NYC public pools and beaches: where they are and how to check the water
New York City lists 91 free public pools and beaches from Rockaway to Orchard Beach. Here's where to swim and how to read the city's latest beach water samples.
New York City has 91 public pools and a line of ocean and bay beaches run by NYC Parks, and all of them are free. The city health department also samples beach water and publishes the bacteria readings. This guide covers where the pools and beaches are and how to read the latest water numbers before you go.
How many public pools NYC has, borough by borough
The NYC Parks pool list counts 91 pools across the five boroughs. Manhattan has the most with 31, followed by Brooklyn with 24, the Bronx with 15, Queens with 12 and Staten Island with nine.
Most are outdoor pools. Of the 91, 78 are outdoors and 13 are indoors. Many parks pair a main pool with a smaller wading pool beside it, so sites such as Van Cortlandt, Claremont, Howard and Red Hook appear twice in the list.
Olympic, intermediate, mini and wading pools explained
Each pool has a size class. The class describes the pool itself and says nothing about its schedule.
- Intermediate: 28 pools, the most common class. Totten Pool in Queens is listed separately as Intermediate & Diving.
- Wading: 23 shallow pools, usually next to a bigger pool in the same park.
- Mini: 17 pools, many at playgrounds, schools and housing developments, such as PS 20 Playground Mini Pool in Brooklyn and Edenwald Houses Mini Pool in the Bronx.
- Olympic: 14 pools. One more, the indoor pool at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, is listed as Olympic & Diving.
- Large: five pools.
- Diving: two pools, John Jay and Tony Dapolito, both in Manhattan.
Where to find the biggest outdoor pools
If you want room to swim laps, start with the Olympic-class pools. All 14 are outdoors:
- Manhattan: Thomas Jefferson, Highbridge, Hamilton Fish, Jackie Robinson and Gottesman
- Brooklyn: Kosciuszko, Red Hook, Sunset Park, McCarren Park and Betsy Head
- Bronx: Van Cortlandt and Crotona
- Queens: Astoria
- Staten Island: Lyons
The five Large pools are Asser Levy, Marcus Garvey, John Jay and Tony Dapolito in Manhattan and Faber on Staten Island. The Bronx also has the Floating Pool, an outdoor pool in the Intermediate class. To see what else is near a pool, browse the How2NewYork neighborhood guides.
Indoor pools for swimming outside the summer season
Outdoor pools and beaches run on a summer season. Indoor pools at recreation centers do not, which makes them the option for the rest of the year. The list has 13 indoor pools, all in the Intermediate class except Flushing Meadows Corona Park:
- Manhattan: Chelsea, Hansborough, Constance Baker Motley, Tony Dapolito, Gertrude Ederle and Asser Levy
- Brooklyn: Brownsville, Shirley Chisolm, St John’s and Metropolitan
- Queens: Roy Wilkins and Flushing Meadows Corona Park
- Bronx: St. Mary’s
Staten Island has no indoor pool in the list. Asser Levy and Tony Dapolito have both an indoor pool and outdoor pools, so the same name can mean different pools depending on the season.
NYC public beaches: Rockaway, Orchard Beach and Staten Island
The Parks beach list has 60 active entries, and most of them are sections of the same few beaches. Rockaway Beach in Queens accounts for 40 of them. Orchard Beach in the Bronx has 13, South Beach on Staten Island has four, Midland Beach on Staten Island has two, and Jacob Riis in Queens has one.
The health department’s water samples also cover Coney Island in Brooklyn, split into three stretches: Ocean Parkway to West 8th Street, West 8th Street to the pier, and West 28th to West 37th Street. For subway and bus routes to the shore, check the NYC transit page for current service changes before you leave.
How to check NYC beach water quality
The city health department collects beach water samples and tests them for enterococci, bacteria used as an indicator of water quality. Results are reported as MPN per 100 milliliters, an estimate of how many bacteria are in that amount of water.
Each figure comes from one sample taken on one date, so it shows what the water was like when it was tested, not what it is like today. A beach can have several samples on the same day, and they often differ. Before a swim:
- Find your beach by name in the latest samples and note the date of each reading.
- Compare all the samples from that date, not just one.
- Check the health department’s official beach advisory pages for any current advisory or closure, which is the city’s call on whether to swim.
What the latest beach water samples show
The most recent samples in the data were taken Sept. 8 and Sept. 9. Orchard Beach had three samples on Sept. 9, each reading 9.9 MPN per 100 milliliters. South Beach read 10 on Sept. 8, and all three Coney Island stretches read 9.9 that same day.
Most samples in this set come from beaches run by associations and clubs, going by their names. The highest single reading was 63, at Douglaston Homeowners Association on Sept. 9, where two other samples that day read 31 and 20. Morris Yacht and Beach Club had readings of 20, 9.9 and 9.9. Danish American had 10, 9.9 and 9.9.
These are readings, not verdicts. The data does not rate any beach, so check the official advisory pages before you go in the water.
Planning a free pool or beach day
Pools and beaches cost nothing to enter. The data does not include opening hours or season dates, so check the NYC Parks listing for your pool or beach before you head out, especially for outdoor pools near the start or end of summer. If the outdoor season is over, one of the 13 indoor pools is your best bet.
Sources
Every figure above comes from these official sources, checked on the day this was written.
Quick answers
Are NYC public pools and beaches free?
Yes. NYC Parks pools and beaches are free to use.
How many public pools are in New York City?
The NYC Parks list has 91 pools: 78 outdoor and 13 indoor. Manhattan has 31, Brooklyn 24, the Bronx 15, Queens 12 and Staten Island nine.
Can I swim at a public pool outside the summer?
Outdoor pools run on a summer season, but the 13 indoor pools at recreation centers do not. Examples are Chelsea and Gertrude Ederle in Manhattan, Metropolitan in Brooklyn and Roy Wilkins in Queens.
How do I check the water at an NYC beach?
The city health department publishes beach water samples tested for enterococci bacteria, in MPN per 100 milliliters. Each reading comes from one sample on one date. For current advisories, check the health department's official beach advisory pages.
Which beaches does NYC Parks list?
The active entries cover Rockaway Beach and Jacob Riis in Queens, Orchard Beach in the Bronx, and South Beach and Midland Beach on Staten Island. The health department also samples the water at Coney Island.
