Due to the weather that Milwaukee County Parks calls “unseasonably cold” and I call “ridiculous,” the opening date for Cool Waters Aquatic Center in Greenfield Park has been pushed bask to Saturday, May 31.
It’s the first of the County’s outdoor water parks, pools, wading pools and splash pads to open for the season.
The first weekend it will be open 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Here are the opening dates for all of the County Parks’ water fun sites:
Water Parks
- Cool Waters Aquatic Center at Greenfield Park, West Allis, May 31
- Schulz Aquatic Center at Lincoln Park, June 7
Deep-Well Outdoor Pools
- Wilson Pool at Wilson Recreation Center, June 11
- Sheridan Pool at Sheridan Park, June 14
- McCarty Pool at McCarty Park, June 14
Indoor Pools
- Noyes Indoor Pool, visit the website
- Pulaski Indoor Pool, visit the website
Splash Pads
Open June 20-Aug. 17, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily
- Carver Splash Pad, 911 W. Brown St.
- Clarke Square Splash Pad, 2330 W. Vieau Place
- Dineen Splash Pad, 6901 W. Vienna Ave.
- Lucille Berrien Splash Pad, 3629 N. 16th St.
- Gordon Splash Pad, 2828 N. Humboldt Blvd.
- Madison Splash Pad, 9800 W. Glendale Ave.
- Moody Splash Pad, 2201 W. Auer Ave.
- Washington Splash Pad, 1859 N. 40th St.
Wading Pools
Open June 20-Aug. 17, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily
- Alcott Wader, 3751 S. 97th St.
- Algonquin Wader, 7850 N. 51st St.
- Cooper Wader, 8701 W. Chambers St.
- Greene Wader, 4235 S. Lipton Ave.
- Hales Corners Wader, 5765 S. New Berlin Road
- Harriet Tubman Wader, 4750 N. 48 St.
- Humboldt Wader, 3000 S. Howell Ave.
- Indigenous Peoples Wader, 7301 W. Courtland Ave.
- Jacobus Wader, 6501 W. Hillside Lane
- Kops Wader, 3321 N. 86th St.
- La Follette Wader, 9418 W. Washington St.
- Lindsay Wader, 4360 N. 87th St
- Lyons Wader, 3301 S. 55th St.
- Mitchell Wader, 524 S. Layton Blvd.
- Pulaski Cudahy Wader, 5400 S. Swift Ave.
- Rainbow Wader, 700 S. 119th St.
- Saveland Wader, 3700 S. Second St.
- Sheridan Wader, 4800 S. Lake Dr.
For complete details on pool hours, fees, purchasing season passes online and information on summer swim lessons, visit mkeswim.com.
In-person season pass sales begin Friday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Cool Waters Aquatic Park. Remember that Cool Waters doesn’t actually open now until May 31.
"Our team is excited to dive into the 2025 summer season by welcoming the community back to our incredible aquatic facilities," said Milwaukee County Parks Executive Director Guy Smith.
"There's nothing quite like the energy and excitement that fills our pools when they open for the season.
“Thanks to the steady growth of our Lifeguard Corps and the success of our training programs, we're building a strong, skilled team that keeps our pools safe. We're proud to keep these cherished spaces open and full of summer fun, and our staff is looking forward to helping families create lasting memories in the county."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
