Four years ago, my partner (now husband!) and I embarked on our first Pool Crawl. It was a spontaneous decision and what we both thought would be a great way to escape the heat while also exploring our city. We chose four different public outdoor pools and set out to see what made them special.
The fact that Toronto has so many outdoor public pools that are free for everyone is special in itself. They open at the end of June (with a few pools opening a few months earlier) and close on Labour Day weekend. In between those dates they offer respite to young and old, new and established Canadians alike. They’re places where people get exercise or meet up with friends. They’re a completely affordable way for a family to have fun together. I have taken this for granted, and it’s only recently I’ve discovered how unique it is for a city to offer so many, and for them to be absolutely free.
What started as a whimsical outing on a hot summer’s day has become an annual tradition! We even had Pool Crawl Toronto t-shirts made last year!
While our friends and neighbours headed off to their cottages or to city parks with coolers and picnic lunches, Andy and I spent Canada Day participating in our fourth annual Pool Crawl. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day, especially in the midst of a heat wave, and it absolutely gave us the opportunity to reflect on what we love about where we live.
This year, we visited four different pools, three of which are in North York, a part of the city we rarely find ourselves in. All of the pools we visited were completely new to us.
Our first stop was Goulding Park Pool, close to Yonge and Steeles. The pool sits within a large park offering sports fields and beside a large community centre. The change rooms are spacious, but do not include personal change rooms – though there are bathroom stalls if you’re shy. We arrived at 11 am, just after opening, and the floors were very slippery already – there was a sign responsibly warning people of this, but I still nearly wiped out. The pool deck is large, with lots of space to suntan on towels or set up beach chairs. The pool itself is huge and kidney shaped. The shallow end is very shallow and the deep end is not very deep. There’s an umbrella shaped water sprinkler in the shallow end, beside the wide stairs allowing for gradual entry. It’s a great spot for kids, and they know it. It was packed! The water was the perfect temperature – not overly warm and not at all frigid. We were already feeling the heat and found it so refreshing. Truth be told, we did not actually swim here. The shallow “deep” end and the number of fellow swimmers made getting any laps in nearly impossible. But Pool Crawl is not really about exercise. It was wonderful to just enjoy being in the water on such a beautiful day. One of my favourite things about this pool is that it’s surrounded by trees, almost making you feel like you’re swimming in a forest. Bonus points for having a station for filling water bottles, and a shower and ramp to meet many accessibility needs.
Our next stop was Irving W. Chapley Outdoor Pool. This pool is also in the midst of a larger park that includes sports fields. This one is right beside a playground with a splash pad. The pool itself is just a regular rectangular pool, like most of the outdoor pools in Toronto. The change rooms are a good size and the floor is non-slip! Music was playing over speakers while we were there. We’re always happy when we get to hear music while we’re swimming. My favourite thing about this pool was that it wasn’t super busy. Again, the water temperature was perfect, and this time there was lots of room to swim widths in the deep end (and the deep end was a typical depth). There’s a lovely area with tables out front of the community centre if you’re planning to pack a lunch.
It was about 1:30 by the time we made it to Ledbury Outdoor Pool, so we sat down on a bench in a small grove of trees just across from the parking lot to have a snack. There are a couple of benches and a picnic table, but there’s not much else in the surrounding area, as far as I could tell. Except for huge fancy houses – it is a very fancy neighbourhood. To access the pool, we crossed a wooden bridge before crossing a kind of concrete courtyard to the stairs leading to the change rooms and pool, making it feel like we were arriving somewhere secret. (Note that there is also an elevator.) The change rooms are basic, but totally fine, again with no private changing stalls (but two washroom stalls). There is a universal change room in addition to the ones designated for men and women. It’s a much larger than average rectangular pool, and we were able to get a bit of swimming in in the deep end but again, it was very crowded. There were a lot of teenagers there! It felt like a local hang out spot for the young people in the neighbourhood. Beside the pool is a shaded area with fountains and sprinklers and bridges for youngsters to explore. There’s also a station for refilling water bottles right on the deck, and a ramp for accessible entry.
For our final stop of the day we said goodbye to North York and made our way south to Giovanni Caboto Outdoor Pool, near St. Clair and Lansdowne. We had intended to make that the final stop on our pool crawl the year before but it turned out there’d been a festival happening in the surrounding park and we’d been unable to find parking. So we tried again, and this year we were successful. And was it ever worth the wait! Giovanni Caboto Outdoor Pool is solidly in my list of Top Five Outdoor Toronto Pools. The whole city seems to know it too, and this was the only place we had to wait in line. Fortunately, the line moved quickly and we were in the changing area withing five minutes or so. There is a universal changeroom here as well and it included many private changing stalls. It’s also the only change area I was in that day that included lockers, in case you’re concerned about valuables. (It is always fine to leave your belongings on the pool deck.) The pool is ENORMOUS! The deep end is very deep – try as I might I couldn’t even touch the bottom in the deepest part. Despite the crowds, because of the sheer size, and because most of the patrons were in the shallow end, it was easy to get a bit of actual swimming in here. There’s a large twisty waterslide in the shallow end. My husband tried it out and reports that it’s not too fast but still a lot of fun. There was an ice cream truck parked outside of the pool entrance, and although we resisted this time, I’m sure we’ll have an opportunity to indulge next time. As sure as I am of there being a next time.
Pool Crawl Toronto 2026 was a success! We were exhausted, sunburnt and elated at the end of the day.
We are always looking for new pools to check out, so please drop your suggestions in the comments!
Naiad Notes 
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