Great lifeguards. Knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Wonderful pool experience! Very Clean locker room too. read more

Out of all of D.C.'s recreation centers, this one is among the most spacious. An outdoor pool, two playgrounds, a community garden, a forest garden, courts, and a field give visitors plenty to do! Street parking is nearby and the grassy area even has some shade! read more

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Nice neighborhood pool- while the facilities do need a renovation, the women's locker room is constantly being cleaned which I appreciate. I go here for the lap lanes because the other swimmers are more chill than at some of the other DC pools (cough, cough, Banneker/Francis/Hearst) At some of the other pools, people swim over you like they are trying to win an Ironman. If you are a "regular" fitness lap swimmer, this pool is a great option. It has a big pool deck, most of the chairs seem to be in working condition and the pool gets sun pretty much all day. Lifeguards are nice - I don't envy their job because there are a lot of little kids due to the kiddie pool and the big shallow end. There are tennis, basketball courts and a playground nearby as well. Not many options to walk to for food or snacks unless you walk over to Rhode Island Ave. Overall, it's a nice place to spend an afternoon and relax though. read more

This is THE coolest park ever! I wish i had this park as a kid! There's an AMAZING little kid park with a soft surface and big kid park and SWINGS! There's so few parks in the city with swings - but there's three kinds here. Also a big field with workout equipment, tennis court, basketball court, and the pool! read more

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I live by a really nice indoor aquatic facility, but Harry Thomas is the closest outdoor pool to me. After a 20 minute ride on the 80, I jumped off at North Capitol and Randolph Street to go to the pool. Going to and from the bus, an overwhelmingly high number of people started conversations with me on the street. While the area looks rundown, people were really nice, although I wouldn't want to be waiting for a bus after dark. You walk into a small area to show your ID, and then go to the locker rooms. The women's locker room was humid and smelled like mold. There were lockers and showers available, but I would not use them. The actual pool was filled with millennials sunbathing and a lot of unattended kids on a Saturday afternoon. I got one of the last chairs at 2:00 on a Saturday, but people were really changing over by 3 PM. I met some other people my age to hang out with, which was nice too. It's a quiet crowd outside of the kids, and there weren't really that many of them either. The lifeguards had a lot of arbitrary rules, and this former lifeguard was the queen of arbitrary rules. These guys had more than I did- way more. The deep end is closed if children start to use it, and lifeguards take a 15 minute break every hour. However, they really did work to keep people in line. All in all, free access to this outdoor pool makes it an easy 4 stars for me. read more

I don't live in a condo or similarly-amenities-laden residence in DC. My doorperson is a metal gate and, until recently, my swimming pool was the cat food tins our upstairs neighbor leaves strewn in the backyard. But then I found out that I live two blocks from the free public swimming pool at the Harry Thomas Sr. Recreation Center. It's not the public swimming pool that fellow DCites talk about going to in order to be seen - I'd sooner be caught at a Starbucks than caught in a swimsuit there - the swimming pool I speak of is much more low key. There's a kiddie pool and lots of neighborhood kids, and the majority of the pool is under 5 feet deep. There are deck chairs, lifeguards, and just enough shade to stake out a spot to sunbathe in. Summer hours are late-but-long (1pm-8pm M-F), with the last hour being adult swim time. Lifeguards regularly call "everybody out!" to switch shifts, creating a natural turnover, but they won't hassle you if you end up deck chair warming like me. Oh, and, pool aside, the center has a pretty extensive list of recreational options. Per the website (and in plain sight of the pool): a baseball diamond, basketball court, tennis court, and playground. There's a computer lab and 'multipurpose room' tucked in to the actual center that I've yet to check out but my neighbor raves about the twice weekly Zumba class there. All-in-all, the Harry Thomas Recreation Center makes my neighborhood a little sweeter, and is definitely making my summer that much more awesome. Now who wants to go to the pool with me? read more

The pool itself is great and not crowded... However I don't think I'd leave children unattended. One of the pool patrons hit a lifeguard with the flotation device, threw a chair in the pool, and threw a ball at another lifeguard's head. It took forever for someone to kick him out where he proceeded to just go to the basketball court and yell the f word at people at the pool. read more

I love this pool. I came on a Wednesday night after work, so this review has nothing to do with the scene on the weekends, though I will try to make it on Sunday before it closes. The facilities are great -- locker rooms are much nicer than Haines Point and Banneker -- not the same amount of standing water and general feeling of gross. The pool is large and there are two lanes for lap swimming. The pool was nearly empty and super clean. Love this place! Great for swimming after work. read more

Harry Thomas Recreation Center - Main pool - Swimming Pools Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Pool Facilities: 4 Stars Location: 3 Stars Lifeguard crowd control skills: 2 Stars That about sums it up. The pool is a great neighborhood asset and includes a wading pool complete with spouting whale and dolphin. However, the older kids can get kind of unruly and many lifeguards seem uninterested in - or unwilling to - call them out when violating pool regulations. Additionally lifeguard staffing is kind of hit or miss; when there's not a sufficient number of lifeguards, the pool remains closed either due to staffing shortages or late maintenance on the pool. Unfortunately the entrance is located on a stretch of Lincoln Road that's seen a lot of violence over the years (mostly in the evenings or late at night). Best to go on the early side to avoid the more rambunctious groups of kids, but be prepared to wait it out until there's enough staff on hand. read more

