Looking for free ways to cool off this summer? The City of Ottawa has 'Play Free' this summer featuring FREE swimming times.
About Play Free
Play Free is the City of Ottawa’s lineup of free drop-in activities for children and youth in 2023. The Play Free initiative is to encourage young people to participate and get active.
- Children and teens (17 years of age and under) do not pay during the dates listed below. The dates are different for each category.
- Drop-in schedules vary by facility. Be sure to check the program times at each of the participating locations listed below.
- Register in advance where required! You’ll find this information in the schedules.
- Equipment may be required for some activities as detailed in the descriptions for sports, swimming and skating.
- A free weight and cardio summer membership for youth is also available.
Swimming
- Saturdays, June 3 to December 30 (wave swim only included on June 3)
City of Ottawa Beaches
The City’s beaches Mooney’s Bay, Britannia and Petrie Island will be open for supervised swimming from noon to 7 pm starting June 17 until August 27, 2023. Washrooms will be open for the season starting May 20 until Sept 4, 2023.
Note: The City will not be providing lifeguard supervision at Westboro Beach this year. Due to construction at the site the National Capital Commission is operating only reduced unsupervised access to the beach. The City recommends swimming at supervised beaches only.
Put your toes in the sand and have fun at any of the City’s public beaches.
- East Ottawa: Petrie Island Beach(link is external), 727 Tweddle Road, 613-824-5704
- West Ottawa: Britannia Beach(link is external), 2805 Carling Avenue, 613-820-1211
- South Ottawa: Mooney’s Bay Beach(link is external), 2926 Riverside Drive, 613-248-0863
There is a fee for parking at Mooney’s Bay and Petrie Island. Check octranspo.com(link is external) to help plan your transit route to parks and beaches.
Keep our beaches and parks clean by not littering. Dispose of your waste in bins or bring it home to dispose of in your green bin or your recycling and garbage bins.
Beach-accessible wheelchairs are available at no cost at Mooney’s Bay Beach, Britannia Beach and Petrie Island Beach. Available daily from 11:30 am to 6:30 pm on a first-come-first-serve basis from June 17 to August 27, 2023.
Users are required to provide their own attendant to push the chair and assist with the transfer in and out of the chair. There is no lift on site.
Outdoor Pools
Reservations for swimming sessions at outdoor pools can be booked online.
To reserve a drop-in swim spot online, select one of the following facilities. Proceed by clicking on the reservation button at the top of the schedule tab.
- Bearbrook Outdoor Pool
- Beaverbrook Outdoor Pool - Kanata
- Corkstown Outdoor Pool
- Crestview Outdoor Pool
- Entrance Outdoor Pool
- General Burns Outdoor Pool
- Genest Outdoor Pool
- Glen Cairn Outdoor Pool
- Katimavik Outdoor Pool
Splash Pads
The City of Ottawa Splash Pads will be in operation from May 20 until September 15 (weather dependent). Splash pad sites are unsupervised. Visit the city map to see all the splash pad locations.
Wading Pools
The City of Ottawa wading pools for Summer 2023 are open! Please see the interactive map to view opening and closing dates for the Summer season at each of our locations!
There is no cost to swim at a City of Ottawa wading pool.
