BY REBECCA BENNETT — Memorial Day has passed, which means it’s pool season! There are several public and private pool options in the area, and Hyattsville residents take part in both.

Public Pools

Outdoor, open weekends May 23, all week starting June 24, and weekends Aug. 25 to Labor Day

Hamilton Splash Pool – 3901 Hamilton Street

Lane Manor Splash Pool – 7601 West Park Drive

Linson Splash Pool – 5211 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park

Indoor, open year-round:

Rollingcrest-Chillum Splash Pool – 6122 Sargent Road, Chillum

Prince George’s County has several pools that are open to the public. Day passes range from $4 to $6 with monthly passes ranging from $14 for children over 3 to $48 for two non-resident adults and unlimited kids. A family pass for two resident adults with children is $37, which can be used at any county pool. Children age 2 and under are free.

“It’s nice because if the kids are hot and tired, we can go to the [Hamilton] Splash Park for just 30 minutes before dinner or we can plan a longer weekend afternoon swim at the Ellen Linson pool … in College Park,” Anne Baum said, who is a Hyattsville resident and mother of two girls.

“I love starting my weekend with a trip [to Rollingcrest-Chillum] after work for the Friday open swim til 8:45pm [until June 24],” Hyattsville resident Heather McAndrews said.  “It is easy to park, lots of showers and bathrooms, they have lockers, several different slides, and the toddler pool is lots of fun for the younger set. Even the main pool is fun for all ages.”

As for the Hamilton Splash Pool, McAndrews said, “The slide and various falling water installations are very entertaining. Great for a relaxing afternoon.”  She also said the main pool seems geared to the older kids, though the toddler pool is shaded.

“It’s $37 for a month and you can start at any time which is great if you plan to be away for any part of the summer,” Baum said.  “When we know we’ll be around for a month at a time, we usually sign up.”

“It usually isn’t that crowded when we go unless there is a birthday party,” McAndrews said. “The one thing you do have to plan for is there is no food allowed in the locker rooms or pool area.”

Private Pools

Adelphi Pool – 9442 Riggs Road, Adelphi

Prince George’s (PG) Pool – 3301 Buchanan Street, Mount Rainier

While private pools come at a cost of $400 to $700 or more dollars per season, there are many benefits to joining.  Private pool members may find a wider range of swimming hours, building relationships with regulars, relaxed food restrictions, onsite grills, special pool toy allowances, swim teams, special events, and in some cases, more shade and a less crowded pool deck.

“The big private pools around here are the Adelphi Pool and the PG Pool,” Baum said. “Both have lots of members from the neighborhood and both (in my opinion) are really nice,” she said, noting that they are not members of either, but have visited both.

“Summer at the pool is filled with impromptu potluck dinners with friends, ice cream treats, and squeals of happy children (and less frequent wails of unhappy children),” Hyattsville Councilmember Shani Warner (Ward 2) said, who is a member of PG Pool.

Nestled off of Riggs Road, passersby could miss Adelphi Pool, which is surrounded by the rolling George Washington Cemetery.  This pool says members hail from not only Adelphi, but Hyattsville, Beltsville, University Park, College Park, and Langley Park.  The contingent of members from the City of Hyattsville is noticeable at several dozen.

Adelphi Pool membership coordinator and University Park resident Dawn Nichols said her family has been going to Adelphi Pool for 7 years. “We love the location, the shade, the baby pool and the long hours!  It is our home away from home all summer long.”

I love [Adelphi Pool], the people that are members are great,” Hyattsville resident and father-of-two T.J. Hollidge said. “The people that run the pool are awesome. It’s never too crowded.”

“We love it. Love, love, love it,” Hyattsville resident Jen Hanna said. “It’s such a lovely, relaxing oasis that the whole family looks forward to all year. The vibe is very friendly, the grounds are well-maintained, the snack bar is amazing.”

“We have young children, and we wanted them to learn to swim and to grow up going to the pool—not only so they’d have those memories, but more importantly so they would know how to be safe around the water,” Hanna, who is married to realtor Dylan Hanna, said.

“Our girls are now 8- and 9-years-old and they have been swimming for as long as they can remember,” Nichols said.

“On the nights the pool doesn’t have a dinner option, we pack our cooler and eat our dinner there and stay until almost close,” Nichols said.  “Catching up with folks in a non-rushed, summer fun kind of way it what I look forward to each and every year!  My kids run around the grounds-and play volleyball and tetherball-but mostly they just swim!”

“Our oldest daughter loves Adelphi Pool so much that she mentioned it in her letter to Santa a few years ago–she considers it to be such a magical place that she was certain Santa must be involved in some capacity,” Hanna said.

“The Adelphi Pool is such a community,” Nichols said.  “Members have their book clubs meet there, their scout troops and twice to three times a week we have a community event..pizza at the pool, raft night, cookouts, food trucks, parties.  It is really old school, unplugged fun!”

Hollidge said, “It’s a good pool with a water slide and two diving boards and no waitlist.”

With what visitors would describe as a different feel from Adelphi Pool, Mount Rainier serves as home for PG Pool, which is not currently accepting new members and has had a waitlist for several years.  The list of people/families waiting to join the Buchanan Street private pool co-op has grown to nearly 1,200, which is up almost 500 from a year and a half ago.

“PG Pool is sort of like a country club run and populated by hippies,” Warner said, who joined the pool in 2009.

“It’s a place where you can allow yourself to stop helicopter parenting, because you’re surrounded by friends who know your kid and look out for her, just as you look out for friends’ kids in turn,” she said about the pool that is a stones-throw away from the City of Hyattsville.

“PG Pool is a home away from home for our members that is one of the cheapest private pools in the area while investing significantly in improvements to the pools and grounds,” David Nolan, PG Pool board president, said.

But the opportunity to join this year was slim. “We had a 97% renewal rate for current members, leaving only 31 spots for new members,” PG Pool said in an email sent to people on the waitlist. “To get to that number, about 60 people came off the waiting list either because they joined or they were no longer interested.”

“We’ve created a real community here. Members see PG Pool as an extension of their backyards. … Friends hear so much about it they want to be a part of it. We have lovely pools, expansive grounds, a competitive swim team, regular live music, lots of grills for members to cook on, and a cooperative culture that sees hundreds of our members chip in and work at the pool, before, during and after the season,” Nolan said.

“The pool’s surging popularity did mean that it was getting almost intolerably crowded on weekends, but I was willing to put up with that in order to let it sort itself out,” Warner, who voted against limiting membership, said. “Now that membership is hard to come by and a coveted thing … people embrace the community now in a way that I didn’t see before. … I think that now that membership is no longer something people can take for granted the Poolios are taking a lot more pride in the community.”

“The grounds are pleasant, with a decent amount of shade, and there seems to something of a shared culture,” one Hyattsville resident and PG Pool member of three years said. “The people who run the entertainment have good taste in music, so the bands that play on Saturday nights and special occasions are good. A nice volleyball court (with new lights!).”

The Bennetts not only frequent Hamilton, Lane Manor, and Rollingcrest-Chillum splash parks, but have visited PG Pool many, many times, and are members of Adelphi Pool.