There is only one week of outdoor pool swimming left in Toronto (gasp! sob!) but I have found a brilliant gem of a pool in which to spend the next seven days: Smythe Park Pool.


My winter fast lane pal tipped me off about this quiet, west end 50m pool, but it took me until now to check it out. Pro-tip: Don't listen to Google maps, you have to enter in off of Scarlett Rd, then take the winding road in. It'll feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, but it's coming, I promise.



And just like that, it appears in all of its chlorinated glory. It is 50m of perfect turquoise chaos, the shallow end packed with frozen tag and cannon balls, the deep end nearly empty, a tinny radio set out near the staff room blasting "Karma Chameleon." I felt like I had time-warped back to the mid-80s, where I idolized my swim teachers and learned to stride jump in the deep end.  The sun presses hot against the HUGE, expansive interlock brick deck (perhaps the most generous deck I've seen in any City of Toronto pool!)



There's a length swim from 7-7:55 every evening – 50 whole metres of swimming before turning around – but a baby + a toddler + bedtime make that impossible this year. (NEXT SUMMER!!)

And, if that wasn't enough, next to the 50m pool is a shallow kiddie pool, and beside all of it, is a playground AND a splash pad.

Note: there aren't any lockers, and you have to leave your bag outside the deck. There did seem to be a staffed coat check-esque area, but no one was working there when I was swimming...

Hours and exact location here!

P.S.: Shawn Micallef's brilliant ode to summer swimming in Toronto. Get thee to the water!!