Mānoa Valley District Park’s Coach Harry M. Mamizuka Swimming Complex

Rating: 6 on a scale of 10. It’s free. It’s 50 meters. You’re in Honolulu. The park setting is lovely. Of course, in the middle of winter the water is chilly and the pool unmaintained. As a lap swimmer, you’re still ahead, although perhaps sometime only just. In warmer weather it would be perfect.

Free, cool (felt like upper 70s), clear water, long course, and friendly staff are the things that make this a decent place for laps.

There were three or four lap zones of two lanes each, with circle-swimming, up in one lane and back in the other. That was unfortunate, as on my visit there were enough lanes for swimmers to just split the lanes. The lane spacing is generous which made for an awkward veer at the end to flip into the proper departure lane. I never quite got the hang of it.

Swimmers self-segregate based on speed, though the medium lane had someone rec swimming for a while, so it doesn’t always work that well. I swam in the fast lane, which is aspirational but mostly fine here with the wide double lanes and room to get out of the way.

There is plenty of room to pass, though etiquette was inconsistent on my visit. No taps. Loitering at the end target rather than at the edge. I was passed on an approach to the wall. The swimmers were generally friendly though.

The pool surface is degrading and not that attractive. There are open cubbies on the deck, not lockers, and there's only a basic shower/locker area with limited hot water.

There are a number of nicer pools in the area but, if it’s convenient or you must have long course, you can get a decent workout here.

This pool can be on the cold-side... It's heated only 4 hours/day, 4 months/year... The Men's shower is grungy... The pH is too high - but it's a big, uncrowded pool in a beautiful valley and free!