I'm not an expert Bay swimmer. I'm no centurion, I like wetsuits, and I've swum from Alcatraz a mere two times (I have plans for a third swim in August) and Treasure Island once. But I love swimming in the Bay. I love hitting Aquatic Park early in the morning and watching the sun come up over the East Bay hills, reflecting gold across the top of the water. And when I started swimming there, last year, I thought it was hard to find basic information about the Aquatic Park swimming area online, and so I'm trying to collect it in one place here so that it will be easier for others to find. And of course, easier for me, too.
*The lap (out and back) distance of the buoys is about a third of a mile.
*The distance around the perimeter is just under a mile.
*The average water temperature is kind of tricky to find. I've never found an AP-specific water temperature site. (If you know of one, please leave it in the comments.) You can find current temperatures for the Bay here and while that's up to the hour, easier ones to read are here and here.
*You can find out about water quality here.
*And every other data point you could possibly want on the Bay is here.
*There are at least two yellow labs that lap swim there.
