Balmy, breezy and beckoning, the warmer months are well and truly here, bringing with them blue skies and long days. And while Melbourne isn’t blessed with too many beaches in the inner city, it does have plenty of exemplary outdoor pools just waiting for you to glide into their cool, blue waters — either for exercise, play or to just plain cool down.
Get your swimmers, slather on some sunscreen and head out to some of the best outdoor swimming pools in Melbourne, stat.
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Fitzroy Swimming Pool, Fitzroy
Fitzroy Pool on Alexandra Parade is a dreamy old-school pool that’s perfect for weekday lap swimming or weekend poolside chills. The modernist building is flanked by murals and features an eight-lane 50-metre pool as well as two kiddie pools. The water is always the ideal temperature a swim here is just generally an invigorating experience. It’s one of the best pools in the north melbourne. And the poolside bleachers are the perfect place to sunbathe after your swim. But this pool isn’t just for summer. When the weather cools, the team turns on the heaters, keeping it warm (or at least not freezing cold) throughout the year.
160 Alexandra Parade, Fitzroy. Open 6am–9pm Monday–Friday and 7am–7pm Saturday–Sunday.
North Melbourne Recreation Centre, North Melbourne
The outdoor pool in North Melbourne is small but perfectly formed. The 25-metre pool has eight lanes for you to just keep swimming and is kept at a balmy 27.5 degrees all year-round. There’s a seperate kids pool and a few lanes tend to be opened up in summer so people can simply paddle around and float in the main 25-metre pool. Adults don’t have to swim laps to cool off here. In the past, it has run cute, aquatic movie nights, where you can catch movies on the big screen while floating in an inflatable pink swan (BYO pink swan and water-resistant popcorn). North Melbourne Recreation Centre is a bit of a hidden gem, still fairly quiet throughout summer. This helps make it one of the best outdoor swimming pools in Melbourne.
204-206 Arden Street, North Melbourne. Open 6am–9pm Monday–Friday and 8am–6pm Saturday–Sunday.
Prahran Aquatic Centre, Prahran
The Prahran Aquatic Centre may be a public pool, but it’s a little bit fancy. The eight-lane, 50-metre pool is heated and overlooked by a gorgeous wooden sunbathing deck — and has just undergone a major renovation. There’s no indoor pool and in summer there are (usually) all-day pool parties with DJs and sausage sizzles. The best spot to lay your towel? On the lawns, partly beneath the shade of the trees. Here, there’s no need to worry about accidentally napping after swimming a few too many laps. There’s also a spa and sauna for those wanting to sweat it out in-between dips.
41 Essex Street, Prahran. Open 5.45am–7.45pm Monday–Friday, 6am–6.15pm Saturday and 7am–6:15pm Sunday.
Brunswick Baths, Brunswick
Whatever swimming you feel like doing, Brunswick Baths have a body of water to suit your needs. it’s got a 20-metre indoor pool as well as a spa, sauna and steam room, but when it’s hot out you’ll want to head straight to the heated eight-lane Olympic-sized outdoor pool. It’s open all year-round and is great for hardcore lap swimmers. Adding this spot to the list of Melbourne’s best outdoor swimming pools is a no-brainer.
14 Dawson Street, Brunswick. Open 5:30am–9:45pm Monday–Friday and 7am–7:45pm Saturday–Sunday.
Brighton Baths, Brighton
Brighton Baths is not so much a pool as a patch of ocean, so it’s not for the faint hearted or those used to heated water. But if you want to get salty and safely swim 50-metre laps in the ocean, this is the pool for you. The pool area has been sectioned off with a private boardwalk that you can laze around on to dry off. Those swimming here also have access to Brighton Baths’ change rooms, steam room, showers and lockers. No need to worry about leaving your valuables on the shore while you swim a few laps.
251 Esplanade, Brighton. The baths are staffed from 6am–8:15pm Monday–Friday and 7am–6pm Saturday–Sunday
Monash Aquatic Recreation Centre, Glen Waverley
For those of you out east searching for your everything pool, check out the the Monash Aquatic Recreation Centre. It has some incredible features, including a 25-metre indoor pool; a spa, sauna and steam room; and — wait for it — a wave pool that you can take a boogie board into. They even set up inflatable obstacle courses for kids parties (sadly, this one isn’t for adults). The 50-metre outdoor pool is also one of the best in Melbourne, heated to 26 degrees in summer and 27 degrees in winter.
626 Waverley Road, Glen Waverley. Open 5:45–9pm Monday–Friday and 8am–7pm Saturday–Sunday.
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Albert Park
Just south of Southbank, you’ll find the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) hidden away in Albert Park. If you’re a sports person who enjoys running, jumping and movements of all varieties, you’ll absolutely love MASC and its huge range of fields, courts and sports doodads. But its aquatic facilities blow all others out of the water (excuse the pun). It has a lush 50-metre outdoor pool that’s perfect for both exercise and play. Plus, a 50-metre indoor pool, a 25-metre indoor pool, 14 indoor diving boards, a multipurpose indoor pool, a hydrotherapy pool, an indoor wave pool, a water slide, a spa and change room great facilities. Yes, it’s all here.
30 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park. The outdoor pool is open 5:30am–9pm Monday–Friday and 7am–8pm Saturday–Sunday.
