Clairemont Pool Is Still Closed. Here's Where to Swim This Winter, Month by Month
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
The Clairemont Pool at the South Clairemont Recreation Center is now projected to reopen in April 2027. The City of San Diego staggers its routine pool maintenance so that some pools stay open while others close. On its own published calendar, though, that stagger puts the maintenance closures for Allied Gardens, Swanson Memorial and Bud Kearns in February, March and April. Those are the three pools Clairemont swimmers have been driving to for two years.
The hardest stretch of the closure comes in late winter, just before the reopening, when the list of nearby pools gets shortest and moves east.
The City's pool closure schedule for September 2026 through June 2027 lists each pool's maintenance window. Here are the nearby pools that matter to Clairemont, month by month:
| Stretch | Open nearby | Closed for maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Early November to Jan. 9 | Allied Gardens, Swanson Memorial, Bud Kearns, Mira Mesa | Kearny Mesa, Tierrasanta |
| Jan. 10 to Jan. 31 | Allied Gardens, Swanson Memorial, Bud Kearns, Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa | Tierrasanta |
| Feb. 1 to Feb. 21 | Swanson Memorial, Bud Kearns, Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Tierrasanta | Allied Gardens |
| Feb. 22 to Feb. 28 | Bud Kearns, Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Tierrasanta | Allied Gardens, Swanson Memorial |
| March through April | Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Tierrasanta | Allied Gardens, Swanson Memorial, Bud Kearns |
| May | Allied Gardens returns May 3, Swanson May 24 | Bud Kearns, through May 31 |
Over these months the choices move from one side of the map to the other. Right now the open pools are to the south and west, at Morley Field and Allied Gardens, plus Swanson in University City. Kearny Mesa closed Oct. 12, and Tierrasanta closed Nov. 2. In spring it flips. Kearny Mesa and Tierrasanta reopen just as the other three go dark, and the City's Tierrasanta Community Pool page notes that the children's pool there is closed until further notice.
The new Mira Mesa Aquatic Complex is the one pool open in every row of that table.
According to 10News, the pool shut after its boiler failed. The City puts the closure in November 2024, and Explore Clairemont dates it to October 2024. The pool opened in 1979. The City's project timeline says the scope was developed in winter 2024 and construction began in May 2025. The work since then includes demolition of the old deck and plaster, new tile, a new boiler, lighting and electrical upgrades, and plumbing improvements. On Sept. 9, 10News reported that the City called the project about 90% complete.
The last 10% is slow because the fence held everything up. The City paused fencing in May 2026 because its citywide fencing contract had run low on capacity. In July, the City Council approved an amendment adding capacity. A sole-source procurement was then approved to finish the permanent fence, since that work had already started. The fence sits at the front of a sequence that has to run in order:
The City's renovation page still says spring 2027. It also says that date could change depending on construction schedules, equipment deliveries and final inspections. The September timeline set Oct. 16 as the target for the filtration system, but no update has said that milestone was met. A reopening that is "projected" for April sits on top of an inspection step that can run late. That adds weight to the Mira Mesa row in the table above.
Explore Clairemont reports the project's funding as $2 million in state grant money, $900,000 in Park Development Impact Fees and $100,000 in City infrastructure funds. A 2024 City Council resolution separately authorized the $2 million grant and the $100,000 transfer for the South Clairemont project. The larger $12 million figure in a 2024 City ordinance is the ceiling on a plastering and deck contract that covers seven pools. It is not Clairemont's cost alone.
Besides Mira Mesa, three City pools are open in this stretch, and each one suits a different kind of swimmer.
Bud Kearns Memorial Pool, 2229 Morley Field Drive, (619) 692-4920. Its fall sheet, effective Oct. 5, lists:
Allied Gardens Pool, 6707 Glenroy Street. Its posted guide, effective Oct. 5 with no year printed, lists lap swim Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 7 p.m. Recreation swim runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The pool is closed weekends. Among the City pools here, it is the only one that lists lap swim before 10 a.m. That early-morning option goes away on Feb. 1.
Swanson Memorial Pool, 3585 Governor Drive in University City. Its fall guide lists hours starting Nov. 9: lap swim Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. Recreation swim runs Tuesday and Thursday from 1 to 3:30 p.m., and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. The pool is closed Saturday through Monday.
The weekend options are thin. Of these three pools, only Bud Kearns opens on Saturday, and none opens on Sunday. The City's swim schedule says hours are updated from time to time and suggests calling the pool to confirm before you go.
The Mira Mesa Aquatic Complex at 8577 New Salem Street opened to the public this fall. On Oct. 1, the City's Inside San Diego reported that the aquatic complex and the other new park features at Mira Mesa Community Park were open for public use. The closure calendar still lists the facility as "projected to open Fall 2026," which predates that announcement.
Its fall program guide, effective Oct. 2, lists lap swim Monday through Thursday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Recreation swim runs Monday and Wednesday from 1:30 to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. The pool closes on Saturdays. That makes it the only City pool on this list with Sunday hours. On the calendar, it also has no maintenance window between now and June 2027. In March and April, when Bud Kearns joins Allied Gardens and Swanson on the closed list, Mira Mesa is the one fixed point. Kearny Mesa and Tierrasanta will be back by then, but their winter schedules haven't been posted yet.
City pool admission is $5 for adults and $2.25 for children, seniors 62 and older, and patrons with disabilities. A 10-visit pass costs $36 or $18, and a 30-visit pass costs $96 or $48. Passes work at any City pool. That matters this season, because a swimmer may use one pass at Allied Gardens in December, at Bud Kearns in February and at Mira Mesa in April.
The Plunge at Belmont Park has longer hours. Lap swim and member hours run daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and recreational swim is offered daily starting at 10 a.m. A recreation session costs $18 to $20, and a day pass costs $35, so one visit there costs more than three City adult admissions.
The closure has also hit Clairemont High's water polo and swim and dive programs. Explore Clairemont reported that the teams became "nomads." 10News reported that area high schools have been sharing pools while some of those pools close for six to eight weeks at a time. Families with athletes are planning around the same calendar as lap swimmers, and the same pools.
When the Clairemont Pool reopens, it will have a new deck, new tile, new lighting and a new boiler, with filtration and pump systems to come.
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