Awful. Too crowded, too small, ridiculous rules and nasty people (the swimmers, not the staff)

The pool is warm. The slow lane is good, but lifeguards need to get fast swimmers out of the slow lane.

Beautiful pool and a lot of the staff are very kind and helpful when it comes to answering questions! I will say though some of the lap swimmers here can be very aggressive and rude, especially to new comers. Witnessed this one older woman in the slow lane being rude to another lap swimmer and when confronted she began shouting at everyone including being rude to the lifeguards as well. When i asked other lap swimmers about her, they said she always acts like this- harasses and says small racist remarks towards other swimmers and lifeguards. Genuinely feel bad for the lifeguards for dealing with people like her. Hopefully management can do something about her as I am very confused how she is still allowed back at this facility after everything she's said/done. Additionally a lot of the lap swimmers have stated it's very uncomfortable being in an environment with someone like that and have verbally complained about her and her behavior to management. Please do better Lions in protecting your patrons and staff from bullies like her! read more

Gorgeous pool. I love the area. The grass is green and there is plenty of shade. Great location, wonderful park.

Beautifully maintained pool. It was nice and clean, the showers were well kept as well. Three stars for the really unfriendly lifeguard and poor swimmer traffic management. The pool was sectioned into three: slow, fast, medium. I think the breakdown was 7 swimmers per lane. Strangely each section was two lanes wide for circle swimming which made it really hard to swim continuously and awkward for passing, even though passing is allowed. I found myself a little disoriented swimming and flip-turning in a double-wide lane. There were a lot of traffic jams and people getting upset for blocking their way, people not knowing how to pass etc etc. In my lifetime of swimming, this was the first time I have ever encountered this. I've never found leisure swimming to be stressful but this was certainly the first time. It was hard to tune out the people and just workout. I was just so worried I was going too slow or worried about how I could pass someone without offending them..... This all could have been avoided if management simply made each actual lane a single lane and ask people to circle swim until there are 4 in the lane, then split the lane in half from there to avoid confusion. It's a shame this was so poorly managed as I feel all of that stress for everyone could have easily been avoided. If you go for the last session, be prepared to shower and get cleaned up quickly as the workers will keep checking in (passively rushing you) as they want to close up to go home. The rates here are very reasonable ($7/hr) and I hope to be back again to see if anything has changed. read more

Cute pool, but FYI - they don't allow children to wear flotation devices of any sort - doesn't matter if it's water wings or Coast Guard Certified life vests, and they don't provide the information on their website. With 3 under 5yo, all of whom are learning to swim, this felt really dangerous and made for a very stressful experience even with 2 adults, especially as the pool starts at 3.5' deep. Also, the manager on duty was rude and condescending. I won't be back. read more

Lions Pool has these separate lanes for slow and fast swimmers, which is nice for those of us who want to take it easy or pick up the pace. But let me tell you, there's a real lack of order when it comes to sticking to those lanes. And don't even get me started on the manager - seems like they're hardly ever around when you need them. Anyway, if they can get their act together with clearer signs and stricter rules, maybe I'll think about coming back. But for now, I'll be checking out other pools in the area. Hopefully, Lions Pool gets its act together soon read more

This pool is honestly all right for lap swimming. Like another reviewer noted, this pool has a unique system with the wide double lanes going on. Not all of the swimmers follow great lap pool etiquette. In my recent visit, there were two guys at the deep end of the slow lane who were just fooling around for 30 minutes having breath holding contests and interrupting swimmer traffic. Staff didn't say anything. On cleanliness: maybe because it was end of day, but the pool seemed a little grimy to me. Lots of dirt floating around and what I think were piles of leaves at the bottom. I had higher hopes since I live five minutes away. :( If you're able, I recommend going to the Emeryville pool that's much cleaner, more sizable, better etiquette by pool goers. read more

I came to the Lions pool to celebrate the end of summer event for the Lions Pool swim team. I was surprised that this wonderful pool was set in a beautiful area in the diamond park. There were lots of families with children having fun swimming in the pool. It was amazing. read more

Thick black scum at waterline tiles. Clearly not cleaned for weeks which is unacceptable and a public health issue for such a heavily used pool. Usually crowded. read more

Love the WARM pool and ditto atmosphere- And ESPECIALLY Xavier (lifeguard extraordinaire)

Great pool for lap swimming. The double lanes make it feasible to manage a lot more people though it generally does not get more crowded than 7 swimmers per lane. read more

