[SFrank7381]

I'm taking from my 5-year-old son down to Brattleboro from the Burlington area to meet my mother for the day. She will be driving up from Connecticut. Before we go out to dinner I was thinking we could go to a park so he could play or maybe even a public pool.

Could you let me know of any good playgrounds and pools in the area?

Thanks,
Steve

[arel]

Living Memorial Park has a pool and, I think, a playground. The pool there is the main public pool for Brattleboro. It is an outdoor chlorine pool, with diving boards. And it has lifeguards.

Here's the webpage for the pool:

Swimming Pool/Rotary Water Playground - Town of Brattleboro, VT* (http://www.brattleboro.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={1253C48E-0902-45B5-A554-EFB20434190F} - broken link)

There is also the pool at the Colonial Motel and Spa, on Putney Road. That pool is privately owned, but people who are neither spa members nor motel guests can use it. The day pass costs about $12 per person, although I'm not sure of the exact amount. The nice things about this pool are that it is a salt pool, not a chlorine pool, and that it is not as crowded as the public pool. But it does not have diving and, more importantly, it does not have lifeguards. It is an indoor pool, in a greenhouse.

There are public playgrounds in Brattleboro, in various places. From memory, I think there is one on Elliot Street and another on High Street or Greene Street.

As for other places to swim, people go to Lake Spofford, about 15 minutes away in New Hampshire. Ware's Beach has lifeguards and amenities. There is a consession stand and bathrooms. There is a swing set and a tether ball stand. The slope of the lake bottom is very gradual, and there are no dropoffs. For non-residents, itt costs about $6 per person to get in. There is a free beach on the opposite side of the lake, but that beach is unguarded and there are dropoffs. I haven't been to the other beach, so I can't say anything from personal experience.

There are also swimming holes on the West River. And there is a spot on the Retreat Meadows where people like to swim. The Retreat Meadows is at the mouth of the West River, just above where it empties into the Connecticut River. It is very shallow, about 2-4 feet deep in most places, I'm told. I believe it is a meadow that was flooded after the Vernon Dam was built downriver on the Connecticut.

The town of Venon has a nice recreation area, with a big outdoor chlorine pool and other facilities. The pool has a diving board and lifeguards, and non-residents only have to pay $3.

Have fun.

[arel]

Oops. I just reread your post and realized that your son is 5.

The Colonial Pool's minimum depth is 3 feet and there is no kiddy pool. So that probably is not a good option for you, unless you really want a salt pool. Also, lots of parents take small children into this pool, but they are with them at all times.

I believe that the Brattleboro pool has a kiddy pool and I know that the Vernon Pool does. The Vernon pool will cost a few dollars less, but you have to consider the drive to Vernon and back, both in terms of gasoline cost and of time.

[SFrank7381]

Thank you very much areal for the info. We ended up going to Living. He enjoyed it very much!!!

[arel]

Glad your son had fun!!! Hope you did too.

There is lots to do in Brattleboro. And when the town closes down at about 9-10 pm (this is NOT the town that never sleeps) there are plenty of books to have borrowed from its great library or bought from its great bookstores. And food to prepare and eat from the great Co-op.

And there's also TV and the Internet, too!