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Seattle Pools With Lap Swim Before 7am This Fall

Two Seattle Parks pools have lap swim before 7am this fall: Meadowbrook from 5:30 on weekdays and Ballard from 5:45 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

<h6>Seattle Fitness Magazine · 3 Sep 2026</h6><ul><li><strong>2</strong>pools before 7am</li><li><strong>5</strong>Meadowbrook lap lanes</li><li><strong>6</strong>Ballard lap lanes</li></ul><h2>The early list is two pools long</h2> <p><b>Two Seattle Parks pools put lap lanes in the water before 7am this fall: Meadowbrook and Ballard.</b></p><p>Fall 2026 schedules are posted for all seven open indoor pools, and the other five start public lap swim at 8:30am at the earliest. Queen Anne stays closed.</p><p>Evans and Medgar Evers, the two pools Parks named in March for early morning lap swim, are not on the list. Both early sheets start September 8.</p> <h2>Meadowbrook opens first, at 5:30 on weekdays</h2> <p><b>Meadowbrook Pool opens five lap lanes at 5:30am, Monday through Friday, at 10515 35th Avenue NE in Lake City.</b></p><p>Exact change, check or Quick Card only. A rental takes the water at 7:00, five minutes after the lanes close at 6:55, and holds it until 8:15 on each of the five weekday mornings.</p><p>Saturday&#x27;s five lanes run 7:00 to 8:30am. Meadowbrook is the only Parks pool with lap lanes in the water at 5:30, fifteen minutes ahead of Ballard and three hours ahead of Evans, whose Saturday lap swim starts at 8:30.</p> <h2>Ballard&#x27;s six lanes open at 5:45</h2> <p><b>Ballard Pool&#x27;s Early Morning Lap Swim runs 5:45 to 7am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.</b></p><p>The sheet gives the session six lanes, one more than Meadowbrook, and 75 minutes of lap time against the 85 at Meadowbrook. Entry: exact change, check or Quick Card.</p><p>Tuesday and Thursday mornings wait for a 5-lane lap swim at 8:45. Weekend lap swim runs 8 to 9am. The pool is at 1471 NW 67th Street. The March 27 post promised Ballard Saturday afternoon swim times, and the fall sheet lists Saturday from 12:30 to 8pm as &quot;Pool Available for Rentals.&quot;</p> <h2>Choosing between the two, and what it costs</h2> <p><b>Only Meadowbrook covers the whole work week.</b></p><p>Ballard suits a Monday, Wednesday and Friday routine, and its Early Morning Lap Swim runs six lanes where Meadowbrook&#x27;s runs five. The pool pages list lap swim, early morning included, among the recreation swims, so an adult pays $8.00 for each visit.</p><p>A ten-swim punch card runs $72.00 and a 30-day unlimited pass runs $91.50. Passes work at every Parks pool. Calls go to (206) 684-4989 for Meadowbrook and (206) 684-4094 for Ballard.</p> <h2>What Parks promised for Evans and Medgar Evers</h2> <p><b>A March 27 Parkways post said Evans and Medgar Evers would add Sunday operations along with early morning lap swim.</b></p><p>Evans&#x27; fall sheet carries the heading &quot;Now open on Sunday!&quot; and schedules six-lane lap swim that day from 8:30 to 9:30am, with Saturday&#x27;s lap swim starting at the same 8:30. The earliest weekday program is water fitness at 10:10.</p><p>Medgar Evers has nothing before 9:00am. Saturday lap swim runs 9:00 to 10:25, and the grid has no Sunday column. Weekday lap swim begins at 11. Evans sits at Green Lake and Medgar Evers in the Central District, while the water that opens before 7am is in Lake City and Ballard.</p> <h2>Rainier Beach&#x27;s 6:30 hour belongs to the schools</h2> <p><b>Seattle Public Schools rents Rainier Beach&#x27;s lap pool from 6:30 to 8:30am Monday through Thursday.</b></p><p>Public lap swim follows at 8:30. On Friday the rental holds the lap pool until 10:30, and the first public lap swim that day is at noon. Helene Madison&#x27;s weekdays start at 11:00. Southwest&#x27;s Saturday lap swim, at 9:30am, is its first of the week, and weekdays there start with Adult Swim at noon.</p> <h2>Closure dates this fall</h2> <p><b>All seven open indoor pools close on November 11, November 26, November 27 and December 10.</b></p><p>Helene Madison also closed October 17 for lifeguard training. Madison and Medgar Evers close November 28. Rainier Beach and Medgar Evers close again on December 25 and January 1, and the Aqua Run event ends Medgar Evers&#x27; programs at noon on December 12.</p><p>Both early sheets end in December, Meadowbrook&#x27;s on the 19th and Ballard&#x27;s on the 18th. Colman and Mounger are summer-only pools. Queen Anne Pool has been shut since November 2025, after it began losing about 400,000 gallons of water a month, and the department says it stays closed until fall 2027.</p> <h2>Update</h2> <p><b>This article was updated on October 12, 2026.</b></p><p>An earlier version, published September 3, said Meadowbrook was the only pool with lap swim before 7am and that its schedule expired September 5. It also reported no fall schedule for Medgar Evers or Ballard. Both are now posted. Meadowbrook&#x27;s runs September 8 to December 19, and Ballard Pool also has lap swim before 7am, 5:45 to 7am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Dates that have passed were removed.</p> <p><em>Photograph of Medgar Evers Pool by Seattle Parks and Recreation, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 licence.</em></p>
Seattle Fitness Magazine · 3 Sep 2026
  • 2pools before 7am
  • 5Meadowbrook lap lanes
  • 6Ballard lap lanes

