Dive right in
From the smell of sunscreen and hot chips to the sound of laughter on the breeze, Tasmania’s outdoor pools are where the whole community comes to cool off, connect and make memories.
The pool water sizzles on the hot concrete after running down your legs following a plunge. You smell suncream, hot chips, chlorine and grass, and you taste lolly snakes and salt. You hear joyful splashes and squeals, kids everywhere. You’re living your best life at the local public pool on an endless, sweltering summer day.
Rebecca Lancaster has had many days like this. She lives in Scottsdale, the small town with what might be Tasmania’s best outdoor pool: the Scottsdale Aquatic Centre, home to the state’s biggest outdoor water park, plus a toddler pool and multiple slides for bigger kids.
“During a hot January day, it’s a very busy place, with lots of bodies of all shapes and sizes and ages,” Rebecca says. “From the outside, it sounds a little bit like a playground at school, lots of chatter, lots of noises, and then obviously you’ve got the water splashing. Everybody’s outside, having fun.”
Rebecca has been part of the Scottsdale Swimming Club for 12 years, including time as its vice president. She’s Scottsdale-born and -bred and remembers the time before the pool got its mega makeover.
“As a child, it was a great place to hang out and have fun, but it was very concrete!” she laughs. “There was a little pool and a big one and it was actually brown concrete at the little pool, so in summer that concrete got quite a bit hotter. We’d lay on that brown concrete, jump back in... We just had diving blocks and a diving board then.”
Jane Kilburn is the Manager of the Scottsdale Aquatic Centre. She really loves her job, which is lucky because she moved from the mainland for it.
“It’s the best job I’ve ever had in my life,” she says. “It’s your classic Australian outdoor pool with kids running around having fun, mums trying to find a quiet spot, dads being harassed, kids lining up at the kiosk to get an ice cream. It’s almost a scene that you might see in Queensland, but we’re here in Tasmania, and on a sunny day it’s just spectacular.”
It’s also completely free, including unlimited turns on the slides, making it a very affordable family day out.
Classic outdoor public pools can be found all over Tasmania. In Huonville, there’s ample picnic space on the flat grass around the 50m heated outdoor pool, which gets mighty busy on a hot day. At the smaller Deloraine pool, swimmers get a view of the Meander River while they jump in and out. Mole Creek’s pool has a classic small-town feel, with $4 entry per adult or season passes. On the West Coast, Zeehan and Queenstown have small outdoor public pools kept at a toasty 29 degrees.
Then there are the big aquatic centres, such as Devonport’s Splash Aquatic and Leisure Centre, which has an outdoor 50m lap pool and a learn-to-swim pool as well as a waterslide. During school holidays, kids can tackle inflatable obstacle courses at the Doone Kennedy Aquatic Centre in Hobart or at the Launceston Leisure and Aquatic Centre (check each centre for inflatable hours). In the Midlands, Oatlands has a new indoor centre with a kids’ aquatic play area too.
Further south, Terry Dunn has spent the past six seasons managing the New Norfolk Pool, a 50m six-lane pool set within the beautiful Esplanade park and picnic area adjacent to the Derwent River, accessible via a shared walking and cycling track leading to nearby Tynwald Park.
“It is always kept beautifully clean,” Terry says with pride. “It’s just chockers in summertime. Everybody comes and sits on beautiful, grassed areas where they can put their picnic blankets and just chill out for the day with music playing. We’ve got hot food in the kiosk, and my staff are really good lifeguards who try to make everyone feel safe and welcome.”
Another stunning place to be in good weather is Launceston’s Cataract Gorge, which has an outdoor pool, constructed in 1950, uniquely placed right next to the basin. You can even switch from swimming in one to the other and back again (via a quick shower before you jump in the pool, please).
Matt Jordan is the Senior Leader of Open Spaces and Sustainability with the City of Launceston. He says the space caters to visitors and locals alike, whether they’re there early to do laps, spending the day hiking and swimming, or lounging by the water with a picnic.
“Cataract Gorge really is that unique crown that Launceston has,” he says. “Having a pool that is a quality-controlled body of water with lifeguards and security to ensure that we have a nice safe space for everybody, it’s special. It’s unique with the broader surroundings here too, that landscape it sits in, the amphitheatre, but it’s also got that relaxed Launceston vibe. It’s a really fun, cool space to be.”
Outdoor pools with the Tassie difference
Naturally warm
Enjoy the mineral-rich, spring-fed thermal pool at Hastings Caves, or the lesser-known Kimberley Warm Springs in the north.
Quirky boat race
Cardboard boats battle it out at the Soggy Bottom Cardboard Boat Regatta and Family Fun Day at Cataract Gorge on 22 February 2026.
Biggest splash park
Scottsdale’s Aquatic Centre has the biggest splash park in Tasmania, with equipment for all ages and a large slide.
Inflatable fun
The Hobart and Launceston aquatic centres both have inflatable obstacle courses to tackle in school holidays.