6 years ago, this was my favorite spot. I remember not knowing how to swim and i started coming here everyday. It was 1$ for public swimming for kids and i loved it. The guards were the best, I felt like this review is long due. I want to shoutout Alex, Aramis, amani, Juliet, ana, and so many more life guards. They made my experience 10x better. I'm not sure if any of them are still there. read more

I could go on and on but I will cut to the chase. Oakland is broke. Miserably, miserably broke. And this pool really shows that situation. Disgusting bathroom/locker area/furlough hours here and there, poor pool maintenance and a facility that's in desperate need of renovations, it's all apparent here at Lions' Pool. However, even in these tough times, we must swim! We must stretch our backs, our shoulders, float in the chlorinated waters, soothe ourselves with the peaceful controlled breathing of lap swimming. Talk to our neighbors and community members, and make space for others in our lanes. Do flip-turns and get by using the sad collection of fins, pull buoys, and ample kick-board selection. Sunsets around you as you do backstroke and look up and see the Oak trees on the hillside. Children play in the park outside the pools' chain-link fence. Leaves from the trees, having fallen in the pool, playfully obstruct your pull and scurry away from the draft as you pass. As an adult, I do the morning and evening lap swim here. Yes, sometimes the lifeguards are unprofessional and there seems to be a lack of official policy about certain things, but that's okay. They are well meaning people that work here. Yes, the people who swim here are slow and clueless. Did I say clueless? And slow? That's okay, because you can rise (or float, or just quickly pass) above it! It's my liquid therapy and it's as cheap as $4 a swim if you buy a $40 pass and get 10 swims. The parking lot can be sketchy, it's very dark and I'm sure there are all kinds of clandestine activities that take place long after I've pulled away from the lot, but what parking lot doesn't have some of that? Around here. Hopefully cops will patrol occasionally (if there are any in this precinct after all of the layoffs!) Look if you're lucky, you can swim somewhere else. But some of us just have to get by and you'll find us at Lions' Pool. Not a bad way to stay fit and relaxed, really. read more

Lions Pool at Dimond Park - Entrance on el centro side - Swimming Pools Near Me - Oakland, California

Great pool opened for public swimming recently. Kids loved the quality of water and friendly lifeguards and manager there. Parking is easy off street and easy access to the pool through stairs. read more

I've been to Dimond's Pool twice now since they've reopened. Love swimming here - staff are nice. I hope to be able to swim more than just 30 mins every two weeks soon once it becomes safe to do so! read more

No recent reviews here so I guess I'll share my experience. Apparently this pool has recently been renovated but I never went before so I don't have much of a comparison. I'll just say that the locker room seemed fairly clean and was also warm- even the floor felt heated (I forgot my flip flops). The shower pressure is fantastic, but there's a note at the front to be mindful of water use I think. There are no lockers in the locker room...people just seemed to leave their stuff in the large open changing area or take it to the deck. The pool experience was fine- it got a little crowded, but people in the fast lane seemed to have pretty similar paces. It was only 3 lanes as people earlier have said. Also, I should have asked how long it was- I read somewhere 37M? Maybe I'll follow up. read more

I love this swimming pool! They have an elevator that lowers me (and others I assume) into the water, and then hoists me out! SWEET! I love that elevator so much that I sometimes just ride it up and down in and out of the water! I went there to swim a lap or two but this pool is long! I thought Temescal's pool was long, but this one is even longer! Wow! I couldn't even complete one length, and I guess I shouldn't have attempted it in the middle (fast lane). It's just that the lane was appealing since the lane had support ropes on both sides of the lane (within easy reach). I spent a lot of time just hanging onto lane lines while I tried to complete my one length. This seemed to aggravate a couple of the Olympic wannabes who took the time to stop and yell something at me, which I couldn't hear through all the water in my ears and with my gasping. Well, I finished that length (in less than 15 minutes), and moved over to the wall so I could pull myself back to the shallow end. I completed that length in 10 minutes! I'd say that's improvement! Anyway, I'm not sure if it was a case of severe oxygen debt, but I'd swear I saw some form of sea creature doing somersaults in the deep end...that was different. Aside from the people in the fast lane yelling at me, their constant splashing, and that rough tile on the wall (it chapped my hands), the pool was wonderful. Lifeguards were nice... even when they inquired if I had ever swum before. The answer is YES! I grew up swimming in an inflatable pool and I carry those skills with me to this very day! All in all a great pool and one of the best lifts in Oakland. That lift alone is worth the price of admission! Check it out! read more

