Bowers Mansion Public Swimming Pool

About

Bowers Mansion Public Swimming Pool is a historic and popular outdoor swimming facility located within Bowers Mansion Regional Park in New Washoe City, Nevada. Known for its large size and scenic setting, the pool is fed by natural springs, offering a refreshing and unique swimming experience during the summer season. It serves as a favored local destination for recreation and cooling off.

The pool at Bowers Mansion Public Swimming Pool is famously fed by natural springs. While specific exact temperatures are not always published, it is consistently described as 'cold' or 'refreshing' due to its unheated, spring-fed water, providing a bracing swim particularly on hot days.

What are people saying (AI review summary)? Reviews for this pool facility present a mixed picture. Patrons praise the generally clean, impressive pool, which features varying depths, a lap lane, diving board, water basketball, and a new splash pad, along with amenities like life vests and sunblock. Many commend the friendly and helpful staff and find the pool affordable and a refreshing relief from the heat. The facility allows outside food (soft coolers) and collapsible wagons. Conversely, several negative experiences highlight issues such as unexpected closures of attractions (e.g., splash park) without warning or refunds, limited entry due to lifeguard shortages, and reports of lifeguards being distracted by phones. Other complaints include a rough pool bottom, "floaters" on busy days, and payment inconveniences like credit card reader malfunctions without staff trained for manual entry or an onsite ATM. The facility also has rules like 'no cotton clothing' and expensive cabana rentals, leading some to recommend bringing personal chairs and shade.

Location

Gallery

Amenities

• Good for Children
• Accepts Credit Cards
• Street Parking
• Parking Lot
• Accessible Entrance

Reviews

Listing Reviews

June 14th, 2025

Elizabeth Barrera

Nice atmosphere, cold (heated?) pool. The main problem I had was that the splash park was closed. I came in with a 3 and 1 year old and no one at the front desk even warned me that it was closed before I paid. My one year old is also so tiny that lifejackets don't fit her and I had a specialized floaty that they didn't allow. I don't blame the lifeguards, they were just doing their jobs. However, when I asked about a refund since the reason we came was the splash park they said no. If you go to a chicken and burger restaurant and they're out of chicken, maybe the staff should let you know before you sit down.

June 18th, 2023

Susan Valenz

Had a great visit yesterday. The pool is impressive! Clean with a large area that goes to 5 ft., there’s a dedicated lap lane, then on the other side of the lap lane the pool deepens from 6 ft to 8 ft. where a diving board is located. The pool has a unique Z formation. There’s a pool shot water basketball hoop on the shallow end, four lifeguards on rotating shifts throughout the day on weekends, and a wheelchair ramp. In addition, there’s a new splash pad for the smaller children, plus life vests and dispensable sunblock if you happen to forget your own. The only inconvenience was that their credit card reader was down and the cashier wasn’t trained on how to manually enter the CC numbers. So we had to drive to Carson and back because there’s also no onsite ATM machine. Bring cash and save yourself the hassle! The pool is affordable too, $6 for adults and $5 for children. Lastly, you can bring in a lunch. It may be soft coolers only, please double check the rules. I did notice that collapsible wagons are also allowed.

July 11th, 2021

Merrill Hanson

OPEN! There is an unfortunate "Closed..." added to the title of this place, but it's actually open. The bottom of the pool is a bit rough. Reminds me of the old days in my grandmother's pool. On a busy day, you can see floaters. The diving board is conspicuously missing. It's $70 to rent a cabana for about 2 hours. For me, today, with a high of 99-100°, it was a refreshing relief from the heat at the local campground around the corner. "No cotton clothing" in the pool. Recommended: bring your own chair and shade.

August 31st, 2024

Jackson

Absolutely love this pool. All the staff are extremely friendly. Some days they are busy or short staffed and are extremely helpful/ understanding to people who drove out to the pool. All I hear is people complaining but not realizing these are kids and don’t control the outcome of the weather or staffing. Either way this pool is amazing and I highly recommend it for those hot summer days.

August 1st, 2024

Mats

We went in Saturday July 13th and it was awful. They said they were only letting 25 people in because they didn't have enough lifeguards and every single lifeguard was on their phone. Horrible experience for my grandson's birthday party. We used to have so much fun there but it has gone downhill.