Escaping the Winter at Ann Arbor's Mack Indoor Pool

Editor’s Note: This article on Mack Pool was written in the early days of our site – 2010. In those early days, we did not reliably use images. At the time Mack Pool offered a Tot Swim on weekday mornings. They have not offered Tot Swim in many years. But, many of the other elements of the activity are still relevant and have been updated with 2021 information.

Today, we visited Mack Indoor Pool at Ann Arbor Open for Tot Swim. I had set the activity for my play group way back in sunny, warm August. With the frigid weather yesterday and today I was not looking forward to swimming. However, we had a great time. The water and the pool area felt toasty warm.

About Mack Pool

Mack Pool has a 30’x42′ children’s pool which is shallow enough for young children to play in. There is a ramp entry which leads to a 1.5′ deep section. The tot pool gets a little deeper, but my 40″ 4 year old was able to stand in the whole section. The children’s pool is connected to the main pool by an opening at one side. I warned my daughter not to go near there, and she stayed away. Parents are expected to attend their children and be in the water with them. In my group, the moms mostly stood and talked near the middle of the children’s pool while the kids (4 yrs old) played independently around the pool. With younger children, you would need to provide closer supervision or hold them.

For Tot Swim they had a basket of toys available: mostly balls, watering cans, and diving rings. There are lots of windows around the pool providing natural light which was nice since today was a fairly sunny day despite the cold temperatures. The water was posted to be 82 degrees, with a pool area temperature of 80. My four year old tends to get cold easily while swimming, but did not complain about being cold until the last few minutes, when she was also asking to eat. We have had problems with swim lessons at other pools being too cold for her to last 30 minutes without shivering and having her lips turn blue.

2021 Note: Many people complain about Mack Pool being cold. My daughter has never had an issue at Mack and she has at other indoor pools.

Events from our Sponsors

Future Innovators Academy Break Camps

Days Off From School

Big Play Day

June 21

Ann Arbor Jaycees 4th of July Parade

Friday, July 4

Pee Wee Olympics & Foam Party

Sunday, July 20

Public Swim

The children’s pool is available during public swim. Admission is $6 for adults and $5 for children 4-17 and seniors 55+. Children under 3 are admitted free with a paying adult. You can also purchase a season pass or a family punch pass.

Amenities

There are locker rooms with communal showers available. We just rinsed off, although you could take a full shower if you wished. There are lockers available, although you should bring your own lock if you wish to secure your possessions. (Note, Mack Pool showers are not available in 2021-2022 due to COVID precautions).

There are vending machines in the lobby, but they are shut-off during school hours.

Other Mack Pool Offerings

Mack Pool offers swim lessons, both group and private. My daughter did group lessons as a preschooler (shortly after this article was written). When she was older and on swim team, she did a few private lessons to help her with her technique.

Mack Manta Rays swim team is available for kids once they can swim one length of the pool. Practices are offered daily. With COVID precautions, they are assigning practice days to keep groups consistent.

In “normal” times, Mack pool frequently hosts fun events like Dive In Movies and Family Fun Days. They also have mermaid and mermen classes. Or, you can try your hand (or feet) at log rolling.