Openings Set For Milwaukee Pools, Splash Pads and Aquatic Centers

A Milwaukee County Parks lifeguard. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee County Parks.

Cool Waters Aquatic Center in West Allis will be the first county pool to open this season.

Milwaukee County Parks will open three outdoor deep-well pools, two aquatic centers, two indoor pools and 32 wading pools and splash pads this year.

Cool Waters will open June 13. The rest will follow on June 18 and 20.

Pools are opening later this year than they did in 2025, which also had an unseasonably cool spring.

“With summer right around the corner, we’re excited to open Milwaukee County Parks’ aquatic facilities and welcome families and residents back for another season of fun,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in a statement. “Providing safe, accessible and enjoyable recreational spaces remains a priority for my administration, and I encourage everyone to get out, cool off and take advantage of everything our parks have to offer this summer.”

The county is not opening all the pools in the park system because of a lack of funding and staff.

The system has eight outdoor deep-well pools, which are expensive to operate. The system saw its lifeguard recruitment nosedive during the pandemic, which worsened a preexisting trend. It has made gains since then, but even if the system were able to fully staff every pool with lifeguards, it would struggle to find the operational funding to keep the pools open. Parks recently released a long-range aquatics plan that calls for closing several neighborhood and wading pools and moving toward larger regional aquatic facilities and splash pads, as the latter require less staffing and maintenance.

“Our team is excited to welcome the community back for another summer at Milwaukee County Parks’ aquatic facilities,” said Guy Smith, Parks executive director. “From open swim and swim lessons to Aqua Zumba, Splash Dance and our Junior Lifeguard Program, there are opportunities for people of all ages to stay active, learn new skills and have fun this summer. Thanks to the dedication of our aquatics staff and growing lifeguard corps, we’re proud to provide safe, welcoming spaces where families can cool off, connect and create lasting memories.”

Parks offers swim lessons, water safety instruction and pool rentals for private events. Some pools are available for lap swimming or night swimming. Parks maintains a webpage showing whether a pool is open or not, as well as a listing of pool hours and admission prices.

Outdoor Pools and Water Parks

• Cool Waters Aquatic Center – West Allis
• Schulz Aquatic Center – Milwaukee
• Sheridan Park – Cudahy
• Wilson Park – Milwaukee
• Pelican Cove – Milwaukee
• TOSA Pool at Hoyt Park — Wauwatosa (county-owned pool run by nonprofit Friends of Hoyt Park and Pool)

Indoor Pools

• Noyes Park – Milwaukee
• Pulaski Park – Milwaukee

Wading Pools

• Alcott Park — Milwaukee
• Algonquin Park – Brown Deer
• Cooper Park – Milwaukee
• Greene Park – St. Francis
• Hales Corners Park – Hales Corners
• Harriet Tubman Park – Milwaukee
• Humboldt Park – Milwaukee
• Indigenous Peoples’ Park — Milwaukee
• Jacobus Park – Wauwatosa
• Kops Park — Milwaukee
• LaFollette Park – West Allis
• Lindsay Park  Milwaukee
• Lyons Park — Milwaukee
• Mitchell Park – Milwaukee
• Pulaski Park Cudahy – Cudahy
• Rainbow Park – West Allis
• Saveland Park — Milwaukee
• Sheridan Park — Cudahy
• Smith Park — Milwaukee
• Tiefenthaler Park – Milwaukee
• Tippecanoe Park – Milwaukee
• Walker Square Park – Milwaukee
• Wedgewood Park – Milwaukee
• West Milwaukee Park — West Milwaukee

Splash Pads

• Lucille Berrien Park – Milwaukee
• Clarke Square Park – Milwaukee
• Madison Park – Wauwatosa
• Moody Park – Milwaukee
• Gordon Park – Milwaukee
• Carver Park – Milwaukee
• Dineen Park – Milwaukee
• Washington Park — Milwaukee (operated by Urban Ecology Center)

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