This is one of the worst Rec Centers in town. The grounds are not wheelchair accessible. It is always dirty, broken glass everywhere and just awful. Nowhere to take kids... oh, wait... is that pit full of mulch for children to play in? Ah, sorry, i thought it was a dog pen or something. No shade? No driking fountain? No landscape? Ah, there's a pool... That's why you get one star. read more

Our neighbor told us about the glory that is DC public pools (at least, the newer, cleaner iterations from the Fenty administration). He prefers the Georgetown location, but we decided to give HT, much closer to us, a try. We were SHOCKED when we walked in at opening time at 1 pm a recent weekday and there were only....two....other people. The pool remained relatively empty for the first hour (until the onslaught of eight loud children and one mother, oy vey). But for the entire time we were there, there were no more than 25 people total. Amazing! The pool is clean (kiddie wading pool was closed) and there are lounge chairs a-plenty. Young and old alike come here to enjoy the cool waters (ok, not super cool, but anything feels refreshing on a 100+ degree day). As a former lifeguard, however, I was APPALLED at the lack of professionalism and know-how of the two guards who switched duty every half hour or so. Public pool, country club, or ocean, the same expectations should apply to all lifeguards. One, the younger guy, never took his HEADPHONES out of his ears, and was more often than not on his PHONE. Little kids were running around the pool (there is a clearly posted "no running" sign) but he paid no attention. The older lifeguard, when on duty, took a little more care to fulfill the duties of his position, but still...it was really concerning to see. Anyway, still a nice pool to come to for a refreshing dip or lap swim. Our tax dollars at work! read more

Eh. This is the CVS of DC public pools. It does it's job... But it's not somewhere you're excited to go to. At best, you will find apathetic, underpaid teenage staff. At worst, unruly children (my Kryptonite). Again- not somewhere to go out of your way, but completely serviceable as a pool. read more

This review is for the pool only: People might have higher standards for public pools than I do, but I thought this one was really nice. I came on a Saturday afternoon and there was plenty of space. I even got a chair, although it was one of the last available. The locker room was a little gross which is why the pool loses a star. The pool and the pool deck were both clean and well-maintained. read more

We came to the park for our morning run today, and when we arrived all the gates were padlocked. Having never encountered this after 8 a.m, we googled and called the number we found, someone answered "Harry Thomas," and when my running mate told her the park wasn't open and attempted to get the park hours, she abruptly cut him off and rudely responded, "Okay?! Well, if the park isn't unlocked you have to wait until the park manager comes and unlocks it!" *click* When we called back (simply to ask the park's normal hours if it has them, so we don't come to meet closed gates again), she ignored our calls. Are there scheduled hours the park is available to the public? We like the park (although the grounds could certainly use better upkeep). But can we rely on the park manager to open the park for normal hours? read more

There are not many outdoor pools in DC, we walked about 2 miles to get here and it was a nice surprise. They have a large pool with a kiddy area that's gated. There are lifeguards watching the pools and seem to be on it. These guys get a lot of crap in this area, so I won't be too hard on them. I wish I could give this place 5 stars but the first thing I saw when I walked in the locker rooms was a cockroach. Yikes! BUT IT'S FREE!!! read more

We live near here and have been multiple times to the pool. We always have problems with the staff - arguing with us about what we can wear (they're always wrong), the manager leaves her young daughter unattended (contrary to pool rules) and just general unpleasantness. The pool itself is nice and there is a decent kids pool which is fenced. There is no shade though they were supposed to bring umbrellas near the end of the season (I don't know if they did.) I hope next summer staff is better trained. The playground is passable though set back from the road so it's sort of isolated. The field is a nice place to run around but dogs are not allowed. The rec center itself doesn't advertise any classes so I'm not sure what's available. read more

I moved to DC in July of last year so I am new here. That being said, I was unemployed for all of July in DC. (Aka I have been to every pool, pond, bay, river, yes RIVER, that DC has to offer). This pool is the shit. I don't have a car and I live in the northeast so it's an easy walk to the pool. There is never anyone there, literally ever. Weekends bring some young parents and their kids and afternoons bring some teens but always a laid back crowd. As with other DC pools the staff can be somewhat umm.. Disjointed in their rules for the day/whether you need ID/what you can bring in/ what time they open. But once you are in there is always a seat and it beats the freaking ungodly heat this town has. So come on over, partly because I really do recommend it and partly because there is no one for me to watch when I go, and really why go to the pool if not to people watch. See you there!!! read more

Its a free pool with reserved lap lanes. The facility is not the nicest, but its functional. The good: - Super convenient location (at least for me) - reserved lap lanes - On days, its never crowded - Large locker rooms with plenty of space - Lots of lounge chairs on deck The bad: - Locker rooms are pretty grungy. Always have standing water - Different lifeguards have different interpretations of the rules - There can be a large number of seemingly unsupervised kids splashing around and spilling into the lap lanes. - On weekends, it can be impossible to find an open chair - They're only open for 2 months (half way through June to half way through August) - Its a pretty ugly looking pool facility. Everything is concrete and old and halfway overgrown with weeds. read more