Ready to dip your toes into the water? Modesto expands Graceada Park pool hours
Modesto is helping kids stay cool this summer by opening its wading pool at Graceada Park on several Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
The pool had been open Saturday afternoons only by reservation for children’s parties, what the city calls splash parties. Modesto started this year its pop-up rec swim at the pool on the days it was not rented.
The city held pop-up rec swims June 8 and 15. All of the remaining Saturdays through July are booked, but Recreation Supervisor Stephanie Navarro hopes there will be two pop-up rec swims in August. She said pool rentals tend to diminish when school starts in mid-August.
“That would be great,” Navarro said about more pop-up rec swims.
The deadline to rent the pool is the Wednesday before a Saturday. If the pool is not rented by then, Modesto will promote the pop-up rec swim on social media and at the pool.
Modesto also is opening the wading pool from 1 to 4 p.m. on three Sundays: this coming one, June 23, as well as July 28 and Aug. 25. The pool is for kids 12 and younger, the cost is $2, and the city provides lifeguards.
“We wanted to offer more swimming opportunities for our children,” Navarro said about the pilot program. She said the feedback she has gotten from lifeguards about the first two pop-up rec swims is that parents appreciated that their kids could be in the pool.
This is in addition to having the Graceada pool open weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m. for children as part of the city’s public rec swim program. The program is from June 8 to Aug. 2 and includes the pools at Davis and Johansen high schools. The city charges $2 per person at the pools.
The Graceada pool can accommodate as many as 40 kids. Parents aren’t allowed into the pool but stand or sit nearby to watch their children. The pool averages 30 to 35 kids on a weekday afternoon over the four hours. Navarro said the two pop-up rec swims matched those numbers.
Saturday rentals of the Graceada wading pool take precedence over the pop-up rec swims. Navarro said anyone can rent the pool for a splash party.
The city closes the pool after Labor Day. Navarro said parks and recreation staff will evaluate all of its programs at the end of the season, including this pilot program.
For more information about the city’s entire aquatics program, including swimming lessons, lifeguard training and adult exercise classes, as well as other parks and rec programs, go to modestogov.com/483/Activity-Guide.
