Valley pools offer new swim times
The city of Spokane Valley opens its three pools today. The city’s splash pads – at Discovery Playground and the new Greenacres Park – are already operating.
Each of the pools has a different amenity to offer. The Park Road Pool at 906 N. Park Road has a slide, the Valley Mission Pool at 11123 E. Mission Ave. has a zero depth entry pool and the Terrace View Pool at 13525 E. 24th Ave. has a lazy river.
The biggest change this year is to the open swim times. There used to be three open swim sessions per day and now there are two, but each session is longer. The times are 1 to 4:30 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. every day at each pool. “We just added more to the first session and more to the second session,” said Parks and Recreation Director Mike Stone. “The prices are still the same, so they’re getting a better value.”
There are some exceptions to the open swim times, however. There is no 5 p.m. open swim at Park Road on Wednesdays because of swim meets. Evening swimming lessons mean no 5 p.m. open swim on weekdays at Valley Mission from June 25 to Aug. 5 and no 5 p.m. open swim on weekdays at Terrace View from Aug. 8 to Sept. 2.
Admission for open swims is $1 per person. Children younger than 6 must be accompanied by an adult and are admitted free with a paying adult. On weekends, one child age 12 and younger is admitted free with each paying adult. Open swim passes are available for $20, which includes 25 visits. Spokane Valley Partners has free swim passes for residents who meet income requirements. Parents can contact Valley Partners at (509) 927-1153.
The evening swim lessons are also a new offering.
“We’re trying to make it fit people’s schedules a bit better and make it more accommodating,” Stone said. The evening lessons are offered only at Valley Mission and Terrace View for some, not all, of the lesson sessions.
Lessons for all ages and swim levels will be offered at all three pools June 25-July 6, July 9-19, July 23-Aug. 2 and Aug. 6-16. The final swim lesson session will be offered at Terrace View from Aug. 20-30. Each session is $30 per person and children must be signed up in person at the pool where they will take the lessons.
For adults, there will be water exercise and Aqua Zumba classes at Terrace View Pool for $1. The water exercise class is from 12:05 to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays while the Aqua Zumba class is from 12:05 to 1 p.m. Wednesdays.
The pools will close on different dates – Park Road on Aug. 19, Valley Mission on Aug. 26 and Terrace View on Sept. 3. “As we get closer to September, the attendance does drop a bit,” Stone said. “Staffing becomes a challenge as kids are going back to school. We stagger it based on the amount of use.”
Stone plans to end the season with a brand new event at Valley Mission Pool, a dog swim, on Aug. 30. There will be different times for small, medium and large dogs but the exact schedule has not yet been set. “We’ve never done it,” Stone said. “It’s kind of a different event.”
Similar events have been popular in other cities and Stone thinks there is interest among pet owners. “We’re willing to try things,” he said.