Pool season · Arkansas
Little Rock Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 25, 2026 · dates · water temp
One bar, one year, one Little Rock pool. The season bar below draws everything the model knows — opening window, prime season, closing window — against today's date, with the working details one click away on the opening and closing pages.
Little Rock, AR — 140 swim days a yearThe bar compresses Little Rock's whole pool year into one lane rope: gray floats for the off-season, hollow teal for the March 24–April 14 opening window, solid teal for swim weeks, hollow amber for the closing stretch that ends October 29. Wherever the today marker sits, the nearest color change is your next appointment.
The Little Rock pool calendar
Opening — target March 31
Target March 31; the practical window runs March 24–April 14, and the 7-day mean crosses the 61°F threshold around April 14. Cold-water starts are the cheap ones.
Closing — deadline October 29
The window opens October 19 once water leaves the algae zone; the model deadline is October 29, a week ahead of the November 10 freeze normal.
Estimated water temperature by month
This is Little Rock's typical-year water curve: the same EWMA model as the live widget, run on the 1991–2020 normals instead of this week's weather.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41° | 42° | 49° | 58° | 66° | 75° | 80° | 82° | 78° | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Warmest water typically July–September (peaking near 82°F); heaters and covers shift any month up.
Every station tells its own story: compare this curve with Jonesboro's pool season and Rogers's — neighboring normals stations can shift the windows by a week or more. The full ranking lives on the Arkansas season index.
Little Rock pool season FAQ
When should I open my pool in Little Rock, AR?
Target March 31. That date backs off two weeks from the day Little Rock's 7-day mean temperature reaches 61°F, so you start up in cold, algae-resistant water. Work the full checklist in the Little Rock opening guide.
When should I close my pool in Little Rock?
The closing deadline is October 29 — late enough that the water has cooled out of the algae zone, early enough to beat Little Rock's first-freeze normal by about a week. See the Little Rock closing guide for the winterizing steps.
How long is the swim season in Little Rock?
Little Rock averages 140 days a year with normal highs of 80°F or better — about 7 days earlier than the Arkansas median. The Arkansas season index ranks all 7 covered cities by the same metric.
How warm does pool water get in Little Rock?
An unheated pool near Little Rock typically peaks around 82°F in high summer and bottoms out near 40°F in winter, spending roughly 2 months at or above the 78°F comfort line most swimmers prefer. The month-by-month curve above shows the whole cycle; the methodology page explains the ±5°F error bars.
Email me when Little Rock hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Little Rock Airport Adams Field (6.8 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.