The early list is two pools long

Two Seattle Parks pools put lap lanes in the water before 7am this fall: Meadowbrook and Ballard.

Fall 2026 schedules are posted for all seven open indoor pools, and the other five start public lap swim at 8:30am at the earliest. Queen Anne stays closed.

Evans and Medgar Evers, the two pools Parks named in March for early morning lap swim, are not on the list. Both early sheets start September 8.

Meadowbrook opens first, at 5:30 on weekdays

Meadowbrook Pool opens five lap lanes at 5:30am, Monday through Friday, at 10515 35th Avenue NE in Lake City.

Exact change, check or Quick Card only. A rental takes the water at 7:00, five minutes after the lanes close at 6:55, and holds it until 8:15 on each of the five weekday mornings.

Saturday's five lanes run 7:00 to 8:30am. Meadowbrook is the only Parks pool with lap lanes in the water at 5:30, fifteen minutes ahead of Ballard and three hours ahead of Evans, whose Saturday lap swim starts at 8:30.

Ballard's six lanes open at 5:45

Ballard Pool's Early Morning Lap Swim runs 5:45 to 7am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The sheet gives the session six lanes, one more than Meadowbrook, and 75 minutes of lap time against the 85 at Meadowbrook. Entry: exact change, check or Quick Card.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings wait for a 5-lane lap swim at 8:45. Weekend lap swim runs 8 to 9am. The pool is at 1471 NW 67th Street. The March 27 post promised Ballard Saturday afternoon swim times, and the fall sheet lists Saturday from 12:30 to 8pm as "Pool Available for Rentals."

Choosing between the two, and what it costs

Only Meadowbrook covers the whole work week.

Ballard suits a Monday, Wednesday and Friday routine, and its Early Morning Lap Swim runs six lanes where Meadowbrook's runs five. The pool pages list lap swim, early morning included, among the recreation swims, so an adult pays $8.00 for each visit.

A ten-swim punch card runs $72.00 and a 30-day unlimited pass runs $91.50. Passes work at every Parks pool. Calls go to (206) 684-4989 for Meadowbrook and (206) 684-4094 for Ballard.

What Parks promised for Evans and Medgar Evers

A March 27 Parkways post said Evans and Medgar Evers would add Sunday operations along with early morning lap swim.

Evans' fall sheet carries the heading "Now open on Sunday!" and schedules six-lane lap swim that day from 8:30 to 9:30am, with Saturday's lap swim starting at the same 8:30. The earliest weekday program is water fitness at 10:10.

Medgar Evers has nothing before 9:00am. Saturday lap swim runs 9:00 to 10:25, and the grid has no Sunday column. Weekday lap swim begins at 11. Evans sits at Green Lake and Medgar Evers in the Central District, while the water that opens before 7am is in Lake City and Ballard.

Rainier Beach's 6:30 hour belongs to the schools

Seattle Public Schools rents Rainier Beach's lap pool from 6:30 to 8:30am Monday through Thursday.

Public lap swim follows at 8:30. On Friday the rental holds the lap pool until 10:30, and the first public lap swim that day is at noon. Helene Madison's weekdays start at 11:00. Southwest's Saturday lap swim, at 9:30am, is its first of the week, and weekdays there start with Adult Swim at noon.

Closure dates this fall

All seven open indoor pools close on November 11, November 26, November 27 and December 10.

Helene Madison also closed October 17 for lifeguard training. Madison and Medgar Evers close November 28. Rainier Beach and Medgar Evers close again on December 25 and January 1, and the Aqua Run event ends Medgar Evers' programs at noon on December 12.

Both early sheets end in December, Meadowbrook's on the 19th and Ballard's on the 18th. Colman and Mounger are summer-only pools. Queen Anne Pool has been shut since November 2025, after it began losing about 400,000 gallons of water a month, and the department says it stays closed until fall 2027.

Update

This article was updated on October 12, 2026.

An earlier version, published September 3, said Meadowbrook was the only pool with lap swim before 7am and that its schedule expired September 5. It also reported no fall schedule for Medgar Evers or Ballard. Both are now posted. Meadowbrook's runs September 8 to December 19, and Ballard Pool also has lap swim before 7am, 5:45 to 7am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Dates that have passed were removed.

Photograph of Medgar Evers Pool by Seattle Parks and Recreation, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 licence.

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