Pool opening · State guide
When to Open Your Pool in North Carolina
Last updated: July 15, 2026 · 17 cities covered
North Carolina's opening calendar spans about 21 days. The earliest model date belongs to Wilmington (March 24), the latest to Asheville (April 14), and the statewide median lands on April 4.
Every date is the same model — two weeks ahead of the day the local 7-day mean temperature crosses 61°F — applied to each city's own NOAA normals station. Click through for the live water estimate, the full window, and the 12-step checklist.
| City | Open by | Window opens | 61°F crossing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apex | Apr 7 | Mar 31 | Apr 21 |
| Asheville | Apr 14 | Apr 7 | Apr 28 |
| Burlington | Apr 6 | Mar 30 | Apr 20 |
| Cary | Apr 7 | Mar 31 | Apr 21 |
| Charlotte | Apr 1 | Mar 25 | Apr 15 |
| Concord | Apr 4 | Mar 28 | Apr 18 |
| Durham | Apr 12 | Apr 5 | Apr 26 |
| Fayetteville | Apr 1 | Mar 25 | Apr 15 |
| Gastonia | Mar 30 | Mar 23 | Apr 13 |
| Greensboro | Apr 6 | Mar 30 | Apr 20 |
| Greenville | Mar 30 | Mar 23 | Apr 13 |
| Hickory | Apr 9 | Apr 2 | Apr 23 |
| High Point | Mar 31 | Mar 24 | Apr 14 |
| Jacksonville | Mar 27 | Mar 20 | Apr 10 |
| Raleigh | Apr 3 | Mar 27 | Apr 17 |
| Wilmington | Mar 24 | Mar 17 | Apr 7 |
| Winston-Salem | Apr 7 | Mar 31 | Apr 21 |
Dates are typical-year model outputs, not forecasts — each city guide carries the live widget that tracks the current year against them.
How to use these dates
Each "open by" date is two weeks ahead of that city's own 61°F crossing — the day its 7-day mean temperature (highs and lows averaged, from the nearest NOAA 1991–2020 normals station) reaches the level where unheated pool water starts climbing toward the 65°F algae-growth zone. Opening inside the window means starting up in cold, algae-resistant water: a single label-dosed shock instead of a green-water recovery, and a shopping trip while North Carolina stores are still fully stocked.
Dates are typical-year guidance, not forecasts. A warm or late spring shifts the real-world moment by a week or two in either direction — every city guide carries a live water-temperature widget that tracks the current year against these normals, plus the full 12-step opening checklist sequenced to its local window. New to the process? Start with the generic how-to-open guide and the chemicals shopping list, then come back for your city's dates.