Pool swim season in Port Townsend, WA

When can you swim in an outdoor pool in Port Townsend, WA?

An unheated pool in Port Townsend never reaches 78°F in a normal year. It peaks around 66°F in Aug. The air allows up to 2 swimmable months with a heater (Jul to Aug).

1. J
2. F
3. M
4. A
5. M
6. J
7. J
8. A
9. S
10. O
11. N
12. D

Heater options for a Port Townsend pool, side by side

For a 450 sq ft pool held at 80°F, at WA prices of 14.4¢/kWh electricity and $18/Mcf gas. All-in spreads the purchase over the equipment's life.

The cheapest way to the full season in Port Townsend

Solar panels + cover: 2 of 2 possible months for about $283 a year all-in, which works out near $142 for each month it adds.

A solar cover alone adds no swim months here, so if you want a longer season you need a heater (why); still use one at night to hold the heat you pay for. If you get quotes, ask for a heat pump sized to your pool's surface area; here it beats gas all-in (heat pump or gas).

Weather station: Port Townsend, 1.4 mi away (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). Water temperature is estimated from air and sunshine, not measured.

Port Townsend month by month: air, sun and pool water

Heating costs most in Jul (about $80 with a heat pump, $191 with gas). Sunshine peaks in Jul at 6.5 kWh/m²/day (NASA satellite data, 47.1 km grid cell). Highlighted months are swimmable with no heater.

How Port Townsend compares with nearby cities

Port Townsend ranks 87 of 91 Washington cities for unheated swim months, and no nearby city gets a longer unheated season.