-
After a full season of being closed, the Swain County Recreation Park pool opened to the public a week ago today. The new pool has a beach entrance and is totally renovated.
Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Nothing says summer like sunshine, popsicles, and the bright blue water of a pool. Swain County residents and visitors can now make summer plans for poolside lounging. Swain County public pool opened to the public on Thursday, June 9—after a long wait as the renovations to the 1978 pool kept it closed for the entire 2021 season.
The news couldn't have come any sooner as Swain County, like most of the United States has had a heat wave this past week with it heating up into the 90s in the daytime and only cooling off to the 70s at night.
The newly renovated pool now has a zero-gravity entry on one side and ADA entrance, a new liner, new guttering and even a new outbuilding housing the filtration equipment.
Upgrades were also made to the splashpad, which opened this past week.
The pool is open every day. Season passes are available for $75 for an individual or $150 for a family of four. Daily admission is $4 with those aged 5 and under free.
The lap swim is $1 and family night is $1. Lap swim is 10 a.m.-11 Monday-Saturday. Open swim is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays is 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (with Day camp using the pool 2:30-5:30 those days), and open swim Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays is 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Open swim Sunday is 1-5:30 p.m. with Family night 6-8 p.m.
To purchase a pass or book a reservation, call the office at 488-6159.
On Thursday, Swain County commissioners said they have already received questions about the pool being closed to the public when Day Camp is using it, particularly on Fridays.
According to the discussion, the closure is mostly due to a limited number of lifeguards. With 60 campers, there would need to be additional lifeguards to open it to the public during those times as well. Commissioner Kevin Seagle agreed to look into the matter further.
The project, about $350,000 total, was funded in part through grants. Swain County Tourism and Development Authority helped pay for the needed repairs with a $50,000 contribution as well as $100,000 from the Nantahala Health Foundation.
The county is also seeking a Parks and Recreation Funding grant that would allow them to move forward with plans to add to the pool’s appeal.
The additions the county is looking toward include a three-story slide and a lazy river, both of which would expand the footprint of the overall pool area.
“Hopefully, this is the first step of several pool investments,” said TDA Chairman Jeremiah Wiggins. “We hope there are more projects to come, so we can help the pool and rec park projects where residents and tourists can share a lot of common ground.”