I had a few false starts, but I finally made it to a public lane swim and IT. WAS. GLORIOUS. 

I’ve extolled my deep love of Smythe Park Pool before (okay, more than once), and this year I almost wept, sitting on the edge, with its 50 beautiful metres stretching out in front of me, with only six of us allowed in. (I mean, it never really got much busier than that pre-pandemic, but still). The trees lining the pool fence were shedding, and I swam back and forth and back and forth through tiny little flowers that I learned afterwards were linden flowers—the origin of my name, Lindsay. Fitting really, as, after this long, impossibly hard childcare-less winter, I am finally starting to feel like myself again.

 
I must admit, after many swim tethered swims, it is disorienting to be MOVING while swimming, watching the bottom of the pool slip under me. It really does feel like the different between running on a treadmill, and running on the sidewalk—I felt like I was flying!

The length swim slots—10:30am-12pm—aren’t the most convenient, but so far, I’ve been able to juggle meetings and childcare to get at least a few in each week, and I’m pretty sure it is saving me.

I even have a recurring alarm set for 7:55 every Thursday morning so I remember to log into the City of Toronto site and sign up for next week’s swims. I know the online sign up system doesn’t work for everyone, but I admit, I love scheduling my swims in advance.

The pools are OPEN! I repeat THE POOLS ARE OPEN (okay, some of them!). I really wasn't sure if they would be this summer given the PANDEMIC and all, but they are open and that is wonderful for so many reasons.

BUT the City of Toronto site doesn't have a lot of information about HOW each pool works (and yes, each pool seems to have different processes and procedures). I believe that this is an equity issue and have flagged it a number of times with the city, but nothing seems to be changing (a lot of pools still say "Closed due to COVID"), but instead of raging about it, I figured we could work together like we did last year and make a crowd-sourced user guide to Toronto pools so that more people are able to access this amazing resource.

PLEASE send along info as you find it over Twitter: @lindsayzv or at IG: @swimmingholeswehaveknown_ And PLEASE pass this along! Info about timing/procedures, capacity are all helpful.

First things first: ALL OUTDOOR POOLS ARE FREE. And most are doing a 45-minute swim/15-minute clean schedule. Most pools are doing a 11-11:45am length swim and a 12-8pm leisure swim, with some exceptions. Also, NO toys/noodles/flutterboards allowed. Lifejackets/PFDs are permitted (but I think have to be brought in).

Also, this information is crowd-sourced and is subject to change. I recommend calling the specific pool if you have any questions. Also, it seems from people who have been swimming that the numbers of people allowed in varies pool-to-pool and day-to-day. I'm not sure why. Also, sign ins have been taking a while, so I'd suggest showing up in your suit (and maybe packing a book) if you can!

A list of all of Toronto's outdoor pools (addresses and phone numbers): HERE!

Notes from the City: All visitors to outdoor pools will be asked to sign-in with their first name and an email or phone number to facilitate Toronto Public Health contact tracing, should it be required. Outdoor pools will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, 11 a.m. – 12 noon lane swim, 12 – 8 p.m. leisure swim. More info here!

Update: Please wear a mask to all facilities, or you might not be admitted.

Alex Duff Pool (at Christie Pits):
- universal change room
- marked and distanced queue spot for each person/family to stand in (or put your bag in and go find some shade!)
- if you don't get in, you have to wait until the next "intake"
- staff in PPE as COVID screening questions, take contact info and spritz hands
- bring belongings onto deck (no lockers!)
- leisure swim capacity: 40 (approx 20 people in the large pool, 10 in shade pool, 10 in deep pool)
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- slide and diving board closed
- at the end of 45 minutes, whistle in blown and everyone leave through emergency exit
- NOTE: NO length swim

Blantyre Pool
- leisure swim capacity: 18
- no washrooms
- enter through change rooms

Donald D. Summerville Olympic Pool
- really not sure if it's open or not this year. The website says it's close for deck repairs, but it also has swim hours available. Have not been able to reach anyone via phone.
- rumour has it it *might* open July 6th

Fairbank Memorial Pool
- length swim capacity: 9 (width swim)
- leisure swim capacity: 65
- length swim: 11-11:45am
- leisure swim: 12:15-1, 1:30-2:15, 2:45-3:30, 4-4:45, 5:15-6, 6:30-7:30
- there are two pools - one wading pool and a standard pool divided into three sections (shallow/medium/deep)
- main entrance not in use
- big gate along side for entrance and exits
- universal change room and washroom available

Glen Long Pool:
- length swim: 11-11:45am
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm

Giovanni Caboto:
- universal change rooms
- 50m
- length swim capacity: 7
- leisure swim capacity: 100
- length swim: 11am-12pm, two 30-minute blocks: 7 swimmers per half hour block
- leisure entry times: 12, 1:30, 3, 4:30, 6, 7:30-8pm
- leisure swim: broken into blocks of time - 15 minute shower/entry time for patrons, 45-minute swim time, then they clear the pool and close for 30 minutes for cleaning.

