The Swimming Pool Guide

Boulder’s Best Water Parks

By Richard Martin, 7-03-06

	Can we do this all summer?

My first pool was the downtown YMCA in Little Rock, Ark. It was an old-fashioned 20-yard tile pool with narrow lanes , often murky water, and a traditional men's swim where fat naked guys got in and paddled end-to-end for an hour every day.

Things have improved since then. Below, just in time for the 4th of July, is a brief guide to some of the more notable pools around Boulder County, both indoor and outdoor. This list is highly subjective and incomplete; we invite you to send along your own favorites in the comments section and we'll add them to the list as the summer progresses.

Spruce Pool
2102 Spruce St.
303-441-3426

A neighborhood pool with a small lawn area and an adjacent playground, the Spruce Pool is within walking or biking distance for many of Boulder's kids, and as such it can be jammed on summer afternoons. There's a small slide and, almost always, a couple of laps open for lap-swimmers. Like most Boulder aquatics facilities, the Spruce Pool also has a dedicated corps of masters swimmers who work out in the early mornings.

Scott Carpenter Pool
1505 30th St. (30th & Arapahoe)
303-441-3427

Named for the Mercury astronaut, Scott Carpenter is the granddaddy of Boulder Pools. With its big, fast waterslide, diving board, and its 50-meter lap section, it's a favorite for families and serious triathletes alike. I'm not a huge fan, myself: I find the hours somewhat wacky, it seems to be closed down arbitrarily often (including full summers in a couple of recent drought years), and I got reprimanded there for having my son standing on my shoulders. But it's got an adjacent skateboard park and one of the best playgrounds in Boulder, plus it's right on the Boulder Creek Path so it's easily bicycle-accessible.

Bay Aquatic Park
250 Lamar Street, Broomfield
303.464.5520

A huge and fairly new aquatic facility, the Bay is one of those places where an 8-year-old can spend a full day and not get bored. Featuring two serpentine slides, a zero-depth entry leisure pool, an interactive water play structure, the inner tube slide and a tot pool with slides and a waterfall, the Bay is also one of the best picnic spots among Boulder-area pools. Not a great place for lap-swimming, though.

East Boulder Community Center
5660 Sioux Dr.
303-441-4400

The 8-lane indoor pool at the East Boulder rec center is among the finest in town for serious lap swimming; with floor-to-ceiling windows looking up to the Flatirons, it's one of those pools that just feels fast, and some of the Boulder's best triathletes train here year-round. Ironman immortal Dave Scott coached the early morning master's workout here for years. For the recreation-minded, there's a very fast water slide, a powerful "lazy river" feature, and an open play area with a water-basketball goal. The rec center also offers an excellent basketball gym, climbing wall, cardio area, and a wide array of exercise classes.

North Boulder Recreation Center
3170 Broadway
303-413-7260

With a lap pool that's almost as fast as the one at the East Boulder rec center, N. Boulder has the added plus of a deep end and two terrific water slides, one of which dumps you into the diving well after a startingly abrupt ride. The Boulder High swim team trains here, as does two-time Ironman world champion Tim DeBoom. The kids' pool, which can be jammed on a stormy summer afternoon, has the usual array of water fountain features plus a bench at one end where weary parents can sit it out. The rec center also has one of the city's top gymnastics facilities.

Sunset Pool
1900 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont
303-776-5823

There's something classically American about this facility, adjacent to the Sunset Golf Course in north Longmont. With a huge crescent-shaped expanse of water, a lap section that's always open, 3 diving boards, 2 waterslides, a grassy picnic area, and even a sandy beach, it's a great place for families to spend the day. But even more, it's the kind of teen hangout that might have featured prominently in any number of coming-of-age movies from American Grafitti to Dazed and Confused. How many summer romances have budded and flourished by this pool? One drawback: there's no concession stand to speak of.

Apex Center
13150 W. 72nd Ave., Arvada
303-424-2739

A half-hour drive south from Boulder, this is the mother of all rec centers. If there's a bigger and more lavish public athletic center in America, I sure haven't seen it. Besides the enormous aquatic center, which offers three pools, abundant play features, a couple of waterslides, and a great circular lazy river, there are two ice rinks (the Apex Center is one of the centers of youth hockey in the Denver metro area), a hug climbing wall, a state-of-the-art cardio room, a basketball court, and a lot of stuff I haven't even found yet. Don't come to the Apex Center just to swim; come to spend the day and become a fitter family.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.