Hot enough for you? Look on the bright side: at least we aren’t nine months pregnant. Oh wait, I am. Ugh.
There’s no better way for a tiny tot—or a beached whale like me— to beat the heat than by heading to a swimming hole. The Westchester beaches have been open on weekends since Memorial Day, but county pools finally opened on Friday. Wahoo! The truth is, I think we’re pretty darn lucky living here. Growing up in West Texas, the closest beach was something like a ten-hour drive and, despite the ridiculous heat, there was no such thing as a county pool. Here, we have three beaches and five pools at our fingertips. Wahoo!
Now most of the county pools and beaches require a park pass. The only pool that doesn’t require the pass is Rye Playland. The cool thing is that you can pick up a pass at most of the pools and they get you into all the county-owned parks, pools, and beaches. For swimming, it’ll allow you to bring two adult guests and children under 12. However, be forewarned: Wilson’s Waves and Tibbetts Brook are for Westchester County residents only so don’t go inviting some of your city-dwelling friends up to those two spots for the day.
You can also use the park pass for the boat launch at Glen Island Park and the six, all-weather tennis courts at Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers. Golfers and campers get discounts as do kids enrolled in various camps. Not a bad deal for fifty bucks, eh? And it’ll last you three years!
On top of the park pass, you pay a fee for each of the swimming spots. Each pool has different fees and different hours so do a little research before you pack the car with towels and sunblock.
Maisie started swimming lessons when she was just six months old. She’s a kid who will stay in the pool for three hours straight if you let her and doesn’t mind being dunked under the water. All that probably means I’ll be spending a lot of time at the pool in the years to come. If your kid is like Maisie and you plan to swim a lot, you may want to get a season swim pass, which costs $200 per family, $100 for individuals, and $75 for seniors.
Maisie took her swimming classes in the City at Asphalt Green on 92nd and York. It’s a cool place because the floor of the pool goes up and down, which means you can do all sorts of neat exercises with the kids as young as four months—and it’s heated. Of course, there are also Learn-to-Swim classes at Sprain Ridge, Tibbetts Brook in Yonkers, and Saxon Woods in White Plains. Lessons are for adults and kids three and up, though children three to five must be accompanied by an adult. For more info, call 914-864-7056.
I’ll admit that one of my very favorite sounds of summer is laughter at the pool. Here’s hoping you hear a lot of it yourself in the weeks to come!