Lately I have had emotional confrontations with the staff/lifeguards! Are you kidding! 1) I had 62 paid visits in my account. I was not well enough to come to the pool for two months. When I returned there were 32 paid visits on my card. A supervisor came to talk with me while I was in the pool. I suggested that we talk another time when he was not on the concrete and I was in the pool. It was not respectful. No one contacted me or made any changes to my account. This is not the first time that my account was diminished not by me. I was told that there are computer problems with other swimmers accounts yet the city has no interest in fixing the problem! 2) Some staff start off speaking to me in a confrontational aggressive manner.My Doctor told me today that people jump to judgment about me before any communication. It is shocking to me. One life guard told me that I had to tie up my dog or get out of the pool. It was horrid! He was shouting at me. People in the pool just did not stand up for me. I did nothing wrong. He abused his position as a life guard. I was He came back and apologized that same day but the shock to my nervous system was not changed by the "I am sorry". It is important for the life guards not to be judgmental. I did not feel safe. Several of the swimmers hearing the loud lifeguard thought I had actually done something wrong! I want this relationship to staff to change. Perhaps this message will help the process. My hope is that the training will include social skills. This is a public pool for all the citizens in the area. Many of the staff are nice, kind, and friendly with normal social skills. read more

Lions is my second favorite pool in East Oakland. The setting is beyond compare. It feels like swimming in the woods. Outside the pool is a California Buckeye tree that's gotta be two hundred years old. You kinda can't help but relax in that environment. Unless the pool is super crowded, and then you can forget that meditative swimming you were hoping to do. There is a wheelchair lift, as well as stairs/railing on the shallow end and ladders on the deep end. The parking lot is up the hill, and there are a bunch of stairs. If you're in a wheelchair, check a map and park at the end of Canon St. read more

I'll be honest and just say that Lions is not my favorite of Oakland's public pools. True, it has great scenery, but you don't actually see it when you are swimming. What I do not like about Lions Pool is the following: 1) The pool has WAY crazy striping that is totally wasteful of space (there is a total of 3 lanes in the whole pool) 2) The water is too warm for lap swimming (which I admit is nice during winter, or foggy Bay Area mornings) 3) The restroom showers are really claustrophobic. read more

Wanted to update the reviews on Lion's pool--especially for moms and dads out there. They have public swim on Saturdays at 2:45-4:45 pm. I have a 7 year old--2 hours is just enough for us. The pool is huge, warm and in a beautiful setting. There was at the peak--about a dozen people in the pool. Cost was $3 for adults $1 for children. The locker rooms--well, had to take off a star. No lockers--they use these woven bags to hang on railings-- Overall it was a good way to get my energetic 7 year old to waste her energy. She was able to swim in the deep end after passing the "swim test"--four laps of free style+tread water for one minute. read more

I've been swimming here off and on for six months now. It's not your greatest pool (the facilities are aging) but it's kept clean by some really friendly staff. You can tell they have some great friendships with the regulars here. I usually come and do an hour of light to moderate swimming to take some load off my body in the running off season. Folks are friendly and ready to swap stories with you. Yes, there are plenty of seniors occupying the slow/medium lanes and I think they could stand to add a couple more lanes because the variance in speeds in my lane is always pretty great. That said, I've found this place preferable to swimming at the Alameda 24 (that pool is way too short and it's facilities are questionable) and you're supporting Oakland parks! Do it. In case you were wondering, this is a 35 yd pool. read more

$5/ swim, or $4 if you get a multipass. It is heated to a tolerable temperature, though I'd like it a bit warmer during these fall nights. Of course they can't help the fact that it's freezing getting to and from the lockers. I'm not much for swimming laps, so I do the water aerobics. It's actually a really good workout. We don't have an official teacher, but there are regulars who have been going for 11 years who lead the thing, and are very friendly. Not a group of crotchety old ladies like I feared. You use water weights/ dumbells made of foam to do a series of different exercises. We do laps for the first half hour, but I usually cheat and jog the shallow end. Highly recommended. I just wish that there were time/space reserved for people who just want to be in the water without doing laps, besides during family swim when you have to deal with all the kids. read more

