Ottawa Swimming Guide for Triathletes

Ottawa has MANYYY pools, but… not all pools are created equal. I decided to keep a pool journal as I hunt for my ideal swimming spot. And then I decided to make it public because I’m surely not the only one who would find this info helpful?? Also included some info about my fav open water swimming locations to train for Ironman Ottawa.

So here’s a list of all of the pools in Ottawa that offer lane swims (that I have been to), my go-to open water swimming spots, and some key information about each one. I’ll keep updating the list as I work my way around the city!

I have also screenshotted the lane swim times for each pool and added them below, because I wanted all the info in one place as it can be annoying running to all the different sites. Lastly, there’s a Google Map showing each pool’s location. Please note that you should always check the pool website for the most up-to-date info, as sometimes these times can change.

Table of Contents (click on the pool name to jump to lane swim times):

Quick Info Chart

Here’s my chart with all the info needed for a triathlete trying to get a swim work out done in Ottawa.

Name	Size	Water Temp	Busy?	Cost	Change rooms	Parking	Extras	Notes
St Laurent Complex	25y	Warm-ish	Usually	$6	Fine	Plenty	Sauna	Shallow end is VERY shallow
Plant Bath	25m	Cool	Yes	$6	Fine	Limited	Hot tub
Richraft Rec Complex	25m	Cool	Yes	$6	Nice	Plenty	Sauna	Really nice pool
Carleton	25m	Cool	Yes	$6	Nice	Paid	Sauna	Has women’s only times
Nepean Sportsplex	25 & 50m	Cold	Usually	$6	Fine	Plenty		Has 50m times!
Cardel Rec Complex	25m	Cool	Sometimes	$6	Fine	Plenty	Hot tub	Closed until Oct 14
uOttawa	25 & 50m	Cold	TBD	$7	Fine	Paid		Has women’s only times
Champagne Bath	25y	Cool	Not bad mid-day!	$6	Fine	Limited		Very cool spot
Lowertown Pool	25m	Warm	TBD	$6	Fine	Limited
NCC River House	25m	Cold	Sometimes	Free!	Fine	Limited	Resto on site	Literally in the river! So cool
Gatineau Sports Centre	25 & 50m	Cold	Yes	$8	Nice	Lots		Really nice, new pool

And here’s a list of lane swim time slots:

Downtown Area

Plant Bath – Little Italy, 25 metres

Gatineau Sports Centre – Gatineau, 25 OR 50 metres

uOttawa – Sandy Hill, 25 OR 50 metres

Champagne Bath – Lowertown, 25 yards

Carleton – Glebe, 25 metres

Lowertown Pool – Lowertown, 25 metres

West End

Richcraft Rec Complex – Kanata, 25 metres

Cardel Rec Complex – Stittsville, 25 metres

South End

Nepean Sportsplex – Nepean, 25 and 50 metres

East End

St Laurent Complex – Vanier, 25 yards

NCC River House – Rockcliffe Park, 25 metres (in the river!)

Open 8am-8pm all summer.

Open Water Swimming Spots

My favourite spots to open water swim are Meech Lake (Gatineau Park), Lac Leamy (Gatineau), Mahogany Harbour Landing (Manotick), and Brittania Beach (Bayshore).