Greenwood Park Pool:
- wear your suit
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- leisure swim capacity: 75
- when they close every 45 minutes, everyone leaves and lines back up (with social distancing) to go back in.
- no info yet re: length swim1

High Park Pool:
- no universal change room
- go through regular entrance
- no showers
- length swim capacity: 7
- leisure swim capacity: 100
- length swim: 11-11:45am / 7:30-8pm
- leisure swim: 12-12:45pm / 1:30-2:15pm / 3-3:45pm / 4:30-5:15 / 6-6:45
- note: the water is often *very* cold as the pool's not heated!

Lambton Kingsway Park Pool:
- enter through the emergency fence
- arrive ready to swim and limit time in change rooms (gendered, with a family change room)
- length swim capacity: 6 (Note: people start lining up for 11am length swim at 10am)
- leisure swim capacity: 25
- length swim split into two 30-minute blocks: 11-11:30 and 11:30-12
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- no spectators on deck
- no flutterboards or toys permitted
- can bring lifejacket if needed

Monarch Park Pool
- length swim: 11am-12pm, two 30-minute blocks
- length swim capacity: 7
- leisure swim capacity: 75
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- enter through the change rooms
- exit through emergency gate if changing isn't required.
- slide is closed
- change room is limited to 6 groups at a time (they recommend swimmers come in their suits)

Ourland Pool
- wear your suit
- length swim capacity: 6
- leisure swim: 25
- length swim: 11am-12pm (no word if it is split into two)
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- NOTE: pool closes at 4pm on Sundays

Parklawn Pool:
- length swim capacity: 6
- leisure swim capacity: 25
- lane swim timing: 2 half hour slots: 11-11:30 / 11:30-12
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- come in bathing suit, no change rooms
- line up at exit gate
- exit at other exit on the far side of the pool (near the bottom of the hill)

Riverdale Park East Pool:
- length swim capacity: 6
- leisure swim capacity: 75
- length swim timing: 2 half hour slots: 11-11:30 / 11:30-12
*NOTE: rumour has it, people start lining up at 8am for length swim
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm

Smythe Park Pool:
- markings spray painted for physical distancing in line up (though maybe not a full 6' according to one swimming correspondent)
- lane swim capacity: 6
- leisure swim capacity: 100
- lane swim timing: 2 half hour slots: 11-11:30 / 11:30-12 and 7:15-8pm
- leisure swim timing: 12-12:45pm / 1:30-2:15pm / 3-3:45pm / 4:30-5:15 / 6-6:45
- Note: This 50m pool is AMAZING, but also notorious for having technical issue and the phone number never seems to work: 416-394-2741

Sunnyside Pool:
- lane swim: as of July 6: 10:45-11:15am / 11:15-11:45 / 7:15-7:45pm / 7:45-8:15pm
- leisure swim: 12-7pm
- length swim capacity: 40
- leisure swim capacity: 120
- every other washroom stall is open, every other sink is open, no showers
- enter through (gendered) change rooms

Wedgewood Pool
- lane swim times: 11-12, (but unconfirmed if it's split into two)
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- lane swim capacity: 8
- leisure swim capacity: 25
- no change rooms

Westmount Park Pool
- lane swim times: unconfirmed
- leisure swim: every hour (on the hour) from 12-8pm
- lane swim capacity: 6
- leisure swim capacity: 24
- one universal change room
- bathrooms: 2/3 are available, with one toilet stall closed between the two
- note: their answering machine provides outdated information

It has been a minute, well 245,100 minutes actually, but my computer was so old I couldn't upload photos, and though I was swimming up a storm, all my words were funnelled into novel writing, and kids' book writing and then the fall happened and transitioning Kid #1 to kindergarten was much more exhausting than I anticipated...Excuses, excuses. I have been writing blog posts in my head every time I swim and now that I've got a fancy new computer, it's time to write them onto a computer.