Although this is in my neighborhood I jump past it to go to Mills. I'm a slow swimmer and the slow lane here is clogged with people who like to just stand in the water and talk which makes swimming around them a chore. Also if you're a water chicken each lane goes from about 4 feet to over 10 feet - not like Mills where you be in 4 foot water the whole time you're swimming. The setting is nice, the rate is reasonable, the locker rooms are more spacious than Mills. They also have a contraption that can lower someone into the water if you can't do the stairs or ladder. read more

Its a nice pool. The older swimmers can be quite pushy and sometimes rude but other than that the pool is a peaceful "playground" as some would call it. Its a three lane lap pool, and is heated to a comfy 83 degrees, year round. $5 a swim is a bargain these days, so its a go for me! read more

Lions Pool at Dimond Park - Lions pool @ night - Swimming Pools Near Me - Oakland, California

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Love this pool. Set in lovely nature, it's so great to watch the trees when you're working on your backstroke. The locker rooms are not the fanciest in the world, but I've noticed the floors are heated in the winter, so that's fancier than I thought. Staff is very nice. Hours are pretty limited, but I get there when I can. Nice long pool for lap swimming - 33 yards. read more

OK, I'm going to let people in on my wonderful little secret, but you have to promise not to hog a lane. Nestled in Dimond Park in east Oakland, Lion's Pool is around 84 degrees all year round. Lap swimming 3X/day and water aerobics for those that need more structure to their swim workout. I am a swimming snob, hence the mermaid reference, so sometimes the wannabe lap swimmers get my goat, but with patience this is the utmost in nirvana exercise. read more

Not the BEST pool but it's not BAD either. There's only 3 lanes- slow, medium, and fast and the majority of the swimmers are seniors. It can get pretty crowded and that is why I never stay long. Pool temperature is on the warmer end and the chlorine isn't as strong. The pool is located at a nice park tho so it's a nice area. The women's locker room is okay..somewhat clean and not too dirty..it gets super hot inside though with the hot steamy showers and the lack of ventilation. Overall for $5.00 a swim or $40.00 for 10 swims, it's pretty cheap. read more

Clean pool, warm water, great location. Locker rooms didn't seem too bad. Something they should post on the website, YOU NEED EXACT CHANGE TO GET IN ($6 for adult lap swim), or else pay with a card. My only real complaint about this place is the staff. Most of the lifeguards that were on duty when I was there did not seem very knowledgable, and one was texting & talking on the phone WHILE ON DUTY. Let's hope that doesn't happen during public swim. Never would've flown in my guarding days. Overall this place is a good option, and they have lots of lap swim hours. But be prepared to climb up/down 30+ steep stairs to get to and from the parking lot. read more

All of the slots for reservations are FULL within 5 MINUTES of posting the schedule. With allowing 2 reservations per person, it is impossible to get a reservation. Please reduce the frequency of reservations to JUST ONCE A WEEK. It's the same people every week. Stop this and expand hours. read more

The pool itself is clean. The price of admission is 5 bucks, which seems a bit steep for a swim. However, when you see the decaying, gross state of the locker rooms, you'll understand. Hopefully the funds are being put away for restorations! My experience was okay. As a pretty good swimmer, I joined the medium lane (there's fast, slow and medium). People totally either under or over estimate themselves and have NO FUCKING MANNERS. It's incredibly rude to cut people off while they're swimming. The lifeguards don't manage this, so the flow of the lanes is pretty jacked. The other swimmers here are RUDE. The lifeguard needs to do her damn job and call people out for doing unsafe and just plain rude things. Cut me off and not only will I pass you, I will kick you in the face while doing so. Jerks. read more

This pool is great. It was heated at just the right temperature. It is an outdoor pool right next to a very lovely park. There's a slow, medium and fast lane that people are pretty good at sticking to, and room in the middle lane to pass people up. They have equipment you can use but I didn't check any of it out. The bathrooms are a tad gross but nothing you can't bear if you have flip flops. No lockers. The lady on the phone said they took card but when I got there he told me they only take card for over $10 and it costs $6 to swim. They took the cash I had so that was nice. The people who work there are really nice. I wish they had another bigger clock to help you time your laps. Someone told me the pool length was 35 yards which is weird so I'm not sure he was right. Cool place. read more

