If the ocean is too cold for you to swim in … try one of the great public swimming pools in Victoria.
Crystal Pool – 2275 Quadra St.
Saanich Commonwealth Place – 4636 Elk Lake Dr.
Gordon Head Recreation Centre – 4100 Lambrick Way
Esquimalt Recreation Centre – 527 Fraser St.
Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre – 1767 Island Hwy. Colwood
Oak Bay Recreation Centre – 1975 Bee St., Victoria
Hi, I would like to know the price and the schedules you have.
Hi Gabriela, Please contact the individual pool that you’re interested in. I’ve tried to put links to them all in the post.
Cheers!
linda
hi have you gone to these pools yourself? and does the Oak bay recreational pool do birthday celebrations, can you come for a one time admission.
Hi Linda,
I came across this page while searching for outdoor pools. Please allow be to correct you, Victoria is not a great city by the measure of pools it has.
I am surprised about the people praising how great Victoria is. Also appalled how self obsessed and self righteous are the people in Victoria. Victoria has beautiful natural settings, however that was not achieved by the inhabitants. Victoria also has the best climate in Canada. Sub Mediterranean or warm summer Mediterranean. That was not accomplished by the people who live in the city.
What was achieved by the inhabitants, and rather by their elected local government officials is zero pubic outdoor pools in the entire CRD. That is despite to the many warm sunny days during the long summer. A great city of the size, an the climate of the CRD has several outdoor pools for the inhabitants, and mostly for the children to enjoy. I have travelled the world and have never met so many self absorbed people as in Victoria. The only other city is Vancouver. They always want to prove that their city is best city in the world, when it is not. By the pool standards, the CRD is the one of the most backward region I ever visited.
The only thing which is worst than the pools, is the inaccessibility of health care. Certainly not a great thing to have no chance to have a family doctor. Not even a chance to get into a walk in clinic. A developed country would never allow to have their healthcare system deteriorate in a way as it is done in BC. And that was all achieved by the provincial and partially by the federal leaders elected by the inhabitants. How great is that?
Hi Steven,
Well, we all have our own opinions. No, Victoria doesn’t have outdoor pools … mostly because they’re expensive to build/maintain as well as having only a short period of time that they’d be used. Yes, we’re a mild climate – although a Pacific Marine climate so we still have winter/snow and even the shoulder seasons can be wet, cold and dreary at times. So we’d have maybe 2 – 3 months where people would possibly use an outdoor pool. But if that’s your criteria for judging a city … so be it.
As for residents being ‘proud’ of their city … I think we all tend to love the city we live in. I hear people living in New York City that think it’s the best city in the world but I’d disagree. Would I tell them they’re ‘wrong’ … nope. It’s all in perspective. Sure we didn’t ‘make’ the oceans/mountains/lakes … but why is that necessary for someone to love it? That’s not being ‘self righteous’ but grateful and appreciative of the natural beauty that surrounds them.
Yes, health care is dismal here. But it’s not just in Victoria … there needs to be reforms in health care all over BC and Canada as a whole.
When travelling, I find it helps to look at every new place I come across with an open mind. All places have plusses and minuses. Perhaps the feedback you got from the locals in Victoria is only a reflection of yourself and your negativity.
Thank you for your comments.
Wow! You are very opinionated and quick to cast judgement on this city and its inhabitants! You have a weird way of forming your complaint and it’s unlikely you will get very far with such a negative attitude. Quite the opposite. You cause people who read your remarks to dislike you and that weakens your opinion.
Linda. You have provided an excellent information package here. Your comments at the end are very interesting and quite compelling. In another of your comments you mention the difficulties with and why there are no outdoor public pools in Victoria. I would agree with your opinion there. It sure would be nice to change that. Not sure there is a big demand for it though. Could build it and like in Vancouver APPARENTLY the pools saw a loss of numbers using them. I used to go to OAK ST. POOL in the 1960’s and it was always packed. You had to pretty much stay in a very small and confined space back then. I was under 10 years old. I did not know at that time but I think these facilities were mainly used by low income folks. My mother would throw a towel over the fence to me when it was time to leave. It used to be .25 cents for a locker back then. Apparently that was not in our budget then. Times have changed for many though I know the costs of building pools is exorbitant. HOPEFULLY the discussions and action will take place SOON regarding a new CRYSTAL POOL. Cheers and thanks for taking the time to put this list together..
I was also looking for outdoor pools in Victoria and was really surprised and sad that there were none. Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Halifax, Fredericton, St John, St John’s, (and probably many other Canadian cities as well) all have multiple outdoor pools to enjoy in the summer. And we also have much longer winters than Victoria does, so that’s not really a reason not to have any. The water around Victoria is really cold! It would be nice if there were some outdoor pool options for swimming in the summer. City council should really consider it. Almost every other Canadian city has. Victoria is a wonderful city, and having outdoor pools would would make it pretty much perfect 🙂
Steve can suck a big one
Hi Marty, Steve just seems like a very unhappy person, and while everyone has their own opinion, I tend to agree with you. It’s one thing to make a comment or disagree with someone/something but another to attack and belittle.
Cheers!
linda