I don't know if it's the grey skies and the slushy puddles, but I've been dreaming of  last summer's exceptional swims – three of them primarily: a road trip swim date with my oldest kid at this lovely swimming hole, a dip off Hanlan's Point in August with my tow float from my UK mermaid pals...



...and our first tear-free family lake swim even later in August. I was worried the water would be cold as the morning's clocked in at a chilly 8 degrees, but the water was so warm. There was a mama bear spotting at the point I usually swam to, so I switched up my route and stayed closer to the cottage after realizing that swimming bear encounters are my ultimate fear.


Over the Christmas holidays, my not-always-into-swimming kid declared he wanted to go swimming, so of COURSE I dropped everything, dug out our suits and flew up to the pool for a morning family dip. The family swim times don't always jive with kid naps, but we found a morning slot and had so much fun! On our winter fun list is more family swims!

And with this renewed collective love of swimming, I started plotting summer swims. We're renting a new cottage this summer (on THIS lake, that I grew up swimming in!), and I've already put our Island swim/picnic adventure into the calendar.

To summer swimming, even if it is still February!

Last year, every time I figured out childcare and the delicate timing between breastfeeding and napping a 4-month-old, I'd arrive at the pool to locked doors. I swear there were thunderstorms every other day last summer. But somehow, last week, I managed a veritable swimming miracle—a swimiracle, if you will.

The sun shone all day, like it has been every day for days and days, but clouds started rolling in around 5, and I started realizing the swim I had been looking forward to all week (okay, ALL YEAR) was probably not going to happen. I got grumpier and grumpier. I may have even thrown a mini-tantrum. But then, after dinner, the skies starting clearing up, and the sun started shining. I decided to chance it, my terrible thunder stormed track record be damned.



The drive to Smythe Park Pool is a strange one – you take a barely marked winding road off Scarlett Road and then there are trees and more trees, and even more trees, and then a Canada Goose settling down in the centre of the road. And then all of a sudden, a pool. A 50m pool – a rare unicorn in west-end City-run pools.

The changerooms were grimier then most making flip flops essential, BUT the pool was huge – 50 metres seems extra big when you're used to 25m – and it was mostly empty, with trees overhanging and planes flying overhead.

It had just opened after being closed for the earlier bout of thunder. How did I manage to catch this open window? I didn't have time to hesitate, there was 50 metres of turquoise perfection to swim through. Not even the belligerent intoxicated man could ruin my bliss (and thanks to the guard who could see what was happening and intervened quickly!).

My fast lane pal, who tipped me onto this pool, wasn't there, but another fast lane pal was, and I even heard one swimmer say that the three of us in the centre lanes were professional swimmers. Not even close (it might've been our bathing caps more than our swimming that tipped him off), but I'll take it!

The radio was blasting Wish You Were Here, the music was tinny and a bit staticky, like every on-deck radio should be. It is not a fancy pool, but it is a wonderful pool (with the most expansive interlock brick deck!)

I haven't been swimming in a 50m pool since university days (when I fell in love in the fast lane) and it is such a different pace. It's long when you're used to turning around every 25m, getting the push off the wall. My thoughts felt bigger somehow. Not that I was able to hang onto any great insights, but it felt good, having the time to let my thoughts meander.


I even saw some sort of bird of prey being attacked by a red winged black bird as I swam. The week-long heat wave broke mid-swim and the clouds started collecting in a dark grey mass over the northwest edge of the pool.

The minute the 45-minute length swim was up, the rain started. It was pouring by the time I got home – lightning, thunder, the sky the colour of Orange Crush, the works. I still can't believe my luck – that the rain and thunder held off until I had gotten my swim in, but it did and it felt like confirmation that last year's rained out stretch is firmly in the past.

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!!

The pool was fouling-free and sun-full and I got there right when it opened.



After a lifetime of taking FOREVER to get in the water, my swimming ladies encouraged me to jump in last summer, and so what better way to enter the 2017 summer swimming season than with the biggest jump I could muster.

("Mama jump in swimming pool!" my toddler is still saying. I beam every time!)

The fast lane was SO fast – with a U of T swimmer who was tearing it up, and an older man who apparently was on the national team in the 70s – that I had to marvel at their speed one lane over in the medium lane. I will never tire of watching fast, efficient swimmers. That and watching the across the floor jumping combinations in a dance class are two of my favourite things to witness.



