Richardson opens neighborhood pools and Heights Aquatic Center for summer

Richardson families got a low-cost place to cool off as the city opened its neighborhood pools and Heights Family Aquatic Center for the summer season. The full schedule began Saturday, May 30, giving parents and kids a public option just as North Texas heat started to build.

The City of Richardson’s 2026 aquatics schedule includes five public pools: Heights Family Aquatic Center, Canyon Creek Pool, Cottonwood Pool, Glenville Pool and Terrace Pool. Heights carries the highest daily rate, but it is still built for family use, with admission set at $4 for Richardson residents ages 4 and older and $8 for nonresidents. Neighborhood pools are even cheaper at $2 for residents and $4 for nonresidents, while children 3 and under are free at both.

Heights Family Aquatic Center runs noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Neighborhood pool hours vary by location, and most of the city’s pools set aside morning time for swim classes, a detail that makes the schedule useful for families trying to balance lessons with open swim. Terrace Pool is the exception, opening earlier on some weekdays, including 10 a.m. starts on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Richardson also said all neighborhood pools and the Heights Family Aquatic Center offer private pool rentals, depending on staff availability and weather conditions. That gives residents another option for birthday parties, group outings or neighborhood gatherings without leaving the city.

The season followed a staged rollout, with Heights Family Aquatic Center open for Memorial Day weekend before reopening with the rest of the city’s pool system for the full summer schedule. Richardson’s timing fits a familiar pattern, too: the citywide opening came just after Memorial Day and roughly matched the late-May launch of prior seasons, including the June 1 opening in 2024. For families looking for an affordable escape from the heat, the pools are now part of the everyday summer routine.