Suzanne Welander, Friends of Grant Park Pool
The City of Atlanta’s Aquatics Division recently completed renovations to the Grant Park Pool in time for opening day, Saturday May 24.
The 2025 renovations kicked off a multi-year parks improvement project funded by the city’s Moving Atlanta Forward initiative. Phase One accomplished a thorough resurfacing of all 12 of the city’s public outdoor pools.
Resurfacing improves a pool’s performance and lifespan and is normally recommended every 6 to 10 years. Unfortunately, the city had no record of the last pool resurfacing. This year’s project brought all of the outdoor pools up to a standard operating threshold that creates a baseline for future maintenance and repairs.
Resurfacing was more than skin deep. In Grant Park, crews first drained both the 50-meter large pool and the smaller kiddie pool. A layer of each pools’ existing surface was excavated, exposing pool plumbing and surge tanks so that they could be checked for leaks and other issues. Once repaired, pool surfaces were replastered and resurfaced for smoothness.
Additional maintenance and upgrades will improve the cleanliness of each pool’s water. Sand filters were fixed and filled with clean sand. Grant Park’s kiddie pool got more powerful pumps that decrease the amount of time needed to filter the pool’s water volume. With a shorter filtering turnaround time, swimmers should notice an improvement in the cleanliness of the water.
“We made sure that all the filters are operating at a high level,” says city Aquatics Director Marcus Byams. As a result, “the pools will look clearer and bluer this year.”
Future years’ work will focus on resurfacing the surrounding pool deck to improve drainage and eliminate puddles and cracks that invite weeds. Watch for additional “cosmetic” upgrades in the next phases.
See you at the pool this summer!
2025 Pool Season Details
The Grant Park pool opens on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend on May 24, one of four public outdoor pools welcoming the public starting that weekend. The remainder of Atlanta’s public outdoor pools will open the following weekend.
The pool is open from 12:30pm to 7:00pm Tuesdays through Sundays through the end of July. According to Aquatics Director Byams, staff will be trained to wait until 7:00pm to clear the facility of patrons. August pool hours are limited to Saturday and Sunday only.
Keep in mind that on-site management occasionally limits attendance to one-hour blocks to manage peak traffic. Peaks most often occur later in the afternoons and early in the pool season. As one of only four outdoor pools to open Memorial Day weekend, the pool may draw more visitors than usual.
There is no fee to enter the pool in 2025.
The pool enforces a clear bag policy! Clear and mesh bags are permitted. Other bags are not allowed inside the facility.
The pool is located at 625 Park Avenue, on the east edge of Grant Park near Berne Street and Boulevard.
For operating hours and location information about the Grant Park pool as well as the City of Atlanta’s eleven other outdoor swimming pools, visit www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/department-parks-recreation/office-of-recreation/aquatics.
The Friends of Grant Park Pool (FoGPP) supports the City’s Aquatics Division and is sponsored by the nonprofit Grant Park Conservancy. Find out more at friendsofgrantparkpool.org.
