Your Favorite Swimming Spots

A couple paddles in their inflatable kayak in the East River with the Manhattan skyline behind them after stopping on a small beach in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Sunday, July 24, 2016, in New York.
( Kathy Willens AP Photo )

Summary Transcript

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. For our last 10 minutes, we're going to do something we can do in just a 10-minute time span and that's open up the phones for your favorite place to go swimming on another steaming hot day. Share it with the class. If you have a really good place to go swimming, it can be a pool, it can be a beach, it can be whatever, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. You know that feeling when you're sitting around wishing for a cold body of water to jump into? It's pretty miserable out there. Let's help each other out. What's your favorite swimming spot? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

I'm talking metro area. I'm not talking someplace you get in an airplane and go to, but it can be your favorite large body of water. Pick an ocean, any ocean to cool off in, or any beach by an ocean. 212-433-9692. It can be a pool. Is there any pool in the city pool system or any other pool in our metro area that you would rank above the rest? Call us and tell us what you like about it or maybe you ditch the city per se altogether and head to a lake or a river in Jersey or upstate or in Connecticut, but that's still general greater New York. 212-433-WNYC. Let's share our favorite swimming spots. 212-433-9692.

Do any of the hotels do day passes for their pools? That's a question that one of our team members came up with and I have no idea of the answer. Has anybody ever done that? Is there a day pass for a hotel pool you can use somewhere? 212-433-WNYC. The city itself has 50 outdoor public pools that are open now. 212-433-9692. We talked on the show yesterday about the serious issue of lifeguard shortages and recent drownings at Coney Island and Jacob Riis, but this is on the lighter side. Even as we take the lifeguard shortage and lifeguard hours issues seriously, we still want to go swimming.

Shout out your favorite swimming spot. It can be a pool, it can be a beach on the ocean, it can be something on Long Island Sound, it can be on a lake or a river upstate or in Jersey or in Connecticut. We'll take your calls at 212-433-WNYC. You can text them too, 212-433-9692. Share your swimming spots right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now, as time permits, your favorite swimming spots in Greater New York. I think Myra in Manhattan actually has an answer to that question about hotel pool day passes. Do I have that right, Myra? Hi, you're on WNYC.

Myra: Hi, Brian. I love your show. I'm a big fan and I do have the answer to your questions. I looked it up and it is around $150 for a 3-hour pass to Williamsburg Hotel. There's a minimum consumption and it's more money on the weekends rather than the weekdays. You think you're paying $150 for the whole day, but in reality, it's 2 hours and 45 minutes and you have to consume. I stick to the free pools that the city provides.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, I guess. I guess we could look up and try to confirm whether that includes a buffet lunch or if that's for a family or something like that but yikes, $150 if that's accurate. Sue in Freehold, you're on WNYC. Hi, Sue.

Sue: Hi, Brian. Boy, I am an ocean swimmer from back in childhood when my 97-year-old dad took me and my girlfriend with her dad on dad's shoulders into the water, jumping up and down, got Red Cross swimming lessons, and now my favorite thing to do all summer long is get down to the beach. It's 25 minutes away from me here in Freehold, but it's just the greatest. I do go when the lifeguards are present. I think it's free at four o'clock. You can go in. I meet a friend, we go, we just swim for half an hour, 45 minutes, and it's the greatest thing.

Brian Lehrer: Sounds great, Sue. Let's hear it for the Jersey Shore. Here's a text with more on the hotel passes. Listener writes, "A lot of hotel pools have day passes that are pretty affordable. Rockaway Hotel has a great day pass offer," so in contrast to the earlier listener. How about Hannah on the Upper West Side, you're on WNYC. Hello, Hannah.

Hannah: Hi. I'm a huge fan of this community, love, love, love your show. My favorite place is Jones Beach. You think it's this overcrowded place, but if you go to field one and you walk out to the right, you would not believe there's no one there. It's completely empty. There's no lifeguards though on that side, but Jones Beach is the perfect place. Field one, Jones Beach.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Hannah. Thank you very much for that tip. Some people definitely may take you up on that. Nick in Inwood, which we already call upstate Manhattan, has a swimming spot further upstate. Hi, Nick. You're on WNYC. Nick, are you there?

Nick: Brian, it's been a long time. Onteora Lake.

Brian Lehrer: Onteora Lake.

Nick: Near Kingston, Woodstock. You need a car, unfortunately. We've taken our two kids there and it's a sweet spot. You can find shade on a hot day for the little ones and it's warm enough into September that little kids can get in there and have a really great time.

Brian Lehrer: Onteora Lake in the Kingston area. Thank you. Oh, more on hotel pool passes from Pedro in Manhattan. Hi, Pedro. You're on WNYC.

Pedro: Hi, Brian. [unintelligible 00:07:18] big fan of the show. I got a quick tip. There's actually an app that lets you find pricing in real-time availability of day passes for pools. It's called ResortPass and that works nationally, if I'm not mistaken. By the way, pricing $75 in the city

Brian Lehrer: Sorry, it got cut off for a second there. Pricing what?

Pedro: $75. There's some places in Manhattan that $75 is the day pass.

Brian Lehrer: ResortPass as an app where you can find various ones. Thank you for that. Lucy, in Des Moines, Iowa, you're on WNYC. Hi, Lucy.

Lucy: Hi, Brian. So lovely to talk to you. I wanted to give Bear Mountain State Park as a recommendation. It's beautiful. Nice little hiking and you hike down to a swimming pool that is just a massive Olympic-sized pool. It's a nice little escape from the city, not too far away. We went to Woodbury Commons, which is close by, decided, you know what, let's take a dip, it's so hot. Bought some bathing suits from the outlets and jumped back in the car and took a dip. Definitely lots of fun to get out of the city just a little bit.

Brian Lehrer: Lucy, thank you very much. Margo in Westchester, you're going to get the last one. We got about 15 seconds for you. Hi.

Margo: Hi. Thanks for having me. I have three spots. One is Garza Public Pools. You can take the train to Scarsdale and you can get a day pass. The pool in McCarren Park in Brooklyn is amazing and it's free. Then Rye Playland has actually an incredible beach that you can go to.

Brian Lehrer: That has to be the last word, but she did get 3 in 15 seconds. Thanks for all your swimming tips. Stay tuned for All Of It.

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