13 public pools open in New Orleans for the summer

The big picture: The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission pools are open on a rotating basis through Labor Day.

• Four pools are indoors and nine are outdoors.
• The pool at the St. Bernard Recreation Center is open for the first time since 2019, and NORD plans to reopen the Whitney Young pool in front of Audubon Zoo.

State of play: Pool hours are limited because there aren't enough lifeguards, a problem NORD has struggled with the past two years.

• NORD officials had hoped to get 150 lifeguards, but they wound up with 92 as of last week. About 10 more are expected to become certified soon.
• Anyone at least 15 years old can apply, and training is provided.
• The pay starts at $17.15 an hour.

Meanwhile, Jefferson Parish's only public pool is open in Marrero.

• It's $2 to swim and $1 for spectators.

Between the lines: For a city surrounded by water, New Orleans has limited free options for swimming.

• There are no public beaches open for swimming on the south shore. However, the city is moving forward with developing Lincoln Beach.
• Private pool memberships are popular, along with day passes at several hotel pools.

If you go: These are the NORD pools that are open now. Most have free family swim Monday through Friday from 2-7pm and Saturday from 9am-2pm.

• Gert Town, 3411 Broadway St.
• Joe W. Brown, 5601 Read Blvd.
• Treme, 900 N. Villere St.
• Sanchez, 1616 Fats Domino Ave.
• Lyons, 624 Louisiana Ave.
• Rosenwald, 1120 S. Broad St.
• St. Bernard Center, 1500 Lafreniere St.
• Sampson, 3211 Treasure St.
• Stallings Gentilly, 2700 Lapeyrouse St.
• Stallings St. Claude, 4300 St. Claude Ave.

Opening soon:

• A.L. Davis, 2600 LaSalle St. Scheduled to open later this month.

• Federal City, 2200 Constitution St. Scheduled to open later this month.
• Whitney Young, 6500 Magazine St. Scheduled to open later this week. When it does, this pool in front of Audubon Zoo will be open all day for family swim.

Go deeper:

• NORD's aquatic schedule
• 5 cool New Orleans pools you can dive into now
• New Orleans' historically Black beach a step closer to reopening
• 13 of New Orleans' best snoball stands