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Swimming in Houston

I've been traveling to Houston for work for awhile now, every other week-ish ... I really need to find a place to swim. Hotel pools are in the best case tolerable, and in most cases, useless ...

Are there some good places for open water swimming?

Are there any pools near either the Medical District (next week's trip) or near Greenway Plaza that could be used?

Thanks!

General Discussions

I cannot help you

Submitted by maggiemeans on July 4, 2012 - 06:01

I cannot help you specifically in regards to Houston, but I have been traveling to different places about once to twice a month.. and needing to train for my swim race along the way.
In NC I got a day pass to a YMCA pool
In chicago I got a day pass to an LA Fitness pool
In Las Vegas the stupid hotel had tons of different pools but no lap swimming area so I swam at the University of LV.
In an upcoming trip I will get access to the Turner Athletic center.....

I gave up on the hotel pools. usually not for laps.. and way overheated.

My point is.. the lap pools are out there.. it just takes ground work to figure it out.
I do think the universities are a good way to go if one is around.
Other than finding the pool.. getting there can be harder than finding the pool... I was surprised what a pain it was to get the one or two miles back to the strip from the UNLV... and the 2 miles from the Y in NC.
I find too if you call the hotels and tell them you are training for an triathlon, ironman, etc.. then they understand more your need and try to think about what options are close by. When I told some that I was swimming around the Statue of Liberty.. they understood why I needed a pool and went extra steps to help.

Lake 288 isn't too far from

Submitted by Excel_Science on July 4, 2012 - 09:46

Lake 288 isn't too far from where you are. It's open water swimming. Here's a link:
http://www.288lake.net/

If the trips are more long-term you can join a swim club that has monthly dues. Dad's Swim Club has a tri group that meets up to 5x per week and they're located at I-10 and Voss so, again, not too far. I'm not sure if they do a pay-per-use kind of thing just to swim on your own but you could inquire and maybe they'll work with you.
http://www.dadsclub-swimteam.com/master-triathlon/tri-swim-training

Depends on how much you

Submitted by jarhead on July 4, 2012 - 15:37

Depends on how much you wanna pay. There are a few options. Rice University, and UofH have nice pools (so I've been told). There is also a public outdoor pool (33yrds longs) at memorial park. If you are north of Houston there is an amazing swim complex where regionals are held in the Woodlands, but its a trip.

For me I use 24 hour fitness and it suits me just fine most of the time.

I regularly go out to 288

Submitted by jtrimom on July 5, 2012 - 05:34

I regularly go out to 288 lake. It's nice, but check the hours.
Memorial park pool is also good, but I would lap swim in the early morning, otherwise you get a gaggle of kids in your lane.
I think you can pay per day at 24 fitness, they're all over the place
I know several Drs who use the UT medical center fitness center facilities, they said the pool's great and if you graduated from UT, I think you can use it free. Look into that

If you are a YMCA member you

Submitted by dkhartung on July 5, 2012 - 07:47

If you are a YMCA member you can probably get a pass for the Houston Ys. The Y on Stella Link Road (near Greenway) has a coach on deck with workouts T and Th mornings early. No charge for Y members.
I've also used Lake 288 and Memorial Park pool frequently. It's nice to get a run in around Memorial park and then jump in the pool.