Review Highlights
“The pool is a bit heavy on the chlorine, but I guess that's what you'd expect for a public pool that gets as much use as this one.” in 4 reviews
“The locker and shower facilities were sufficient, and there were plenty of kickboards and other floaty things poolside.” in 3 reviews
“So far it's the only public pool I've been to in San Francisco and for the price it's fantastic.” in 5 reviews
Location & Hours
You Might Also Consider
in Nutritionists, Gyms, Trainers
in Trainers
in Gymnastics, Fitness & Instruction
Amenities and More
Ask the Community
Got a question about Rossi Pool? Ask the Yelp community!
People also searched for
Recommended Reviews
![Photo of Username](https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/assets/public/default_user_avatar_64x64_v2.yji-19e0a8ff85b15f4bbd79.png)
Overall rating
48 reviews
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
- Wasimah A.San Francisco, CA01Jun 10, 2012
OMG! We(his mom and I) took my grandson to Rossi swimming pool for lessons on today and I will say this: I COULD NOT ASK FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR A FIRST TIME SWIMMING EXPERIENCE. That was 100% based on the staff. First the young lady at the window was very pleasant. BUT I BELIEVE THE LIFEGUARD IS THE BEST IN THE CITY. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS SECOND TO NONE. My grandson is 13 and had never been in a swim pool before today. The Lifeguard spoke to us prior to my grandson's class to ease our apprehensions and plain old nervousness. I commend her on bringing my grandson and us to a level of ease before the class. She observed him in the pool and noted he needed a different level of assistance and assigned him to Steve who was in the water with the children...THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! As far as the facilities we overlooked the real old locker room. It is in line for renovations like some of the other swim pools. I highly recommend this swimming program. My daughter and I will be going next week because she decided to learn as well. KUDOS TO ROSSI STAFF!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Kendyl S.Carlsbad, CA0514Apr 5, 2022
I am have swam in pools all over the world, as a previously professional competitive swimmer. I am new to the city & was looking for a place to swim without battling for lane space or being interrupted by splashing kiddos.
The pool area is spacious and bright. There's a mural that brings some life to the space, and big windows that bring plenty of natural light inside. The facility is well ventilated- its a comfortable warm temperature on deck, but the air felt clean so that the chlorine smell wasn't stifling.
There's something about swimming in a new pool that's a total luxury- new flags, new lanelines & pace clocks (digital & analog), even the infrastructure- new gutters, new tiling- it's hard to come by and somehow just makes me want to stay a little bit longer, you know?! There are entry/exit ladders on all 4 corners of the pool, which I feel is an underrated perk.
For anyone coming to train seeking measurable results, the 33.3 yard (100 ft) course is less than ideal. I find it really nice for an easy "stretch out" or "brain off" swim, or if you are looking to simply swim laps.
There were slow, medium, fast dedicated lanes & a small selection of kickboards and buoys to borrow. There were basic starting blocks, but they were off limits during lap swim hours when I visited. I didn't have to wait to get in- there were roughly 2 people per lane, which did not feel crowded in the longer pool. We split the lane, which was totally comfortable with the width of the lane space.
Loved it!
Here's a link to a short video review : https://youtube.com/shorts/dsTNyvici5w?feature=shareHelpful 8Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 2 - Pasquale G.San Francisco, CA663Mar 17, 2022
I like this place very much now. Before they fix, it is very bad shape, remind me of terrible place I went to as child. Long story. But now, they fix up and it look much, much better. The locker room still not design very well, they spend many million to fix and still I bang head on hook for towel. And this man yesterday ask me to share lane with him in pool. I say ok. Then he says he need more room even. So I change the lane. Some people terrible.
Helpful 3Thanks 1Love this 5Oh no 0 - Dec 31, 2016
Ya know - part of this is I'm just thrilled that there was a decent lap pool open the Friday before Christmas. I became a lap swimmer this year! - maybe 6 months into it right now at this writing. So I get there and the hours are 1:00pm to 2:30pm for $6 bucks. It's raining in the city and I'm thrilled to be getting into an older but clean lap pool.
Rossi is especially long - someone said 30 yawds - normal lappers are 25 yawds (Don't pawk your caw in my yawd - talking to someone there). Anyway, so there are these 2 chaps waiting on the chairs greeting me as I walk in. The taller one is very nice - they have marijuana hats on and tell me they're advocates of the health-giving plant. Great.
At 12:55 they let us into the locker room and the shorter one starts talking at me about the official "Rules-Of-The-Pool". It's funny because swimming is a solo sport and most swimmers are friendly and don't hand out unsolicited advice. But okay - I haven't been coming here for 30 years so throw it at me.
There are 3 double-wide lanes - could easily be 6 normies. They're labeled SLOW, MEDIUM, and FAST. I find as a new swimmer that too often the fast ones call themselves slow or medium and get in the slow lane (the modest approach). This advice-giver, the shorter less friendly partner, called himself medium but didn't go to the end of the lane and was slow as molasses. And he kind of barked at this girl because she wanted to split lanes - 2 people, makes sense, but the rule here is it's always a circle. She sits to the side I don't know why - so I say, come on it's a double lane, you have your own lane. She's gleeful and gets in and swims - let me tell you, she was faster than the fast people which is always an inspiration for me to go faster.
