DC Pools
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Anonymous
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Has anyone taken their infant/toddler to "Happy Hollow" pool in DC? It's at 18th and Kalorama, and considered a "children's outdoor pool." I've walked by that are a million times but never noticed an outdoor pool.
Is it a place people go to hang out with their infant for an hour or 2? Is there shade? Not baby friendly? Any insight from DCUM? Thanks! |
Anonymous
| My experience has been that DC public outdoor pools tend to be very overcrowded with children. A sea of little heads. I like the indoor pools better - Turkey Thicket, Takoma, Francis. |
Anonymous
If you're looking at Marie Reed, it's over on the left, down a little hill. It's small. I haven't been myself, but I don't hear good things - overcrowded, undersupervised, and not the cleanest pool you'll ever see. |
Anonymous
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I have been relativly happy with the Takoma indoor pool.
Cons: Changing space for your child non-existent. The heater was broken for a few weeks this winter so after getting the kids over there, spent very little time in the water as the kids were freezing. What pool did Fenty install the heater at? We should all trek over there . |
Anonymous
| Fenty works out at East Potomac Park Pool according to the WaPo. Nice big pool. There's miniature golf there too. |
Anonymous
is that @ Haines Point? |
Anonymous
| Happy Hollow pool opened last summer for the first time in years. It is freshly painted and they drain the pool everyday. It's a rectangle shape pool that is 2 1/2 feet all around. The times I went, it was not crowded at all and was mostly shaded (unlike the other DC public pools). The bathroom/changing area is a little strange - best to come already dressed. I think with any pool, sometimes they're great, ie. not crowded and a friendly group of kids, and sometimes the kids can be a little rowdy - you just never know. I think it's going to be open M-F 10-6, but there's a sign out front with the hours posted. |
Anonymous
| My little guy has also been freezing quickly at Turkey Thicket and Takoma, for what its worth. Otherwise, both are nice facilities. But Turkey Thicket is extremely crowded on summer Saturdays (closed on Sundays). |
Anonymous
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Indoor pools hold a lot more chlorine in the air; I would recommend an outdoor pool (since it's the season for them) for a young child if you can find one you are happy with.
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/pools/irritants-indoor-pool-air-quality.html |
Anonymous
| Do you think the pool at Haine's Point is children friendly? |
Anonymous
| The Happy Hollow pool is great! I took my DD there last weekend and we had a blast. I believe the hours are now only week days but the pool is clean, shaded and not very crowded. The changing area does leaves a lot to be desired. Like the PP suggested I would come dressed. |
Anonymous
Francis is an outdoor pool. |
Anonymous
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I think Happy Hollow is awesome. Haven't been yet this year, but it was great last summer with an infant. Very quiet, shaded, not crowded, no rambunctious crazy kids splashing all over the place (at least compared to someplace like Francis). It's too deep for a toddler to stand on his own, but perfect with an infant.
The entrance is actually off 17th, not 18th - you enter through the bathrooms/changing area. We also like the Upshur pool, off of Arkansas near 14th, between Upshur and Allison. They have a separate baby pool, which keeps the rowdier kids away from the little ones. |
Anonymous
| Another Upshur kiddie pool fan here. Since someone asked about shade, I'll note that when the sun is high in the sky there's zero shade over either pool, but in the late afternoon (by 6 pm), portions of both pools are shaded by trees. |
Anonymous
Absolutely not. First, there's no kiddie pool. #2, at the shallowest point, the pool is 42 inches deep, and it moves to 48 inches deep within a few feet. So if your kid isn't into treading water at all times, he'd better be much taller than 4 feet. As with all DC pools, no toys, balls or pseudo flotation devices are allowed. The lifeguards interpret "No Diving" off the side to also mean no jumping off the side for fun. Lastly, the last time we were there, there were 3 or 4 adult couples who appeared to be dry humping in the water, just wandering around grinding. |