Pool season · California
San Francisco Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 15, 2026 · dates · water temp
San Francisco's whole pool calendar, condensed: when the water warms, when it cools, and where today falls between those edges. Use the opening guide and closing guide for the step-by-step work; keep this page for the dates.
The bar compresses San Francisco's whole pool year into one lane rope: gray floats for the off-season, hollow teal for the July 15–August 5 opening window, solid teal for swim weeks, hollow amber for the closing stretch that ends November 6. Wherever the today marker sits, the nearest color change is your next appointment.
The San Francisco pool calendar
Opening — target July 22
Target July 22; the practical window runs July 15–August 5, and the 7-day mean crosses the 61°F threshold around August 5. Cold-water starts are the cheap ones.
Closing — deadline November 6
Hold the cover until October 27, then winterize by November 6, a week ahead of the December 25 freeze normal. Late and cold beats early and warm.
Estimated water temperature by month
This is San Francisco'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52° | 53° | 55° | 56° | 57° | 59° | 60° | 61° | 62° | 63° | 60° | 54° |
The curve peaks near 63°F — comfortable-water months here usually involve a heater or a solar cover.
Email me when San Francisco hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via San Francisco Dwtn (1.4 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.