It’s that time of year: parents are looking for swim lessons. We’ve rounded up some of the swimming schools and pools currently offering lessons to children.
Thank you to our sponsor, Patti’s Swim School in Castro Valley. Founded by Patti O’Brien, mother of six children, Patti’s Swim School reflects her insightful parent perspective on what is important to and for children of all ages and their parents.
If you don’t see your local favorite, let us know. Our best advice is to sign up early!
East Bay swimming programs that will help teach your child how to swim
We arranged our East Bay swimming lesson list roughly from the South to the North.
Fremont Swim Lessons
American Swim Academy, Fremont
Swimmers as young as 4 months old learn through a structured, consistent program that builds progressively from basic swimming techniques to more advanced and challenging skills. Five East Bay locations including Newark in the (510). Find out more >
Happy Fish Swim School, Fremont or Livermore
Swim lessons for water babies, children, and adults. They offer a free trial class for all new students. Summer swim team and Spring swim clinics are also available. Find out more >
SafeSplash Swim School, Fremont
Super close to Rockin’ Jump, this swim school offers lessons for babies through adults in session-based classes. They also offer a cute medal progression program highlighting kindness, dedication, and passion. Visit website >
Swim Lessons in Hayward
Hayward Plunge, Hayward
An indoor pool that offers lots of swim lesson options, from tots to advanced. Lessons fill up quickly though, so sign up early! Check the recreation guide for more information >
Waterworks Swim School, Hayward
Swim classes are available for ages 2.5+ at the Waterworks Swim School with two locations in Hayward. They also offer more advanced stroke clinics and adult classes. Register here >
Swim Lessons in Castro Valley
Patti’s Swim School, Castro Valley
Swim lessons at this private pool are effective, efficient, and fun! At Patti’s Swim School, students are instructed in a supportive, compassionate, focused environment with lots of individualized attention and success in learning and mastering new swimming skills.
A warm saline pool and low teacher-to-student ratios are highlights at this swimming school in Castro Valley. Patti’s has developmentally appropriate classes for ages 5 months old through adults and specializes in students with anxiety disorder, learning differences, and Autism. Professional instructors are highly trained and effective.
Register for a free trial class by calling (510) 331 – 6610 or signing up online. Find out more >
Fun fact: Swimming is fantastic for brain health! The bilateral cross-patterning movement of swimming helps cognition, eases learning, and benefits overall academic performance.
Chabot Swim Academy
Chabot Swim Academy serves swimmers aged 4 to 15 years old. They offer very small semi-private classes and believe in creating an atmosphere where the kids feel safe but also understand they are there to achieve. Find more information here >
Swimming Lessons in Alameda, CA
AquaTech Swim School, Alameda
AquaTech has parent/child lessons and bigger kid lessons, available on both a perpetual (for a monthly rate). Perpetual lessons are ongoing year-round; a child can join at any time. Note that there is usually a waitlist for these lessons. Private lessons are also available. See details >
Encinal and Emma Hood Swim Centers, Alameda
The City of Alameda offers youth and child swim classes at Encinal Swim Center. From Baby and Me classes to tot and more advanced lessons, you’ll swim at either Encinal or Emma Hood depending on the class. More information here >
Swim Lessons in Oakland
Ohana Aquatics, Oakland
This independent swim school in a tranquil forest setting offers sessions for babies and toddlers, plus an 8-session group and private lessons for all levels and ages. Sign-up online and they’ll send you an email with available days and times. No drop-in sessions are available at this time. More information here >
Downtown Oakland YMCA
Session-based swim lessons for children start every couple of months. All swim lesson sessions run on either a Monday / Wednesday schedule or a Tuesday / Thursday schedule. Swim Lessons are offered at Downtown Berkeley (indoors), Oakland (indoors), and Pleasant Hill (outdoors) branches at different times throughout the year. More information here >
City of Oakland community pools
The City of Oakland operates a bunch of pools with swimming lessons. Summer 2023 classes are not yet available for sign-up. More Information here >
Piedmont Swim Team Swim School at Montclair Swim Club, Oakland
Families can join Montclair Swim Club as a seasonal activity and enjoy the pool at their leisure, or register for swim lessons through Piedmont Swim Team. For ages 4+, with emphasis on a pre-competitive program. More information here >
Swimming Lessons in Emeryville
Emeryville Community Pool
Not updated for 2023 yet. Lessons at Emeryville Community Pool typically are 25-minute group or private 1:1 sessions with a certified American Red Cross Instructor. Available Monday-Thursday and Saturdays. Upon completion of all swim levels, Emeryville Swim Center also has a swim team for kids that want to take it to the next level. More information here >
Swimming Lessons in Berkeley
Swimming lessons at UC Berkeley
The Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area offers lessons for babies, toddlers, and big kids as part of Cal Recreation. Babies from 6 months to 3 years will get in the pool with their parents. Open for 2023 summer registration. More information here >
King Swim Center, North Berkeley
Parent and me swim classes available, all the way up to advanced and swim team level. 2023 registration has begun for Summer. More info >
West Campus Pool, West Berkeley
Youth swim classes start at age 3. 2023 registration has begun for Summer. More info >
YMCA (Berkeley)
Session-based swim lessons for children 6 months+ start throughout the year on either a Monday / Wednesday, Tuesday / Thursday, or Saturday schedule. Swim Lessons are offered at branches at different times throughout the year. More information here>
Swimming Lessons in El Cerrito
El Cerrito Swim Center
Offers classes in an outdoor saline pool. Includes opportunities for infants and preschoolers as well as big kids. The class schedule and registration info are managed by the City of El Cerrito. Spring and Summer sessions will be released soon (check the second week of April). More information here >
Swimming Lessons in Richmond
Richmond Swim Center & Richmond Plunge
Both pools now offer swim lessons, with the Richmond Plunge also offering more recreational swim times. The current Little Splashers tot class is currently enrolling. Details about Richmond Swim Classes >
El Sobrante Swimming Lessons
Canyon Swim School, El Sobrante
This institution is a (510) Families’ favorite, where several of our children willingly put their faces in the water for the first time. Here’s our review. 2023 Summer Registration is open. More info from them here >
Favorite swim lessons in the (925)
Fellow parents tell us that for those whose schedule permits a longer commute, it may be worthwhile to seek swimming lessons in warmer parts of the East Bay. Carol recommends Harriet Plummer Aquatic School in Lafayette. Another option we’ve heard about is the British Swim School.
We strive to update this article when new information becomes available.
Thank you again to our sponsor, Patti’s Swim School in Castro Valley.
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1 thought on “Swimming Lessons for East Bay Kids”
Thank you for this great list! This note is a caution about Sunsational Swim School. I registered on the Sunsational website and, when I discovered that their lessons actually weren’t ideal for our group, I cancelled. I should have read the fine print because I was charged a $50 cancellation fee. Even though the lessons I inquired about weren’t for another month and a half. They say that it’s the charge for the quick matching process they do. Ok. But that probably took 5 minutes to look in their database, so a $50 fee seems exorbitant.