I go on - great pool, it's a different workout because of the length of the pool. It goes from 3 feet to 9 feet, The majority is 6+ which is ideal. Deeper is better. People are really friendly in the locker room and not in the wink wink way, but just genuinely cool. Nice facility and nice to change up the work out a bit.Helpful 10Thanks 0Love this 8Oh no 1 - Doris Q.San Francisco, CA167May 25, 2022
Really recommend here,water is very clear and price is friendly,just check the time before you come.Only LAB time you can go there.
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 1 - 76512615990Aug 7, 2015215 check-ins
The pool looks clean, the staff is terrific with plenty of lifeguards actively doing their job keeping people safe in and around the pool.
For the summer swim program, they had lots of patient young instructors in the two morning classes my little boy was enrolled in and 85% of the time he had 1:1 instruction- fantastic!
You would seriously be looking at $65-$85/lesson in a private program elsewhere in the city. Here, it's $3.60/lesson.
The Rossi Pool building itself is a shabby dowager, finished in 1939 as a WPA project. The odd cement tiles on the walls (do they manage acoustics?) are weird-looking and some are missing. The sliver of a locker room I saw looked shabby (hopefully it's serviceable); I'd recommend a $4 investment in flip flops at Target.
You'd expect the parking to be worse in the Inner Richmond but I managed to find street parking in less than 5 minutes or a spin around the block.
It's not a posh pool but it's clean and staffed with friendly Parks & Rec staff. Lessons are wonderfully inexpensive ($36 for 10 daily 30-minute lessons, the best deal I've found in this expensive city) and adult free swim tickets are $6/session, cash & exact change necessary or buy online.
After years of trying to find affordable swim lessons for my little boy, I'm glad another mom turned me on to the summer swim program at Parks & Rec.
What an outstanding and supremely affordable swim program, I enthusiastically recommend!
The 30-minute daily swim lessons run weekdays during the summer at pools throughout the city (you can sign up for two, 2-week sets of daily lessons). and once a week for toddlers through high school students during the school year.
Check out the pool schedules and loads of other awesome Parks & Rec programs (hiking, karate, Chinese folk dance, Pilates, soap-making and a zillion more things to do in our great city) at SFRecPark.org.
"Get Out And Play!"Helpful 18Thanks 0Love this 22Oh no 0 - Jenn C.San Francisco, CA480514673Apr 6, 2010
Sava ruined me. I'm sure Hamilton is next. I haven't been to Rossi in ten years, and oh my God the changes: it's ten years older! Seriously, if you want to check out a little piece of SF pool history, go to Rossi. Everything is dated from the font of the signage to the locker room. Amazing.
The pool is longer than Sava but not as wide. It has three lanes (slow, medium, fast), which are wide enough to pass other swimmers. The locker and bathroom facilities are pretty sad. Perhaps the saddest part for me is that they don't have a dryer for the swimsuit, but the bright side is that the water pressure in the showers is good and there's plenty of bench space.
It may not be much compared to the newer city pools or the Koret Center, but it manages to put up a good fight and continues to provide a valuable service to the community.Helpful 5Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0 - Charlene F.San Francisco, CA8751147May 10, 2017
This pool is located in the Inner Richmond and is conveniently located by Arguello and Anza, where street parking is plenty. It was my first time swimming here today, because Sava Pool by Wawona and 19th had adult classes and were not open for public swimming.
The Rossi pool is not as chlorinated as other pools and is fairly old. The lockers are rusty and the shower room is not private enough for that after-swim shower. There are families and people of all ages swimming and a lifeguard on duty.
Note: during recreational swim, you can only swim horizontally.Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - David G.San Francisco, CA2223Feb 6, 2018
This pool, which will be renovated in a few years, is one of the longest in the city. I have been doing a lap swim three times per week for over 32 years. The staff is helpful and professional. If you are a lap swimmer, you will enjoy the 100 foot (30 meters) length. Highly recommended.
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 2 - Jane R.San Francisco Bay Area, CA1465425Aug 24, 2018Updated review
Eight years later, and I still love this pool. I will say that the one reason I really love it now is because it's a longer pool than most. (Most pools have been shrunken down, and it's sooo annoying to have to turn more while doing lap swim.) The locker rooms here aren't exactly hotel-quality, and they do keep the water at a cool level, which means it can be chilly getting in. But once you get your laps going, you're glad the pool is not warmer. Pro-tips: 1. Bring a lock for the locker room, or bring your bag out by the poolside seats. 2. Bring your flip-flops.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Sep 4, 2010Previous reviewI've swam at a bunch of pools in SF, and I must say that I love the old school and down-to-earth nature of this pool. It takes me back to when I was a kid going to public pools, but it's far cleaner. They do a good job of maintaining the pool and keeping the water at a decent temperature--moreso than a lot of other pools I've been to in SF.
I'm happy that I moved closer to this pool, and I head over to Velo Rouge or Pancho's afterwards for some grub. Rossi is part of my cozy lifestyle in the Richmond. I only wish they had extended lap swim hours...
You Might Also Consider
in Gyms, Martial Arts, Boxing
in Yoga