Bridgman's Pool Is Back for the Winter. When Can the Public Actually Swim?

"This is a community building, right?" Bridgman Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Reed said that to WSJM in August, in a story Moody on the Market carried ahead of the ribbon cutting for the renovated Bridgman Aquatic Center. He pointed out that the pool has its own entrance, separate from the high school, and that a large group of community members uses it.

He's right, and the fall schedule shows the community's share in detail. Community time at the pool on Gast Road is concentrated before 1 p.m. on weekdays. Open family swim gets one two-hour window, on Saturday afternoon. Once Lake Michigan is out of season, it helps to know which block of the week is yours.

What came back after the spring closure

The last public swim before the renovation was Saturday, March 21, 2026, and the building closed on March 23. On its construction updates page, the district described a $4.7 million project paid for entirely through the community's long-standing recreation millage, with no tax increase. Reed gave WSJM a round figure of $4 million, and that report said the work was paid for with the district's sinking fund along with recreation millage dollars.

The scope explains why the pool was dark for the spring and summer. The district's list included:

• A new pool HVAC system and a new pool dehumidification unit
• Replacement of the pool roof
• Upgrades to the UV water treatment
• Recaulking and structural maintenance
• Updated fire alarm systems
• New tile across the pool and deck, plus new lighting, paint and finishes

Reed added a new scoreboard to that list and told WSJM the only way the pool could have been more renovated was to tear it down and build a new one. The community open house was held on a Thursday afternoon in late August, from 4 to 6 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 4:30.

Bridgman got the same pool back with new air, light, water treatment and tile. The building is still shared between school programs and the public, and the schedule shows how that sharing works.

The week, block by block

The current posted schedule runs from September 28 through November 21, 2026. Here are the times open to the community:

After 1 p.m. on weekdays, the pool goes to organized programs. Co-op swim practice runs from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 5:00 on Friday. Co-op dive practice follows from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Sea Bees Swim Club practices take the evenings, ending as late as 8:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Saturday mornings also open with co-op swim practice from 8:00 to 10:00 and dive practice from 9:00 to 11:00, before Saturday lap swim starts at 10:15.

So a community member's pool week runs roughly 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, plus a late-morning and early-afternoon stretch on Saturday. There are no posted public hours on weekday evenings, and the schedule lists nothing on Sunday.

The two Saturday hours that carry family swim

For a family that wants to bring kids to the pool without signing them up for anything, the schedule leaves one option: Open Rec, Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Family recreation is priced per group of two or more people, at $10 for residents and $20 for non-residents.

The same window covers birthday parties. The aquatic center isn't taking regular rentals right now, but it will host birthday parties during open swim. Questions go to Emily Nannfeldt at [email protected]. If you're planning a winter party around the pool, it will land in that Saturday 1:00 to 3:00 block, alongside everyone else's Open Rec.

Children's swimming instruction runs separately from Open Rec. The fall community lesson session, which covers Aqua-Tot through Pre-Team, meets Monday and Wednesday evenings from October 12 to November 18, 2026. Lessons are free for residents and $60 for non-residents. Sea Bees, the youth swim club for ages 6 to 18, is in a fall and winter season that runs into February 2027.

The morning pool, and who swims it free

Most of the community schedule sits in the morning, and that's also where the posted pricing is most generous. On the district's schedules and pricing page, lap swim and each aqua fitness class cost $5 for residents and $10 for non-residents. The same table says senior residents age 62 and older are free.

So a resident retiree can do Deep Water Aerobics at 7:30, Shallow Water Aerobics at 8:30 and Bend & Flex at 9:30 on a Monday morning without paying a drop-in fee. A non-resident doing the same three classes would pay $30 at the posted rate. Senior memberships follow the same pattern: free for residents, $200 for a non-resident individual and $300 for a non-resident couple.

For swimmers under 62, the annual membership works out like this at the posted rates:

1. A resident individual membership costs $150. That equals 30 lap swims or classes at $5 each.
2. A non-resident individual membership costs $300. That also equals 30 visits at the $10 drop-in rate.
3. A resident couple membership costs $200, and a non-resident couple pays $400.
4. A family membership is $200 plus $25 per child for residents and $400 plus $25 per child for non-residents. At $10 per resident family visit, a $200 base covers 20 Saturday Open Rec sessions before adding children.

Every membership includes free access to the community weight room. The weight room is open Monday through Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., with a daily pass of $1 for residents and $5 for non-residents, and Bridgman Public Schools students get in free. The weight room runs during the evening hours when the pool belongs to practices, so a membership covers both the morning pool and evening workouts.

The rate table on the district site carries the heading "Pricing as of July 1, 2025," and it splits every price into resident and non-resident columns. To find out which column applies to your household, call the front desk at 269-466-0236 before you buy a membership. The resident discount is large, and for anyone 62 or older it decides whether the pool costs anything at all.

After November 21

The posted schedule ends November 21, 2026, and the "Upcoming closures" line at the bottom of that schedule is blank. The fall lesson session wraps up on November 18, three days before that. The pool says all changes are posted online and on signs in the locker rooms and at the aquatic center entrance. Before you plan a Thanksgiving-week swim or a winter break Open Rec with visiting family, check BridgmanPool.com for the next schedule.

The Sea Bees season runs into February 2027, but the practice times on the current schedule are only posted through November 21. Under the fall schedule, early swimmers can be in the water at 6 a.m. Families with kids have Saturday afternoon. Residents 62 and older get the morning classes free.

If you split your time between Bridgman and somewhere else and want to know how local amenities like the aquatic center fit into a winter here, I'm glad to talk it through. Reach out to Brian Waite and let's connect.