Pool season · Minnesota
Rochester Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 15, 2026 · dates · water temp
Rochester'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 Rochester's whole pool year into one lane rope: gray floats for the off-season, hollow teal for the May 4–May 25 opening window, solid teal for swim weeks, hollow amber for the closing stretch that ends September 26. Wherever the today marker sits, the nearest color change is your next appointment.
The Rochester pool calendar
Opening — target May 11
Target May 11; the practical window runs May 4–May 25, and the 7-day mean crosses the 61°F threshold around May 25. Cold-water starts are the cheap ones.
Closing — deadline September 26
The window opens September 16 once water leaves the algae zone; the model deadline is September 26, a week ahead of the October 6 freeze normal.
Estimated water temperature by month
This is Rochester'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17° | 16° | 26° | 40° | 52° | 64° | 70° | 70° | 65° | 55° | 40° | 27° |
The curve peaks near 71°F — comfortable-water months here usually involve a heater or a solar cover.
Email me when Rochester hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Rochester International Airport (7.7 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.