Under the schedules posted this October, a Santa Fe lap swimmer looking for water on a Sunday morning in November has one choice in the city, the 50-meter pool at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road. That pool was closed for most of September.
From now until spring, a single building will carry most of the city's public swimming. That building has an air system still under repair and a pool staff with open lifeguard jobs. Your winter swim routine depends on knowing where that one building's schedule runs out.
Since October 1, the other options have narrowed fast
The Chavez Center natatorium reopened Friday, October 2. The city said its dehumidification unit "is now operating at a level that allows the GCCC Natatorium to reopen." The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that air circulation and dehumidification problems starting in early September had kept the pool closed for several weeks.
On the evening of October 1, the day before that reopening, Bicentennial Pool closed for the season. The pool at the Salvador Perez Recreation Center, 601 Alta Vista St., has been closed indefinitely since this spring. That's when inspectors found serious infrastructure problems that made it unsafe to operate. The city's page for Salvador Perez still lists its 25-yard pool as closed.
That leaves the Fort Marcy Recreation Complex at 490 Bishops Lodge Road, which still swims on a reduced schedule. Its 25-yard pool is open weekdays only and closed Saturday and Sunday.
The week, pool by pool
The schedule below is what the city and Santa Fe Community College posted in early October. Both say hours can change with staffing.
| Day |
GCCC 50-meter / lap pool |
Fort Marcy 25-yard pool |
SFCC lap pools |
| Monday |
6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. |
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Tuesday |
6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. |
6 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday |
6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. |
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Thursday |
6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. |
6 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Friday |
6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. |
6 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Saturday |
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
Closed |
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Sunday |
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
Closed |
Closed |
On Sunday, only the Chavez Center is open, and it closes at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday afternoon, after SFCC closes at 1 p.m., the Chavez Center is again the only choice. After 7 p.m. on a weeknight, SFCC is closed and the Chavez Center lap pool has half an hour left. Fort Marcy is the only city pool downtown, and on three of the five weekdays it closes at 1 p.m.
Every city recreation center was closed today, Monday, October 12, for Indigenous Peoples' Day. Normal hours return Tuesday, October 13.
Inside the Chavez Center, three pools on three clocks
The lap hours above apply only to the 50-meter pool. The Chavez Center's other two pools run on much shorter schedules, and they matter to anyone who comes for warm water or brings small children.
- Therapy Pool: weekdays 6 to 9 a.m., noon to 2 p.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m.; weekends 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. only.
- Leisure Pool, toddler time for ages 4 and younger: weekdays 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.; weekends 10:30 a.m. to noon.
- Leisure Pool, open recreation: weekdays 2 to 6 p.m.; weekends noon to 3:30 p.m.
The weekend therapy window is two hours, ending at 10:30 a.m. A Saturday or Sunday warm-water swim has to happen early.
Daily admission is $2 for children 10 and under, $4 for ages 11 to 17, $7 for adults 18 to 59 and $4 for seniors 60 and older. An adult 10-visit pass costs $63, a monthly membership $69.50 and an annual membership $473. Youth and senior 10-visit and monthly passes are $36 each.
The pool is running, but the repairs aren't done
Repairs are still underway. According to the city's October 2 Weekly Wrap, work on both natatorium air-handling units is continuing so they'll hold up over the long term. A September 23 city update described the work so far as daily technical assessments, repairing or replacing parts sourced locally, ordering custom-made parts, and preparing minor interior repairs. Neither update gave a cost or named a contractor.
The building is 26 years old, as the New Mexican noted. Its closure was the latest in a string of city pool problems caused by both equipment failures and a shortage of lifeguards. The city's capital outlay list for the 2027 legislative session includes $4 million for the Chavez Center and $2 million for Salvador Perez. A feasibility study on Salvador Perez's future is underway. Both figures are requests to the state. Neither has been approved.
Why the hours keep changing: lifeguards
Mechanical failures close pools in sudden bursts. Lifeguard shortages limit the hours all the time. In August, the New Mexican reported that after Salvador Perez closed, only two of the three remaining pools were open at a time for most of the summer. Fort Marcy had already been closed temporarily for lack of lifeguards this past spring. A city FAQ from late May expected it to reopen June 8 with limited hours.
The numbers have improved some. Community Services Division Director Sandra Emory told the paper in August that the city had 56 lifeguard positions and 19 openings before a rapid-hire event. At that event, eight people received job offers that depended on passing a background check. Emory said she'd like to hold similar events every quarter. By the October reopening, the New Mexican put the number at about 15 open lifeguard jobs. Mayor Michael Garcia said the goal is to have all four pools open next summer with a full staff. Getting there means Salvador Perez coming back, and its feasibility study isn't finished.
Every open lifeguard job makes it harder to keep extra hours at Fort Marcy or to staff a second Chavez Center pool at once.
Swimming outside the city system
The main non-city option is Santa Fe Community College's aquatic facility. It has an eight-lane, 25-yard lap pool and a four-lane, 25-yard warm-water pool kept at 90 to 92 degrees. Swimmers must be 16 or older. You don't need to enroll in a class. A day pass is $7, five visits cost $35 and ten visits cost $50. For an adult, that ten-visit price is $13 less than the Chavez Center's $63 pass. The $7 single visit costs the same at both.
SFCC has two catches. It's closed Sundays, and its own page warns that hours at both pools may change immediately because of lifeguard shortages. The same staffing problem affects the college too. Its fall pool schedules are listed as ending December 5. No schedule for the weeks after that had been posted as of mid-October.
El Gancho, a fitness, swim and racquet club at 104 Old Las Vegas Highway, describes two heated pools. It's a membership club with no published prices or day-pass policy. Prospective members are asked to call and set up a tour. El Rey Court's seasonal Swim Club lists its public season as June 1 through mid-October, weather permitting, so it isn't a winter option.
The weeks around December 5
SFCC's fall schedule ends December 5. From then until a new schedule is posted, public swimming in Santa Fe comes down to Fort Marcy on weekday mornings and the Chavez Center. The Chavez Center would be the only option every weekend and every weekday afternoon after Fort Marcy closes. That's the same building whose air handlers are still being repaired.
Before you head out in those weeks, check the city's Chavez Center page and the Fort Marcy page. Fort Marcy's page links to a current aquatic-hours document that the city updates. Schedules have changed several times since spring, and the next change will show up there first.
The Chavez Center's distance from home affects more than a commute, especially for anyone thinking about a move within Santa Fe. If you'd like to talk through how a neighborhood's distance from the Chavez Center or from Fort Marcy fits your routine, Debbie Friday Jagers is glad to help. Let's Connect: request a free home valuation or consultation.
