If the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge isn’t sufficient shade for you this summer, cool down in the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pop-Up pool. The 30-foot by 50-foot pool opened June 27, and operates every day from 10AM to 6PM (like all public parks this summer). This family-centric pool is only 3.5 feet at its deepest point, and swimmers are given wristbands for 45 minute sessions,

Over the years, New Yorkers have shown an affinity for alternately loving Fort Tilden as their isolated secret and complaining of the beach’s increasingly popularity. Although closed last summer due to Hurricane Sandy, Fort Tilden is open for business this year! From its abandoned barracks full of graffiti to the sweeping views of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn skyline, this seaside-military-fort-turned-beachside-national-park is easily one of New York’s most special spots, no matter how many other people know. [Photo by Hannah Frishberg]

A seven-lane movable barge with a waterfront view in the Southeast Bronx, the Floating Pool Lady, as she’s been lovingly nicknamed, is an only-in-New-York kind of swimming pool. It may be a mile from the nearest subway, but that should only add to the isolated zen of the place.

An Olympic-sized pool with old school locker rooms, it’s not uncommon for there to be a line around the block of people waiting to get into the Red Hook Pool. That said, it’s a good alternative to McCarren Park for those who’d prefer a recreational hub which is less of a madhouse. It’s also much more convenient for South Brooklyintes.

It's unclear where the Ramones were living when they wrote that Rockaway Beach was “not hard, not far to reach” but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the commute. Even after Sandy, Rockaway is still exponentially saner and more sanitary than Coney Island, plus the beach has a lot of solid food options.

For $45, you can gain access to Brooklyn’s first and only public saline pool at Hotel Williamsburg. The pool measures 20-feet-wide, 40-feet-long, and 4-feet-deep, and the deck can accommodate 149 visitors. When the pool first opened a few years ago, one could take a dip just by purchasing something from the hotel bar, but it became too crowded. Now the pool offers day passes for $45, and, if you're looking to drop $300 on a day at the pool you can buy special packages like a "sun bed for two."

Just west of Rockaway Beach is Jacob Riis Park, a stretch of beach that's not quite as crowded as its eastern neighbor, but more popular than Fort Tilden. There's a large bathhouse, and several food trucks are usually on site if you don't want to bring a picnic.

Day passes are $30 for this beach resort. You’ll have access to pools on pools (some equipped with water slides), as well as an outdoor tiki bar, jacuzzi, indoor gym, lockers, showers, and tennis courts.

Scenic views, soccer, and an olympic sized pool to boot, put the Sunset Park Pool near the top of the elite public pools list. Heavily used by locals, the Sunset Park Pool may not be as well known as McCarren or Red Hook, but its just as convenient and not nearly as crowded.

Plenty of places in New York are rich in history, but Fort Totten is special cause not only is it historically rich - it’s also clean. This preserved Civil War Fortress boasts a diving pool, a wading pool, and an intermediate pool, all outside. Located way out at one of Queen's northeastern most points at the head of Little Neck Bay, you're going to need either a car or a lot of patience for city buses to get out there, but it'll probably be worth it.

Ever feel an inexplicable urge to swim in the East River? NYC Swim conducts swimming races in the waters surrounding NYC, be it anything from swimming around the Statue of Liberty to swimming under the Brooklyn Bridge. You’ll need to pay the entrance fee (anywhere from $90 to $135 depending on when you sign up for each individual swim) and have a swimming test, but saying you've swam across the East River is quite the story.

The boro-mixup in the naming of this Brooklyn Beach is well deserved: the ritzy Russian mansions lining the borough’s smallest beach look like they belong in the Hamptons. Quaint and family-friendly, Manhattan Beach is almost definitely the best kept and least populous stretch of Brooklyn’s seaside.

The beach at Wolfe's Pond was formed nearly 20,000 years ago as the Wisconsin ice sheet moved southward during the final stages of the ice age. This Staten Island park will allow you a level of solitude Central Park can’t even pretend to offer, even if it is a ferry ride away.

What could possibly be higher on your summer wish list than a free private pool? The James Hotel has made that wish come true. It’s rooftop pool is free and open to the public from 3pm-8:30pm on weekends (you’ll have to be a hotel guest to swim the rest of the week). It’s quite tiny as far as swimming pools go, but it's swanky and on the roof, so no one seems to be complaining.

Ahh, Coney Island, where women walk topless in the streets and there’s sure to be a handful of cigarette butts and glass shards in all your sand castles. The beach is dirty, but the vibes are worth it—where else do you get free fireworks every Friday and can watch people stick screwdrivers up their noses for $10? It’s far from wholesome, but that’s why people love it. And this year, 14 years after the original was torn down, the new and improved Thunderbolt roller coaster is open.

This Upper East Side complex has a 145-foot diving pool as well as an intermediate pool. Sculptures dot the park, and the neighborhood does a good job of keeping John Jay Park clean.

At Lasker Pool you can have your cake and eat it too (just not on the pool deck): a swimming pool inside Central Park! It’s huge, it’s crowded, it’s got crazy views, and in the winter it morphs into a skating rink.

A hidden gem, the Midtown Holiday Inn has a (sizable) rooftop pool. For $70, you get access 10AM - 6PM, and a towel. A $25 day pass for those over 21 is also available, Monday through Friday after 3PM. Cash only, and come early if you want a deck chair (they’re first-come first-served).

This swimming pool is huge. A surprisingly quiet park in the middle of Washington Parks, Highbridge manages to be a grand facility even 100 years after being built. Built on the bank of the Harlem River, in addition to the swimming pool, there’s also a water tower (not for swimming, just for looking).