The water didn't have the thick layer of sunscreen like it will by August, but was crisp and perfectly turquoise, warmer than the air. My mind drifted and rambled as it only can during a wonderful swim and when I was done, I made sure to float on my back in the centre of the deep end, letting the huge blue sky full my lungs.

And if that wasn't wonderful enough, I ran into a guard who recognized me from my very pregnant swimming days before I had my daughter a few months ago. He had been guarding the day before I gave birth and got a glimpse of my little girl in her stroller.

It's been thunderstorming ever since (grrrrr), but I have my fingers crossed for sunny swimming days ahead!

What's a swimmer to do when the snow flies and the winds whip below zero? (Well, if I was Jessica J. Lee, I'd bring a hammer to the lake and swim anyway, and if I was Rhya, I'd run straight into the water, but I am decidedly not either of them. I am a cold water wimp!) Winters are long in Canada for us outdoor swimming lovers.

Last Saturday was cold, and the morning started *very* early around here, but the sun was shining, so we headed east to the beach and the lake and to check out this year's Winter Warming Stations. The sand was sprinkled with snow, but the sun shone off Lake Ontario in brilliant shards. It was so beautiful.







ps: Check out last year's winter warming station adventure!

Tip: If someone, anyone, ever asks you to show up at a pool before the sun rises, when you'll be the only ones in the water, say yes.

Waking up at 4am is never very much fun, but waking up at 4am to drive across the city with one of your swimming besties to see the sun rise over an Olympic pool perched in the sky, and sneaking in stolen lengths in an empty pool, now THAT is fun. It feels like a thousand years ago now, but it was a highlight of the swimmingest summer on record.

I'd always wanted to swim at the Donald Summerville Olympic Pool in The Beaches (known to locals as the Olympic Pool, according to the lifeguard/manager who was up before dawn with us), but trekking to the opposite end of the city is tricky with a kiddo. It did not disappoint – there are three (!!) pools perched in the sky, with a view of the lake, the CN Tower, the rumble of Lakeshore traffic. One pool is a diving tank with a huge diving tower at 5m and 10m (my legs quake just remembering them), a smaller square-ish pool in the middle, then a 50m beauty, made even more beautiful under a rising sky.

Though we are swimmers, not jumpers, we jumped. (And in Rhya's case, jumped and jumped and jumped!)




LZV: I watched Rhya jump and jump, more and more proud of her with each descent. I didn't want to. I really didn't, but if I hadn't, I always would've wondered if I should've tried. So I tried it. And I know now with 100% certainty that I'll never do it again. It was truly terrifying. The water was SO far down and there was WAAAAAY too much time to think in the air. That suspension of everything except my mind trying to figure out how to hit the water, without having any control over my body was one of the most disorienting and unpleasant feelings I've had. I have no idea how divers do what they do. I flailed in the air. Air is nothing like water. I much prefer being amphibious...

After the thwack and sting of the bellyflopped parts of our bodies had worn off, and the sun was big and bright over the beach, we snuck into the Olympic pool and swam 50m lengths, marvelling at how much longer it felt than the 25m (and sometimes 25 yard!) we're used to.

Some Things I'll Never Forget About Our Secret Swim ~ Rhya



On an early morning in July, Lindsay and I took part in a film shoot documenting outdoor pools and swimming in Toronto. A pool date we nicknamed our “Secret Swim.”



Before this dip I’m not sure I’d ever woken before the sun for a swim or had the chance to stand on the deck of an outdoor Olympic sized pool, with only the company of a dear friend by my side.



After our “secret swim,” these are two experiences that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life!
I will also never let go of the memory of the sun rising over the lake, while the horizon swelled up with the promise of warmth, letting loose a million crystals to dance across the smooth surface of our sleepy lengths stretched before us.



And then there was the jumping in from heights I never thought I would fall from (too many times to count!) I’ll never forget to point my toes again; water can be truly unforgiving! Oh and the wedgies were unreal. We also got to witness a professional diver fall gracefully out of a handstand, from the top diving platform and barely make a splash. It was truly magical.



And last but not least there were the lengths Lindsay and I shared at the end our time at the J. Donald D Summerville Olympic Pool. A perfect end to a secret swim.



But if Lindsay and I ever have this chance again, we will not wait for the crew to arrive before we jump in. We will break the rules and dive into the morning and never look back.

