‘My feet in the pool’
courtesy of ‘jc.westbrook’

Well, you’re not alone.  Word has gotten out about DC’s free public swimming pools, and (anecdotally at least) they seem particularly more crowded than in previous years.  This past Sunday, East Potomac Park at Hains Point (home of an Olympic-size pool and favorite location of triathletes in training) had to turn people away because the pool was over capacity. 

The Department of Parks and Recreation keeps an updated list of pool attendance for the summer, and it turns out that my two favorite swimming pools, East Potomac Park and Francis (at 25th and N in West End) are everyone else’s favorites too, with by far the highest attendance this summer.  East Potomac Park has logged more than 8,700 visitors as of June 25, and Francis has logged more than 7,000 visitors, while most other pools are in the 2,000-3,000 visitor range.  So what do you think– have you noticed your favorite pool becoming more crowded this summer?

Shannon grew up in the greater DC area/Maryland suburbs, went to Virginia for college and grad school (go Hoos!), and settled in DC in 2006. She’s an urban planner who loves transit (why yes, that is her dressed as a Metro pylon for Halloween), cities, and all things DC. Email her at Shannon (at) WeLoveDC.com!