morning: four swimmers doing laps between red and white lane ropes, steam rising off the water, the brick bathhouse and autumn maples beyond.
From Dev's chair, 7:12am. Cold-water laps on an October Tuesday.

Hollins Pool · the water today57°F

Checking the pool.

Today

An outdoor public pool in Hollins Park, open all year.

Today's sessions

    $6adult swim
    $3under 16
    Freeunder 5

    Walk up and pay at the turnstile, card or cash. No reservations.

    Go now: getting here Worth going later?

    Worth going now? Turn the pace clock.

    This is the pool as Dev and Ama see it from the chair. Drag the clock's red hand through today and watch the lanes fill, the ropes come out for open swim, and the water empty at closing.

    Now

    Open swim

    The pool from the lifeguard's chair.

    Drag the clock's red hand to see the rest of today.

    The week, lane by lane

    Each rope is a day. The floats are the sessions. White is laps, with the lanes roped by speed. Green is open swim, with only two lanes roped. Yellow is families, with the ropes out and the floats in.

    The water through the year

    From May to September the heater is on and the water is kept warm. From October it is whatever the weather made it, and a small crowd swims anyway. These are the usual temperatures, painted down the tiles.

      Getting in when it's cold

      Go in slowly, by the steps, and breathe out as you go. Keep your face out of the water until your breathing settles.

      How long to stay

      Our winter regulars keep it short: a few minutes in the coldest months. Get out before you start to shiver, not after.

      Getting warm again

      Dress quickly, hat first. A hot drink helps. A hot shower straight away does not; let your body warm up by itself.

      The whiteboard by the chair

      Every morning at 6:45 the lifeguard on duty writes the water temperature on the whiteboard by the chair. The regulars write everything else. This is this month's board, before Ama wipes it.

      38,412 swims through the turnstile since May 1. Busiest day: July 4, 1,186 of you. Ruth

      • Lane 3 all to myself until 7:40. Steam like a hot tub, cold like a lake. Best $6 in this town.Marisol, swim 212 this year
      • Brought my daughter for her first cold one. She lasted four minutes and asked when we can come back.Terrence
      • Swam before my shift, sat in a meeting at 9 feeling like I could lift a car.Priya, nurse at Hollins General
      • Heater off tonight. Thank you Dev and Ama for a whole summer of lanes and zero bad days.Joan, 41 summers, 9 winters
      • 61 of you swam all 30 days of September. Names are on the bathhouse door.Ama
      • Coldest swim: 38°, January 21. Fourteen of us went in. Nobody stayed more than three minutes. Everybody came back.The 6:30s
      Three regular swimmers on the pool deck after an October swim, in long hooded parkas and slides, laughing with steel thermos cups of coffee, the steaming pool behind them.
      The 6:30s, after Tuesday's swim. Joan, Sam and Dana, who bring the coffee. Joan has had a pass every year since 1985; the winter pass came later, and so did Joan.
      • 9.1 / 10town parks survey, best in Hollins
      • 212winter passes sold so far
      • 14 of 14safety inspections passed

      At the turnstile

      Admission

      Adult swim
      $6
      Under 16Under 8 swim with an adult in the water
      $3
      Under 5
      Free
      Ten-swim card
      $50
      Summer passMay to September
      $175
      Winter passOctober to April
      $95

      Pay at the turnstile, card or cash. No reservations. When the pool is full we let people in as others leave.

      Pool rules

      1. Thunder. When lightning is seen or thunder is heard, the lifeguards clear the water. Nobody goes back in until thirty minutes after the last strike, however blue the sky looks.
      2. Lanes. Keep to the right, pass at the wall, and pick the lane that matches your pace, not the one you would like to be in.
      3. The deep end. The pool slopes from 3 feet to 7. There is no diving board anymore; the old one hangs over the snack bar.
      4. Lifeguards. Their whistle is the last word. They would rather blow it early than late.

      Getting here

      MILL ST PARK AVE HOLLINS PARK THE POOL 14 BUS, PARK GATES BIKES

      Hollins Pool is at the north end of Hollins Park, a two-minute walk from the Mill Street gate. The 14 bus stops at Park Gates. Bike racks are by the turnstile. There is no parking lot of our own, and the park's lot fills by ten on a hot day.

      • 01AlwaysA towel, goggles, and a quarter or a padlock for the lockers.
      • 02SummerSunscreen on before you arrive. The deck gets hot by noon, so bring flip-flops.
      • 03WinterA beanie, a thermos of something hot, and clothes you can get into fast.
      • 04ChildrenKids under 8 need an adult in the water with them. Water wings are fine; pool floats are not.