Labour Day Monday marked the last day for swimming outside in Toronto, and with air show madness down by the water, it almost didn't happen. But I persevered, and on attempt 2, I made it into Sunnyside's beautiful turquoise blue. It was totally packed, deep end to shallow end and every square inch of deck space and it was mayhem in the lane swim area, but it was still such a perfect final dip.

I swam back and forth, dodging late summer flailing arms and untamed kicks, reflecting on this most incredible summer of swimming. And what a glorious summer it has been complete with:
- kicking off the swimming season in Lake Ontario
- a swimming road trip with my swimming ladies
- my very first midnight dip
- CLIFF JUMPING – and celebrating a year of swim blogging
- the best swimming-centric family vacation, complete with a playpen on the dock!
- learning to jump into water, instead of taking forever on the ladder
- being so inspired by Penny Oleksiak (who started school today - ha!)
- knowing that my hero Mark Tewksbury read this blog (I might have wept!!)
- learning about, and swimming in the silkiest black water
- tackling my longest swim yet (also the most boring!)
- the second round of swim badges
- swimming with my kiddo all over the west end of Toronto
- sharing my love of Toronto swimming with CBC radio's Matt Galloway
- SO! MANY! DOCKTAILS!


Fittingly, at the end of my dip, my favourite beach towel, the one I've had since 1998 when I was lifeguarding indoors (worst!), tore. Sob. And now the pools are closed for the season (except for a few hours a day at Alex Duff pool!), and I will have to relive this glorious summer in turquoise photos and scraps of float-y poems I've penned on the edge of pools and lakes and rivers.

I love (LOVE!) swimming, but since having my kid 18 months ago, I've realized how much more complicated it can be to swim with a kid (especially solo).

I've learned to strategically pack a bag (towels on the top for quick post-swim-shivering-kid access!) and to make sure there are snacks for both of us to combat the post-swim hangries.

Pools with big, wide benches in the change rooms, warm (at least not freezing) water are key, with extra bonus points for super shallow steps/area for littles to splash around in.

With nap schedules and a toddler who despises being strapped into a car seat, especially on hot summer days, I've only been able to explore west-end pools, but here are my favs:

#1: Alex Duff Memorial Park at Christie Pits



It's taken me until today to get to this west end gem (and it did open late this season), but I am a convert! There are FOUR (!) pools here: three shallow ones, including a wading pool, wide steps, and a really wide, slow entry for timid swimmers (and a deep end and a twirly slide for big kids).

There are even universal change rooms (in addition to men's and women's), and there's stroller parking on deck! The shallow pools are also super warm AND it's even TTC accessible.


AND the hours are amazing: M-F 10am-9pm, S/Su 10am-8pm until Labour Day, the THEN there are extra hours from Sept 6-18: M-F 4-7pm and S/Su 12-4pm. So much swimming left!



Amazing, right?!


#2: High Park Pool:



The photo at the top of the post is from High Park Pool. The hours aren't great with Jack's nap schedule, but it has a really shallow wade-in for littles, and a mini splash pad next to the pool. (Oh, and a twirly slide for older kids). There are two connected pools: one shallow end and one deep end, which means the rowdy cannonballing older kids aren't plowing into little guys. It's a chilly pool, so it's best appreciated mid-summer, in the middle of a heat wave

Also, there's an amazing wading pool/splashpad combo nearby (that is open in the afternoon window the pool is closed) and it's near a subway station (and bikeable from my house – extra points).

Oh, and the rows and rows of lockers in the change room makes for great entertainment while you get changed...

This one is a big huge, beautiful pool. The change rooms here are SO great for getting a wriggly toddler in and out of a suit – big benches, lots of space. It gets busy, but there are wide steps that are great for water-timid toddlers to get their feet wet.

And after the pool closes for an hour from 4-5, don't take off your kid's suit – just head over to the wading pool in Earlscourt Park. A brilliant summer afternoon!


#6: Sunnyside Gus Ryder



I love Sunnyside because it's big and huge and always busy. It's right by the lake, with extra points for being beside the dinosaur park and near the Lakeshore Blvd, (and if your kid loves trucks/buses/cars half as much as mine, it makes for entertaining viewing!) It's got wide steps and a ramp in the shallow end. Note: you can't bring bags out on the deck, which can be tricky with littles.

The best part about Sunnyside is that it's open every day from 10-3:45, and then again from 5-8. Is there anything better than a morning swim? (And morning swims always make for solid afternoon naps!)


Aaaaaaaand when naps are long, or bathing suits are MIA, there's always the backup "pool":