Hamilton Fish Pool

It’s amazing that you can swim in Manhattan for free in an olympic size pool. I arrived close to the opening time and was able to get a decent amount of laps even if the pool has no lanes (at least when i went in early August). Make sure you come with the bare minimum as you can only go in with bathing suit, towel, water bottle and leave anything else out, even your Apple Watch and any other electronic devices. You can bring a lock to store your belongings in one of the public lockers. The pool itself has a cool water temperature. It would be ideal if there were lane ropes but it remains awesome for an outdoor pool in the heart of NYC.

Best Manhattan outdoor pool south of Central Park - and my favorite place to go on a hot day when I don't have time to go to the beach. Cons: out of the way location, and the same ridiculous rules of all NYC pools. Pros: huge, completely free, and near two Citibike stations.

Good size public pool that seems open relatively late. The bathroom situation is a bit of a pain, laid across the premises with uneven surfaces so watch your step. Seems well monitored.

Decent outdoor pool my kids love going here Clean - they don’t allow cell phones inside the pool but they have lockers must bring your own lock it does get crowded can’t swim freely but kids love the kiddos side

A maddening taste of Soviet-style rules, regulations and customer service in an otherwise excellent establishment. Example: pool closes from 4 to 5pm for a lifeguard break (that's fine) but staff inexplicably screams bloody murder to get out at 3:45 and then locks the bathrooms leaving tons of people very hot and/or bothered. And it's not like the place was short-staffed. But the pool is nice when you're allowed in.