About
Outdoor pool with lap lanes, a diving board and a high dive, plus lessons.
Specific, consistently maintained pool temperatures for the IU Outdoor Pool are not widely publicized. As an outdoor facility, the water temperature is subject to environmental conditions, but pools of this type are generally maintained at a comfortable range for recreational swimming, typically between 78-84°F (25-29°C).
What are people saying (AI review summary)? The swimming facility is highly praised for its 50-meter, 10-lane training pool, ideal for lap swimmers and lessons, offering depths from 4.5 to 7 feet. Swimmers appreciate the excellent water quality, noting it's gentle on sensitive skin and doesn't leave a chlorine smell. The complex includes a shallower teaching pool and a diving well, with water temperatures typically between 76-80 degrees. Locker rooms are spacious and clean, though showers are noted to be too hot with unadjustable temperatures. While lifeguards and general staff are often described as great and helpful, a recent movie screening event highlighted significant operational issues, including extremely slow entry lines (taking 40 minutes for 50 people), a rude staff member at the entrance, and the movie starting an hour late with poor sound quality and inconvenient screen placement, leading to a negative experience for many attendees. Admission prices are considered steep for non-IU affiliates ($7 daily, $199 season pass), and purchasing a day pass can be a slow process. Despite the pricing and the specific issues with the movie event, the pool is generally regarded as an amazing place for swimming, often providing uncrowded lanes for individual swimmers.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
-
Accessible Entrance
Reviews
Listing Reviews
July 21st, 2025Jared Allsop
Great pool and awesome staff. Great place for kids swim lessons.
July 17th, 2025Sarah Ferrell
I always try to visit for a lap swim when in Bloomington- amazing pool.
June 25th, 2025Jim Shackelford
This is a very good swim pool, especially for lap swimmers and lessons. It's 50 meters, ten lanes. It is near Assembly Hall, the basketball arena. I don't have good scalp or skin, due to 13 years of competitive swimming way back when. This is the best chlorinated pool ever for my skin. The pH is probably near ideal. Because I can stay in for 30 minutes without flaring up my psoriasis. I don't smell like chlorine at all later, which is unusual. The lap lanes I use start at 4.5 feet deep and are generally 6 or 7 feet deep -- I like that depth a lot. I haven't been there yet during open swim times, but I would guess it works out well. There are actually three pools. The big 50 meter training pool. A smaller, shallower teaching pool (probably a rec pool for younger ages in the afternoon). And a big diving well that includes a high platform. The water temperature has usually been 76-80. It does have a heater if they need it. The locker room is spacious and clean. Outstanding showers, though they get too hot and you can't adjust the water temp. They should set it 5 degrees lower. About ten lockers in the men's area, and you can bring your own lock. When I go, most people just hang their clothes above the benches. The admission price is kind of steep (for non IU people), and a day pass takes two minutes to buy (they want your ID and phone number each time). Because the season pass is also steep -- $199 -- I'd have to go 28 times to break even compared to the $7 daily admission. Next year I think I'll go only to this pool and then the season pass will be worth it. How crowded the lanes are depends when you go. If you have some flexibility you can figure out times when a swim team isn't practicing and individual swimmers are few. I usually have an empty lane, something I love. Lifeguards and front-end staff are great.
August 15th, 2025Genia
A great place to get cooled off in the heat of the summer. Plenty of lounge chairs in the sun and there is also plenty of of places to get out if the sun.
August 13th, 2023Jake Long
Went to see the screening of The Little Mermaid tonight at the pool. The staff waited til a few minutes before the movie was supposed to start to open the doors. Then the line moved SO SLOWLY to get in. I had maybe 50 people in line ahead of me, and it took about 40 minutes to get to the front of the line. There were easily another 100 or more in line behind me. I get it, maybe there was a bigger turnout than expected. Maybe they were understaffed. I’m pretty patient when it comes to customer service stuff because I don’t know what might be going on behind the scenes. But when I finally got to the front of the line, I could see a staff member (presumably male, white polo shirt) being very rude to every customer he spoke to. He was dismissive, offered fake, sarcastic smiles. To be clear, it was the guy standing on the side where students and pool members scanned their cards. By the time we got into the pool area it was already 45 minutes past the time the movie was supposed to start (we got there 30 minutes BEFORE it was supposed to start), but they still hadn’t started the movie because there were so many people who still needed let in. They started the movie an hour after start time with plenty of people still not admitted. That’s my gripe with the staff. As far as the actual movie experience, almost no one was there to actually watch the movie. So people are talking loudly near you and walking in front of you so you can’t see the screen. The sound quality was pretty poor to begin with so the atmosphere just made it worse. I am not a parent, but I heard from other attendees with small children that they were having a bad experience. For all the ways they could have had the projector screen set up, they chose the absolute worst place to put it. Also their membership fees for the public are outrageous. So, I won’t be going back. Hope this helps you decide whether you want to take children for a movie screening. It was a fun idea but very poorly executed.
Leave a review
Opening Hours
| Sunday | 12:00 – 6:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 5:00 – 8:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 5:00 – 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 5:00 – 8:00 PM |
| Thursday | 5:00 – 8:00 PM |
| Friday | 12:00 – 6:00 PM |
| Saturday | 12:00 – 6:00 PM |
Drop Us a Line