I'm a loyal fan of Temescal pool, but since moving further East into Oakland have started trying out Lions. The warm temperature of the water makes it quite appealing on a cold winter day, however, the medium speed lane is kind of a traffic jam nightmare of people swimming many different speeds and you really have to keep your eyes open and be ready to pass or be passed a multitude of times. This makes it not so relaxing. To top it off, someone helped themselves to the cash in my wallet while I was swimming there today, so my recommendation is to enjoy the water here, but leave your money at home and definitely keep your wits about you. Sigh. read more

Staff is awesome. Facility is rough around the edges, but what do you expect for the money? It's a wonderful resource for our community and I love going there every time. I wish it had longer/more hours! read more

The pool is in a beautiful setting and it is heated nicely. The pool and locker rooms show sign of lack of maintenance. The rooms smell at times. The pool swim lines at the bottom and side are almost gone, which cause many less experienced swimmers to wander out of their lanes, which in turn cause near or actual swim collisions. The pool staff could do a better job of ensuring swimmers stay in their real speed areas. There are too many slow swimmers in the medium speed area, causing more problems for real medium speed swimmers. read more

Eh. This pool has a pretty location, and I'd heard good things about it from friends. I've come here a few times now, hoping to escape the crowds at Temescal, but I won't be back. First of all, the lanes are totally jacked up here. The pool is big enough for 5 lines total. Instead, though, they have it set up as 3 lanes -- 1 normal-sized fast line and double-sized slow and medium lanes, with people circle swimming the whole double-wide lane. It gets absurdly clogged up once you have more than 4 people or so in the lane, which could be SO easily solved by just putting in the damn lane markers. Also, the lanes here are ridiculously slow. At Temescal, I swim in the slow lanes and sometimes the medium lanes. Here, I have to swim in the fast lane if I want to get any kind of workout in. Many folks in the medium lane are nowhere near medium-speed swimmers, and there are always a bunch of folks just standing around jabbering at the end of the lane, making it really hard to actually swim. (Of course, the slow lane looks even worse. I actually saw someone swimming with a wool hat on yesterday. A freakin' WOOL HAT, with llamas and earflaps and the whole deal. You have to be kidding me!) They also have the swim direction set up oddly. In the medium and fast lanes, you circle swim as usual, but in the slow lane, they have people circle swim backwards, for some reason I can't figure out. Plus, the lifeguards here are totally disengaged and do nothing to fix the issues going on. Other notes: the pool is heavily chlorinated, the lane lines really need to be re-painted (I've crashed into the wall more than once because the lane lines are basically invisible), the showers are pretty crowded and crappy, and this is one of those pools full of 'regulars' who think they own the place and are really rude and inconsiderate as a result. . I wish this pool was better run, because it is less crowded than Temescal, but the crack-headed organization and annoying clientele will keep me away! read more

Although the pool looks good and I was told that water is at 82 degrees the water was colder and I caught a bad bad cold after swimming. The life guard on duty was the rudent person I have ever spoken to (there were two - one african american and other blonde). While the AA was lost in her own world not bothered about what was going around, the blonde was the snobbish kind who thought she owned the pool. Wearing shiny aviators, shouting on people, acting snobbish and tlaking rudely are not good signs. The pool might be cheaper but if it comes at the cost of falling sick, tolerating rude/unprofessional people and dirty locker rooms, then I am well off paying more somewhere else where I am not made to feel like some cheap trash. read more

Love, love, love this pool. Could sure use a paint job and other work but it is a public pool not a private club. Pool is long and the water is warm so it's a joy to swim. Outdoors in a beautiful setting (currently construction adjacent that can intrude on the natural serenity). And the price is right! Yay Oakland!! read more

I had heard about this pool, and was pleasantly surprised when I wanted to take a break from my team workouts and swim a few laps here. I like this pool for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the staff is very friendly, and I feel like the lifeguards are truly paying attention. I like to visit this pool to cruise in the warmer water (yes, they keep it a bit warmer than one might be used to when working out with a team), when I simply want to relax while I'm stretching out for a a mile or two. The people who swim there are very pleasant (except for a couple highly competitive guys who might want to consider joining one of Oakland's Masters' teams...), they communicate well when the lanes get more crowded, and they seem to have formed a sense of community, which I like. I also like the length of the pool (35 yards) which is the closest thing to a long-course pool that Oakland has. And there are some good swimmers who show up in the fast lane, and they will stir you to swim faster if you need that to go faster. All-in-all, this is a wonderful little oasis hidden away in Oakland's Dimond District and I highly recommend that you check it out. read more