Greenwich Baths is set to welcome swimmers back to its shark-netted harbour pool from Saturday, 26th September, ushering in a season that blends family-friendly calm with lap lanes and post-swim café stops.
The historic enclosure on Greenwich Point—framed by views across to Cockatoo Island, Iron Cove and Balmain, with the CBD skyline looming to the southeast—has long been a local favourite for everything from toddler splashes to dawn training sessions.
A harbour pool with history (and a caretaker on site)
Greenwich Baths traces its roots to the early 1900s, when the sandy stretch at Greenwich Point doubled as a makeshift port and transport link for residents.
By the 1920s, harbour-front families had leased the area and built a private pool, while council retained regulatory control. That arrangement still echoes today, with a caretaker living on site and opening the gates from dawn to dusk.
The baths became a proper swimming hub in the late 1920s and 1930s, hosting one of the largest amateur swim clubs in the area and training champions such as Jack McMahon and Ted Lever; McMahon remains a patron. After decades of use, a major rebuild in the late 1980s introduced the current shark-proof netting and an artificial beach, reopening in 1990.
Now operated by leisure group BlueFit, the pool offers a community alternative to Sydney’s ocean beaches, with enclosed waters and secure gates adding peace of mind for parents.
What’s new this season: earlier opening, extended hours & junior swim program
This season opens slightly earlier than the traditional October start, with September hours from 7am to 5pm and extended summer hours stretching to 8pm in December and January.
A junior swim program is also back for 2026/27, running on Sunday mornings from late November through mid-December with five weekly sessions at 8am, 8.30am, 9am, 9.30am and 10am.
Organisers designed the program to build kids’ confidence and water skills while connecting them with the local swimming community. If bad weather cancels a class, families can roll their credit into the next season or receive a Lane Cove Aquatic voucher.
Café, sun lounges and lap lanes
Beyond the history and harbour views, the pool works for all kinds of swimmers: a 30-metre lap section with lane ropes and turn boards for training, calmer areas for tots and first-time swimmers, plus picnic tables and sun lounges for those happy to take it slow.
The on-site café has embraced the poolside classics—fish and chips, salt-and-pepper calamari, toasted sandwiches, milkshakes with gelato scoops and strong coffee—with the option to sit at café tables without paying entry if you’re not accessing the beach.
Entry includes changing rooms, showers and toilets, while staff can provide sandcastle-building toys on request, adding to the family-friendly amentities.
Getting there and what it costs
Greenwich Baths sits on Albert Street, Greenwich, with parking on surrounding residential streets and additional spaces at the nearby Sailing Club. Public transport options include Wollstonecraft train station, the 265 bus or the Woolwich/Balmain ferry to Greenwich Point, which docks just metres from the gates.
Entry fees for the season are $5 for adults and $4 for concession, students and children under 16; kids under three enter free. Season passes range from $44 for a 10-entry adult pass to $262 for an all-year key-holder adult pass, with family and concession options in between.
For day visitors, there’s no need to choose between a swim, a lazy afternoon and a café stop. One ticket gets you all three, with Sydney Harbour stretching out beyond the pool.
