José Martí Pool

The deep end is very deep, and the water temperature is definitely 83º - 84ºF, which is great in winter. The locker room is a basic change room with some showers.
[December, 2025]

Rating: 8 on a scale of 10. This is an excellent pool for laps, but the locker rooms are less than basic. If you go, you'll probably have the pool to yourself. Miami’s relentless development is changing the neighborhood around the pool. The tropical feel and charm of a lightly used pool make this a go-to place for laps in Miami.

I was staying at the JW Marriott Marquis for a business meeting and walked to this pool to swim each morning. The pool opens at 6 AM. I swam with two other co-workers; two of us shared a lane and one had his own. There was plenty of room. The water was a little warm for me, but we endured and got a good 45-minute swim in before our work meetings.

This is a well-maintained municipal pool. If you’ve read the questionable Yelp! reviews ignore them. I came on a Saturday morning at about 11:00 AM, and it was pretty busy, almost all six lanes being shared by two swimmers each. They all appeared to be fairly serious recreational lap swimmers. It changed to only two lap lanes at noon but, evidently all the local lap swimmers knew this as the pool emptied out about 15 minutes before then. I finished my laps by myself, and the kids didn't start showing up until about 12:30.

The pool was a little warm, but what can you say for a $3.00 admission fee? I thought it was great. Kudos to the City of Miami!

1) This is a 25m pool. It has a waveless design (gutters, not deck-level), an accessible entry ramp off to one side, and is 4 feet deep in the shallow end and 12 feet deep at the deep end. It is outdoors, so I recommend sunblock.
2) There are no real locker room facilities, so come wearing your suit and plan on showering/changing at home. There are some showers on the deck, but they have only cold water.
3) When I was there, the water was *REALLY WARM.* I'd estimate 83ºF (28ºC). This is a problem for me because I can't really train effectively when it's much over 80ºF (27ºC). That said, the pool appears to be very well-maintained and clean, and my skin didn't feel completely destroyed by the water.

The pool is six lanes, not eight as per an earlier review, four of which were dedicated to lap swimmers, of which there were only three during my workout from 2 to 3:30 PM. There were lots of boards and buoys available. There is a large changing area, but no lockers, all freshly painted and kept quite clean; the pool and deck are aging and well-worn, but kept clean. Where else can you swim while you watch the semis pass overhead on the causeway and tugboats go by at pool level on the Intracoastal Waterway at the same time! The water was a degree too warm, and it's only March.

Tell your Uber/taxi to take you to the corner of SW 4th Avenue and SW 4th Street, and enter the park from there - that avoids driving through some of the dodgier parts of the neighborhood living under the highway that runs overhead.

It's a great pool: 8 lanes, 25 meters, ~6-8 swimmers when I swam at 7 - 7:30 AM. It was very clean with basic showers and restrooms. I was pleasantly surprised a city pool would be this nice.

It’s an older pool, but the water is clean and pleasant (if a little on the warm side). There are no lockers, so you change and take your stuff on deck. Not in a great area, but it’s OK during the day. It was virtually empty at noon on a Wednesday.

It's in a very urban area, but I found it clean and safe both times I swam here - once at night, the other time at mid-day. It was worth my while each time.