City of Oakland Swimming Pools

Archived Q&A and Reviews

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March 2009

Re: Swim class for 4 and 7 year olds
You don't say where you are located, but Oakland Parks and Rec does kids swimming lessons at a number of pools around the city. My daughter (4 1/2) is currently taking their Tiny Tots program at De Fremery pool; last year we did a parent/child class together. Carrie

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July 2008

Re: Swimming classes for a two year old
Our son was two years old last year and he really enjoyed swimming lessons. Two-year old classes are all, I think, classes with parents primarily geared to getting the little ones comfortable in the water.

The place we started was at Lions pool in Dimond park. Saturday mornings, outdoor pool but heated. They actually have two classes, an A and a B. I think the ''B'' class is supposed to be a little more ''advanced'', but in practice, I didn't see it. The classes last summer were big classes with little individual attention from the instructors, but enough room to move around with the child and some attempts at structure--getting them to blow bubbles in the water, float on their back, etc. Toys to play with in the pool also.

We then discovered lessons at East Bay parks at the Roberts pool up in the hills ...

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Re: Pool near N. Oakland for family swim (May 2005)
Here is a link of the Oakland parks & rec pools. Lions pool has a really great park area for picnics as well. The hours will be expanding to summer hours soon & it's not too terribly far from N.Oakland.
http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/programs/aquatics_lions.asp

Happy swimming. katherine

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Re: Pool for handicapped woman (Jan 2005)
The Lion's Pool at Dimond Park in Oakland has wheelchair access, and you can go lap swimming for a low cost. The people there are the greatest. Dimond Park is also a wonderful park to visit. another mary

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Re: Drop-in swim class for 21-mo-old (July 2004)
Try Lyons Pool in Oakland at Dimond Park. They have sessions every month and if you even just go to one class and talk to the teacher, they might let you pop in to check it out. Swimming in Glenview

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Re: Swim class for 6-month-old (March 2004)
My then six-months-old son, my husband and I had a good time at the City of Oakland classes at Lions Pool last summer. They are very no- frills, and the water can be chilly at times, but it's a nice group of people-- teachers, parents, and kids. Elizabeth

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June 2002

does anyone have experiences (good or bad) with the tiny tots swimming lessons given at the lions pool at dimond park? my 4- yr old is interested in learning. i'd like a program where i do not have to be in the water with him. suzie

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My son took swim lessons there about 5 years ago, for 2 summers(when he was 2 and 3). He really liked it, but parents did have to get into the water with their kids. It may be changed now, though. Barbara

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Dimond used to be a parent participation program. I don't know if it's changed, though. There are lots of programs that parents don't get into the pool for over age three, though. Haufler Aquatics and Strawberry both have them. Oakland Mom

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Re: Saturday Swim Classes

We took a saturday swim class through Oakland Parks and Rec at Dimond Pool. It's not a formal swim class but a parent tot swim class, where you teach the child to swim with the assistance of the very nice instructors. It's very affordable ($35 for an 8 week session). You might also look into evening sessions at Strawberry Canyon ... I saw they had them as late as 6:30.
Myriam

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From: Margie

I live in Oakland and the Oakland Parks and Rec offer swimming lessons at $10.00 for 8 sessions (every Saturday morning for 8 weeks). They have different age groups at different times. They have swimming lessons during the week as well. Very inexpensive and fun for the kids.