Pool season · California
Santa Monica Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 25, 2026 · dates · water temp
One bar, one year, one Santa Monica 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.
Santa Monica, CA — 0 swim days a yearEach dot on the bar is one week of Santa Monica's typical year, colored by what the model says that week is for: gray weeks are off-season, hollow teal marks the opening window (May 13–June 3), solid teal is swim season, and hollow amber is the closing window ending November 20. The black marker is today — its position against the colors is the entire executive summary.
The Santa Monica pool calendar
Opening — target May 20
Target May 20; the practical window runs May 13–June 3, and the 7-day mean crosses the 61°F threshold around June 3. Cold-water starts are the cheap ones.
Closing — deadline November 20
The window opens November 10 once water leaves the algae zone; the model deadline is November 20, a week ahead of the December 15 freeze normal.
Estimated water temperature by month
Monthly averages of the site's water model run on Santa Monica's own normals — the shape of a typical year, not a forecast. The widget above shows where the current year actually sits.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56° | 56° | 56° | 58° | 59° | 61° | 65° | 66° | 66° | 64° | 62° | 58° |
The curve peaks near 66°F — comfortable-water months here usually involve a heater or a solar cover.
Every station tells its own story: compare this curve with Santa Maria's pool season and Santa Rosa's — neighboring normals stations can shift the windows by a week or more. The full ranking lives on the California season index.
Santa Monica pool season FAQ
When should I open my pool in Santa Monica, CA?
Open by May 20 — the model places Santa Monica's 61°F crossing about two weeks later, and every warm day you wait pushes the water toward the 65°F algae zone. The Santa Monica opening guide has the 12-step sequence.
When should I close my pool in Santa Monica?
Close by November 20: cool water keeps its winter chemistry, but freeze damage is the hard stop. The Santa Monica closing guide sequences the work backward from that date.
How long is the swim season in Santa Monica?
Santa Monica averages 0 days a year with normal highs of 80°F or better — about 49 days later than the California median. The California season index ranks all 147 covered cities by the same metric.
How warm does pool water get in Santa Monica?
An unheated pool near Santa Monica typically peaks around 66°F in high summer and bottoms out near 56°F in winter, never quite reaching the 78°F comfort line without a heater or solar cover. The month-by-month curve above shows the whole cycle; the methodology page explains the ±5°F error bars.
Email me when Santa Monica hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Santa Monica Pier (1.6 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.