Swimming in Madison: beaches, outdoor pools, indoor pools and lessons

City beaches

The City of Madison lists 12 public beaches on Lakes Mendota, Monona and Wingra and on Monona Bay. The beach season typically runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and the city's pages state that no lifeguards are on duty at its swim-rope beaches. Our lakes guide lists every beach, and our parks guide covers the parks around them.

Some beaches have swim ropes and some do not. Per the city, B.B. Clarke, Bernie's, Esther, Olbrich, Spring Harbor, Tenney, Vilas and Warner have them, while Brittingham, James Madison, Marshall and Olin do not.

Checking water quality and closures

Public Health Madison & Dane County tests beach water from Memorial Day to Labor Day for E. coli bacteria and for blue-green algae and their toxins. If a test is concerning, the beach closes to swimming until levels drop.

You can check a beach three ways:

• Open the Beach Conditions list on Public Health's beaches page and click a beach for its latest status.
• Read the signs posted at the beach, which say whether swimming is closed.
• Call Public Health Madison & Dane County at 608-243-0357 or Madison Parks at 608-266-4711, or sign up for the Beach Water Quality email list on the Public Health page.

Public Health also advises looking at the water first, since conditions change quickly. Avoid swimming after heavy rain, stay away from blue-green algae blooms (which can look blue-green, green, reddish-purple or brown), and keep pets out of water posted as closed.

Goodman Pool, the city's outdoor pool

Irwin A. and Robert D. Goodman Pool, 325 W. Olin Ave., is run by City of Madison Parks and is the city's municipal outdoor pool. The city says it is closed for the season and plans to reopen in June 2027. Visitors 3 and older must complete a pool waiver before entering.

The pool offered daily admission, season passes, lap swim, Tot Time and a scholarship program for discounted passes in 2026. Prices change by season, so see the city's Goodman Pool page for 2027 rates. For free splash parks, see our parks guide.

Pools in nearby towns

Several suburbs run their own pools, and the outdoor ones are closed for the season now.

• Middleton: the city's Bauman Community Pool has zero-depth entry, an eight-lane competition pool, a diving well and two waterslides. The city says it is closed for the season and reopens next summer. It runs summer swim and dive lessons. See our Middleton guide.
• Sun Prairie: the city's Family Aquatic Center offers open swim, lap swim and aqua fitness classes in summer. Its page says it has closed for the 2026 season. See the Sun Prairie guide.
• Verona, Oregon and Waunakee: these communities have school-district pools open to the public. See the next section.

Indoor pools open to the public

MSCR (Madison School & Community Recreation) runs open and lap swim at Madison school pools. For fall 2026, lap swim runs on weekday evenings at West, East, Memorial and La Follette high schools, for grade 8 through adult. Open swim is Friday afternoons and evenings at Lapham Elementary, 1045 E. Dayton St., a small, warm, shallow pool. Children 12 and under need adult supervision, and children 6 and under must stay within arm's reach of an adult in the water. A pool pass is required, everyone completes a waiver each year, and passes work at all MSCR indoor pools. See MSCR's open and lap swim page for the current schedule.

Nearby districts also open their pools to the community:

• Verona Area Aquatic Center and Natatorium, 234 Wildcat Way and 400B N. Main St., owned by the school district, welcomes residents and non-residents. Its calendar lists open swim and lap swim. A December 2025 update said the warm-water pool was closed until replacement heaters were installed, so check the calendar for current status.
• Oregon Community Pool, 249 Brook St., is owned and run by the Oregon School District. It offers open, family, lap and preschool swim and water exercise. Some lap times require a reservation.
• Waunakee Community Aquatic Center, 301 Community Dr., welcomes residents and non-residents, with an added fee for non-residents. It has adult lap swim on weekday mornings and Saturday mornings, plus a family swim on some Sundays.

The YMCA of Dane County offers swim lessons at its East, West and Sun Prairie branches, and says membership is not required to sign up. Its membership page says non-members may enter as guests with photo ID for adults, but doesn't say which pools are open to the public, so ask a branch.

Swim lessons

• MSCR offers youth and adult lessons at five school pools, and runs summer lessons at Goodman Pool in partnership with Madison Parks. Lessons are 30 minutes, and MSCR does not offer private lessons. It also runs adapted swim lessons for youth with disabilities, and fee assistance is available. Register through MSCR or call 608-204-3000.
• YMCA of Dane County runs Levels 1 through 6 for ages 6 to 12 in fall and winter sessions, at East, West and Sun Prairie. Some sessions fill, so check for waiting lists.
• Middleton, Oregon and Waunakee run their own lessons at their community pools, with age levels posted on each site.

Browse local instructors and programs in our swim lessons directory. For other classes, see our recreation programs guide.

Water safety basics

• Life jackets: under Wisconsin DNR rules, every canoe, kayak and paddleboard needs a Coast Guard-approved wearable life jacket for each person. Children under 13 must wear one on an open vessel on federally controlled waters. The DNR advises wearing yours the whole time you're on the water.
• No lifeguard on duty. Stay within reach of young children and nonswimmers, and check beach status before you go.
• Learn to swim. MSCR, the YMCA and the community pools all teach lessons, and MSCR and the Y both offer fee assistance.