DeFremery Pool

I am changing my review b/​c I realized I needed to apologize for calling the locker rooms ghetto. The locker rooms aren’t ghetto. They are clean, decent, quiet, warm and just fine. Ghetto is the locker room at Lions Pool. Ghetto is Jean Quan. Ghetto is not deFremery.
Still getting my own lane! In fact the other night I showed up and I was the only one. Keep deFremery open!

I like DeFremery because I can usually get my own lane out here when I swim in the morning (6:30), unlike the crowds at Lions or Temescal. The facilities rate about 2 stars (the lane lines are fading and the locker rooms are bare concrete) but hey, I’m here to swim and I don’t mind. Come June or so, they’ll close off the morning lap swim so plan accordingly.

So I started swimming at Defremery last year when I got fed up with the crazy crowds at the Temescal pool. It’s not that much farther away from my house in North Oakland, but it’s a world different than Temescal. First of all, there are NO crowds here. None. I’ve been the only lap swimmer in the pool more than once, and even when it’s «crowded,» you might have to share a lane with one other person, maybe two. Awesome! The water is decently clean, and not as super-​chlorinated as many pools. The locker rooms are all-​concrete, and not fancy by any means, but they’re clean. The staff here is super-​friendly, and they have plenty of kickboards, pull-​buoys, etc. available for you to use in a bin next to the pool office. It’s also a good length — 35 yards instead of 25, like the Temescal pool, which I like because you have to turn less often. Do be careful, though, not to crash into the wall, because the lane lines are a bit faded.
A couple caveats — first, it’s not in the greatest neighborhood — W. Oakland, sort of between a residential area and an industrial area. I wouldn’t leave your valuables in the car. Second, the showers are that kind where you have to hold down the button to keep the water running. Bring a clamp from the hardware store to keep the water on, and let it run for a few minutes to get warm — it’s often icy cold at first. Finally, there are fewer lap swim hours here than at other Oakland pools, so plan accordingly.