The Swim Hours Campbell Lost When Its Community Center Pool Closed

Campbell's city pool closed for good in July. Three months later, Campbell has no city-run swim program at all. The temporary programs at Westmont High School ended August 9, and San José's nearest public pool has lap swim at different hours and costs twice as much. Swimmers who used the Community Center pool before work or after dinner can still find water nearby. They'll have a hard time finding it at the same hour and the same price.

The pool is gone, and so is a schedule that suited people with full workdays. Here's where each nearby option fits that schedule, and why the replacement survey that closes October 30 matters more than it might seem.

What closed, and what went with it

The Campbell Community Center pool opened in 1951 as part of Campbell High School's athletic department. It was a heated pool, 25 yards by 20 yards. The high school closed in 1980, and the city converted the whole site into a community center in 1985. After months of on-and-off closures while crews patched aging pipes and drains, the city decided on July 14 to drain the pool and shut it down, according to San José Spotlight.

Natasha Bissell, director of Campbell Recreation and Community Services, told San José Spotlight it was "one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my professional career." The same report said an hour-long swim session there cost as little as $3.

The city's July 16 notice explains what changed for swimmers' schedules. Programs booked between July 20 and August 9 moved to the pool at Westmont High School, 4805 Westmont Ave. Two programs were left out and discontinued. One was AM Lap Swim, Monday through Friday from 6 to 8 a.m. The other was PM Lap Swim, Monday through Friday from 7:45 to 9 p.m. Anything scheduled for August 10 or later was canceled.

Those two lap blocks were the swim times that fit around a standard workday, and they ended first.

The price and the hour now trade off

San José Spotlight named Camden Community Center as the nearest public pool for most Campbell residents, and noted that its hours are more limited. San José's aquatics page says off-season lap swim is offered only at Camden. Fair, Mayfair and Rotary Ryland ended their recreation swim for 2026.

The other options this winter are private pools, a college class schedule, a coached team, or a YMCA lesson program. Each one gives up the old pool's price, its hours, or its drop-in format.

Set against the old $3 hour, Camden's adult rate is double and a Waterworks session costs more than five times as much. Camden's $3 rate for adults 50 and older, youth and people with disabilities matches the old price, so those swimmers keep their price but have to drive to Union Avenue. Camden sells 10-visit passes at its front desk for $50, or $30 at the reduced rate, and each pass comes with an extra free visit.

Where the 6 a.m. lane went

Here is each option measured against the two time blocks Campbell discontinued.

1. Weekday evenings. Camden's lap swim runs Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 8 p.m. That covers the early part of the old 7:45 to 9 p.m. block but ends before most of it. Waterworks Aquatics is open until 9 p.m. on weekdays. Its lap swim is for members by reservation, bookable up to two weeks ahead, and the club says lap hours vary by day.
2. Weekday mornings. Camden's only morning lap swim is Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday adds 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For a weekday swim before 7:30, the nearby choices are Waterworks, which opens at 6 a.m. on weekdays, and the LGS Recreation Masters team. The Masters team practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:45 to 7 a.m. and Saturday from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Those are coached workouts, though, and you can't drop in for an open lane.
3. Weekday midday. West Valley College has the most daytime structure. Fall 2026 sections of beginning, intermediate, advanced and master's swimming meet Monday and Wednesday from 9:20 to 10:45 a.m. or 10:55 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., or Tuesday and Thursday from 10:55 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Spring 2027 repeats the same levels in nearly identical time blocks, and the semester begins January 30, 2027. These are for-credit classes with registration, not open swim. The college posted its Winter/Spring 2027 schedule on October 14 and says to check live class availability through its online search.

Families looking for lessons have more year-round options than lap swimmers. Maki Swim runs a year-round heated, enclosed pool with custom scheduling for swimmers of all ages. It also rents its pool on weekends by reservation, for up to four swimmers sharing the hour. Maggie Eyerman has run Maki Swim in Campbell for 35 years. She told San José Spotlight the closure would be "a huge dent for people because there's a lot of families that need that price point." Waterworks has no set lesson sessions, so swimmers start when they are ready. Southwest YMCA lists its swim lessons as enrolling, and the YMCA of Silicon Valley notes that offerings vary by season and location.

Private prices and schedules change often, so confirm with each pool before you plan a week around it.

Why the October 30 deadline matters

The city's original plan would have prevented the gap swimmers are dealing with now. The year before the closure, the City Council approved $12 million for a new pool on the same site and planned to keep the old pool running until construction began. The leaks got worse faster than expected, and that plan fell through, San José Spotlight reported. Bissell told the outlet the new pool's timeline is undetermined and will take a while. Her wish list includes a small side pool so more programs can run at once, plus new changing and equipment rooms.

The city held a community meeting on August 6 to gather feedback on features and amenities for a future aquatic facility. It was one of a series of community meetings, and at another on September 21, attendees ranked the themes that had come up. On September 25, the city posted an online prioritization survey for anyone who missed that meeting. It covers lap swimming, lessons, aquatic fitness, recreation and swim team, and it stays open through October 30.

Timing is the reason to fill it out now. The city says its design consultant hasn't been finalized yet, and it wants community priorities in hand so the consultant can start with them once hired. That means the survey responses will be in front of the consultant before any design work begins. Whether a new pool brings back early-morning lap lanes, a side pool for lessons or another layout depends partly on what the pool community ranks highest before the survey closes on October 30. Lap swimmers who want the 6 a.m. and 7:45 p.m. blocks back should say so. The survey link and project updates are posted at campbellca.gov/aquatics, and questions go to [email protected].

Fundraising is beginning as well. The city announced that the newly formed Parks and Recreation Foundation will start raising money for the Community Center Pool Project. The resident group Friends of the Campbell Pool says the Foundation accepts donations by Zeffy, Zelle or check, and links to the city's official giving options.

Until a new pool opens, Campbell swimmers will be choosing between Camden's prices and the private pools' hours.

The Community Center has been part of Campbell's civic life since the city turned the old high school campus into a community center in 1985, and what happens to its pool will shape the neighborhood for years. If you'd like to talk about how projects like this one figure into living in Campbell or planning a move within the West Valley, Aaron Derbacher is glad to talk it through with you. Let's Connect.